Arts

OUR VISION:

A clever and creative community

Our community will be clever and creative, enriched by arts, crafts, music, education, celebrations and festivals. Council will support the development of facilities, including galleries, libraries, art spaces, museums and theatres that meet the needs and interests of the entire community.

CORE POLICY PLATFORMS

INCREASING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:
A Cairns 1st Council will encourage active participation of residents and visitors in a diverse range of arts activities to promote and create cohesive and stimulating communities.
FOSTERING CREATIVE PROCESSES
We will acknowledge the role of creative industries and arts workers in celebrating and enriching our region and will develop and implement incentives and recognition programs to acknowledge excellence.
PLANNING, PROVIDING AND WORKING TOGETHER: A Cairns 1st Council will plan carefully and inclusively with other agencies and groups to maintain and upgrade existing facilities and provide new resources, services and activities that are used effectively meet community needs.

INCREASING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Economic benefits

Arts have the potential to make a greater contribution to the regional economy and we will:

assist in the promotion, joint marketing and hosting of state, national and international arts events
explore opportunities for the arts industry “cluster” to be supported.

Community involvement

Cairns 1st will seize opportunities to build social cohesion in our community through arts activities recognizing that people are less likely to engage in anti-social activities if they are engaged. We will:

increase the number of free days for locals at the Cairns Regional Gallery
initiate and seek sponsorship for a variety of excellence awards to encourage writers, artists, performers, designers and others involved in the arts and creative industries
rotate art to centres throughout our new amalgamated region.

Youth participation

We will:

seek partnerships with businesses to provide art programs and activities
consider ways of implementing state government strategies/programs to help children and young people be involved in the arts.

Special needs and accessibility

We will be proactive in increasing the participation of groups that need special assistance, such as older people, people with disabilities and people without employment. We will:

enhance access to activities
encourage community arts projects to include marginalized groups.

Public education

We value public awareness and education and we will:

continue to develop and expand public arts education programs such as the Cairns Regional Gallery program
collaborate with Arts Nexus and UMI Arts to support business, legal and grant writing workshops for artists to bridge the gap from amateur to professional practice
implement education programs for community groups such as risk management, organisation administration and valuing volunteers.

FOSTERING CREATIVE PROCESSES

Festivals and Special Events

Arts tourism and other special events provide direct economic benefit to the community and enhance the unique lifestyle of residents.
We will:

work with regional councils and arts groups to initiate a new Arts festival, separate from Festival Cairns, to be held annually in July
review Festival Cairns with a view to increasing community control and participation
consult with community regarding reintroducing the Fun in the Sun festival
demonstrate regional leadership by cooperating with other Councils to ensure that major events such as Festival Cairns benefit the whole region (using the “Ten Days on the Island” festival of Tasmania, for example, where arts activities and cultural tourists are brought to the whole state)
continue to support events such as Port Douglas’ Reef and Rainforest Carnivale, the junior Eisteddfod, the Flecker Botanical Gardens Festival and Music Cairns
encourage “fringe” activities
support world class events such as the Queensland Music Festival and Chamber Music Concerts.

Arts development

Cairns 1st acknowledges the need for better integration and coordination of arts and cultural activities. We will:

actively encourage all forms of art including: film, dance, painting, sculpture, performance, circus, assemblage, fashion, pottery, print, writing, music, architecture and more

ensure open communications around the transition to a new Regional Arts Development Fund committee and the allocation of funding post amalgamation so that all divisions get a share
finalise a master plan that integrates the cultural precinct, the Tanks Art Centre and city-based art activities in Cairns
support the inclusion of arts organisations to identify needs in the Port Douglas Waterfront planning process and commit to implement recommendations from that community engagement
partner with industry to implement a new competition/award for regional artists
create a sculpture walking trail through Centenary Lakes to enhance the environment and provide opportunities for local artists to demonstrate their talents
ensure that arts activities occur in the suburbs/towns as well as in the city: cost the establishment of a mobile arts centre (bus) for arts workers to travel to the former Douglas Shire and communities south of Cairns city
work with groups based in CoCA - JUTE, Kick Arts and End Credits – to see how Council can play a role in implementing review recommendations
promote open discussion around the current activities and future possibilities of events/activities organised at the Tanks in Cairns at the old Sugar Wharf in Port Douglas
promote indigenous visual and performing arts as a recognition of our heritage and an opportunity for economic benefit
explore the creation of a Council arts website that recognises and promotes artists
grow community arts by looking at ways to support activities and skills development.

Public art and youth art

The Council needs to develop action plans to implement both public art and youth art policies. We will:

identify any barriers to implementing outstanding strategies in existing plans
ensure that all council-funded projects have a public art component and encourage developer contributions to public art to increase funds available
grow the Public Art Bank funds in an open and accountable way to ensure funds for additional public art works.

Supporting and promoting local visual and performance

A Cairns 1st Council will:

recognize and acknowledge the works of our many talented artists, crafts workers, musicians and performers by commissioning their work

artists and musicians

expand existing work with local businesses to provide free entertainment, live music and street theatre 7 days a week
identify which PALM (People Advocating Live Music) proposed strategies can be supported/implemented by Council
encourage singing groups and choirs and provide opportunities for them to perform
ensure the work of artists is not devalued by appropriately paying artists who work on council projects
build more partnerships with businesses to create art works around the city
develop a process to regulate and support public busking.

PLANNING, PROVIDING AND WORKING TOGETHER

Planning

A Cairns 1st Council will adopt a proactive approach recognizing:

the need for long-term planning and a vision for arts in the Cairns region
the needs of an ageing population
the importance of social history and the continuation of recording, researching and publishing the histories of our diverse communities
the need to accommodate future expansion of the Cairns Regional Gallery
the need for a new civic theatre and museum and a more coordinated approach to arts/culture development
that greater collaboration/coordination of arts activities will result in the growth of the arts in Tropical North Queensland.

We will:

within 100 days of being elected, hold a summit with arts’ and creative industries’ stakeholders to determine needs and plan strategies to grow arts throughout the region
re-establish the Sports, Arts, Cultural and Community Services sub-committee of the Council
work with industry to explore the creation of a music precinct in Cairns City.

Working together: whole of Government approach

We will:

work in partnership with the state and federal governments to acquire the necessary funding for a staged development of a new performing arts facility in Cairns that may be co-located with a regional museum
strengthen links and collaborate with state government agencies such as the Department of Education and the Arts, Queensland Health to ensure the best use of libraries and theatres
support the Regional Arts Development Fund and investigate the opportunity to increase the annual budget allocation to this partnership.

Working together: collaboration with and between community groups

Some arts groups need assistance in managing and developing their orgsanisations and activities. We will offer assistance to promote self-sufficiency and:

ensure a dedicated council officer is available to provide support and professional advice to groups to obtain external funding for new facilities and equipment
facilitate greater cooperation between groups to share strategies, resources and knowledge
encourage multiple use of facilities and discourage duplication.

Equitable grant distribution

Cairns 1st will:

implement transparent grant distribution based on sound planning and open communication processes
respect the recommendations of community advisory groups regarding arts grants
ensure that the needs of former Douglas shire groups are not overlooked in an amalgamated Council.

Providing facilities

We will:

put a stop to the proposed Cairns performing arts centre on its current location - we think it’s in the wrong spot
form and invigorate a steering committee to finalise a plan to develop an arts/cultural centre for the City and region and enable future expansion
include plans for a new museum and resource centre as a key part of the new cultural centre.

Reviewing and improving

A Cairns 1st Council will promote continuous improvement by reviewing and improving:

arts and culture infrastructure such as libraries and the Cairns Regional Art Gallery (including opening times)
the internal structure of the Community Development section of the new Cairns Regional Council.