Advocating for an equitable National Cultural Policy

National Cultural Policy Joint Submisson

This submission is made on behalf of a consortium of arts organisations and individual arts and creative workers, as listed below. The recommendations made draw on our extensive consultations with culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) artists and creative workers, arts and screen organisations, and people working in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism in the sector. This submission is also informed by years of collective research and advocacy.

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National Cultural Policy Diversity Arts Australia Submisson

Check out Diversity Art’s submission below

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Diversity Arts Australia successfully made a submission to the National Cultural Policy, with our main call to action for cultural diversity and racial equity to be promoted and safeguarded in the sector. Crucially, DARTS has advocated that equity principles must be embedded into all aspects of the policy.

 

About our submissions 

 

DARTS has made two major submissions to the National Cultural Policy. The first was DARTS’ submission, and the second, a joint submission with some of our key partners and colleagues, listed below. We also provided a template for our networks to use to make their own submissions. Some of the key recommendations our submissions make include: 

  • We support self-determination for First Nations arts initiatives, and targeted investment in the First Nations art sectors.
  • We propose an industry-led anti-racism strategy, to support the Albanese Government’s commitment to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework
  • Public arts funding should be equity tested to ensure funding and support is fairly distributed, and representative of the Australian public.
  • Diversity standards must be embedded in publicly funded creative work
  • There must be accountability for diversity, equity and inclusion
  • We advocate for targeted investment in professional development and career pathways for racially marginalised artists and creative workers
  • There needs to be investment in sector-wide diversity and inclusion measurement
  • Language and terminology used to describe racially marginalised communities should be self-determined to better capture the differences in lived experience
  • Cultural safety embedded in arts organisations and practices
  • Ongoing anti-racism education and capacity building is needed in the creative sector
  • We propose that meaningful collaboration and consultation between business, government and small community-led organisations must be supported
  • The diversity of audiences needs to be measured and reported against

We welcome the opportunity to continue working with the Office for the Arts and the sector to promote equity. We give special thanks to those who signed onto our joint submission:

Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV)

Sherryl Reddy, Inclusion Adviser

The Everyone Project

Media Diversity Australia

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

Cessalee Stovall, Founder, Stage A Change

Settlement Services International (SSI)

Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC)

PYT Fairfield

Sweatshop

Western Sydney Fashion Festival

Nexus Arts

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE)

Ashley Yi Hsin Chang, Artistic Program Manager of the Mundaring Arts Centre

JUTE Theatre Company

Country Arts South Australia

John Petersen, CEO, Multicultural Museums Victoria Limited

Dr. Görkem (Gerkam) Acaroğlu

Metanoia Theatre

Tiffany Lee-Shoy, Cultural Strategist

Footscray Community Arts

Moonah Arts Centre

Connection Arts Space

Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Mahmood Martin Foundation

The Street Theatre

Community Arts Network (CAN)

Broth Records