Every creative leader deserves a chance to be in the room.
Help cover travel and accommodation so culturally and racially marginalised creatives from regional communities can lead.
Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) is the national organisation championing cultural equity in the creative sector.
This AusArt Day we’re raising $5,000 so that culturally and racially marginalised (CaRM) creative leaders from regional and remote communities can take part in Shifting the Balance Leaders — our national leadership program across NSW, Queensland and South Australia. At the centre of the program is a two-day in-person intensive.
It’s where trust forms, where peer networks embed, and where the learning that can’t happen over Zoom takes place. For someone in regional Queensland or South Australia, the cost of getting there is the difference between being in the room and watching from the outside. Your donation removes that barrier. $1,000 funds one full travel and accommodation bursary $500 covers flights $250 contributes to meals and materials
Leadership in the creative sector doesn’t reflect the people who live here. CaRM communities make up almost half the population, yet only a small share of leadership positions across the arts and screen industries are held by people from those communities. Our Shifting the Balance research has documented this across three cycles. DARTS exists to change it. Through research, advocacy, training and leadership development, we build the pathways that let under-represented creatives take their place in shaping cultural life. Shifting the Balance Leaders is the practical response — a cohort-based program for 10–15 mid-career CaRM creatives.
Our NSW pilot supported 20 participants with a 100% completion rate and measurable gains in leadership confidence, sector connection and career progression. Now it goes national. Geography shouldn’t decide who gets to lead.
This AusArt Day, we’re asking people in Australia to put someone in the room. Not a symbolic outcome. A flight, two nights’ accommodation, and two days that change what’s possible in a person’s career. $5,000 funds at least five regional bursaries.
And on 22 October every dollar is matched — so $5,000 becomes $10,000, and $1,000 from you becomes a fully funded bursary worth $2,000. The creative future of this country should be shaped by all of us — not just those who can afford to be there. Donations over $2 are tax deductible through the Australian Cultural Fund.