The Australia Council has today announced its new vision for a creatively connected Australia where creative enterprise is entrenched across society, industry and government as the fuel that ignites our social, cultural and economic success.

Creativity Connects Us is the new five year strategy for the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Government’s principal arts funding and advisory body. Building on the achievements of A Culturally Ambitious Nation and drawing from significant consultation and evidence, the new strategic priorities respond to the rapidly changing landscape of Australian arts and creativity.

Australia Council Chair Sam Walsh AO said the strategy is focused on investment in, and advocacy for, the immense value that creativity brings to the lives of all Australians.

“Everyone benefits from investment in arts and creativity, and we want the social, cultural and economic return on this investment to be well understood and recognised.”

“Our new strategy continues our long term commitment to enabling our artists and cultural organisations to fully realise their creative potential and our commitment to First Nations arts and cultures. It includes new emphases on inclusivity, advocacy, and investing in arts and creativity that profoundly connects with the many communities that make up contemporary Australia.”

Australia Council CEO Adrian Collette AM said the Council would work to increase recognition of the vital role of creativity.

“The Australia Council’s 2014-2019 vision to build the profile and reach of arts experiences saw the development of more than 32,700 new Australian art works, and engagement in arts experiences from a staggering 98% of the population.

“Arts and creativity are vital expressions of the human experience, and there is an ever-expanding body of evidence confirming the arts deliver enormous economic, cultural and social benefits across the whole of society. We are committed to investing in organisations and programs which strengthen the future sustainability of our cultural industries,” Mr Collette said.

The plan is available for download from our website.

Explore our five year vision