A new report examining arts education and its connection to the workplace was released today at the Digital Literacy and Creative Innovation in a Knowledge Economy symposium in Brisbane.

The report Educating for the Creative Workforce: Rethinking Arts and Education is the first output of a three-year partnership between the Australia Council for the Arts and the Queensland University of Technology’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI).

‘The report provides a review of published arts education literature designed to inform policy, present evidence, and identify major gaps of research in this area,’ Claire Duffy, Director, Strategy, Australia Council for the Arts, said

‘It outlines how the literature needs to connect to contemporary approaches to education for a creative workforce and creative entrepreneurship,’ Ms Duffy said.

Professor Stuart Cunningham, Director CCI, said a large amount of both business literature and economic policy is calling for enhanced ‘creativity’ in the workplace.

‘Schools have been the most intensive site of research in this area, but this had led to an over concentration on the supply side. To understand the needs and operations of the creative workforce, we need to switch our attention to the workplace as a site for research.

‘While there are studies of creativity in the workplace we know very little about whether the ‘creativity’ of those trained in arts disciplines differs from those trained in other disciplines,’ Professor Cunningham said.

The Australia Council’s support for CCI is part of its commitment to education and the arts, which involves investing resources in projects with potential for strong impact.

The report was written by Kate Oakley, a leading London-based consultant.