For the first time, the City of Melbourne Arts Strategy has been created in collaboration with the arts community, and last night Council endorsed the report detailing community ideas and feedback.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the City of Melbourne is committed to investing in and working with the arts sector.
“This Draft Arts Strategy 2014-17 is the product of collaboration between the City of Melbourne and the people who it will directly affect: artists, arts organisations, audiences and participants,” the Lord Mayor said.
“The strategy is a blueprint for Council’s investment in the arts and provides a clear framework for the next three years. Melbourne would not be the city it is today without its active creative community.”
Chair of the Arts and Culture portfolio, Councillor Rohan Leppert, said the strategy recognises the crucial contribution the arts make to the city’s liveability, wellbeing and identity.
“We embarked on an extensive consultation process where people were asked a series of questions about the arts in Melbourne,” said Cr Leppert.
“More than one thousand people contributed to the conversation and these contributions have shaped the entire strategy. Melbourne’s arts scene continues to attract artists of all backgrounds and practices. We want that to continue to flourish in the years to come, cementing Melbourne as a creative capital and an appealing city for creative individuals and organisations.”
In 2014, the City of Melbourne is spending more than $14 million supporting artists and art events in Melbourne to ensure that the city’s distinctive culture of art-making and community participation thrives into the future.
For more information, visit: www.participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/projects/arts-strategy for details.
Image: creating art at City of Melbourne’s Artplay