Regional Arts Hubs
An initiative of Country Arts WA,the Regional Arts Hubs will strengthen the State and arts sector by building creativity, capacity, and connection in and between regional communities.
The Regional Arts Hubs will form an interconnected web that will unite the State’s artists, arts workers, arts and culture organisations and audiences. They will be the vehicle for building better relationships in and between local communities across WA.
The pilot program was recently launched with four independent regional organisations:
Goolarri Media Enterprises (Broome, Kimberley)
Nintirri Centre (Tom Price, Pilbara)
Arts Narrogin (Narrogin, Wheatbelt)
Creative Corner (Margaret River, South West)
Each of these Regional Arts Hubs will connect with each other and talk to their communities to develop relationships. Together they will deliver the first-ever state-wide regional arts database of its kind to identify priority areas and gaps, and provide direct feedback into the planning and strategic direction of the regional arts sector and Country Arts WA.
Country Arts WA Executive Director Paul MacPhail says the Regional Arts Hubs is a revolutionary new initiative that will completely change the way the regional arts sector talk to each other and the way work is created and delivered.
“This vision for a new way of working with the regional arts sector is bold and we acknowledge that it is an ambitious state-wide undertaking. We will eventually have a web of twenty-two Regional Arts Hubs connecting and transforming the State’s regional arts sector in WA.”
“The network of Regional Arts Hubs places decision-making back within regional communities. They will be able to provide on-ground support and form strong relationships with their local government authorities to ensure their communities’ voices are heard.”
“The Regional Arts Hubs will inform how the sector can better deliver regional arts services and provide more integrated planning with other key sectors such as tourism.” Mr. MacPhail said.
The Regional Arts Hubs’ pilot program will be refined after the first 18 months and then rolled-out over the succeeding five years until there is an interconnected web of Regional Arts Hubs across WA.
This initiative is funded by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund which is provided through Regional Arts Australia.
Key core support for the implementation and on-going evaluation of the pilot program is provided by the Western Australian Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
More information about the Regional Arts Hubs can be found HERE
The project is made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, which supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote Australia to give artists and communities better access to opportunities to practice and experience the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is administered in Western Australia by Country Arts WA.
