“The Council embraces its national leadership role and takes a holistic, evidence-based and long term approach to investing in and championing the arts sector." – Tony Grybowski, CEO

Annual Report 2015–16

Image: Flow. Installation by Robert Hogarth at the South Australian Living Artists Festival

The 2015-16 Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report was tabled in the Federal Parliament on 18 October 2016. The report delivers the first full year of activity under its Strategic Plan, A Culturally Ambitious Nation and provides details of a significant and challenging year for the Council.

2015-16 Annual Report summary:

$173.8 million invested in grants and initiatives for artists and arts organisations ($14.6 million in individual artists and $159.2 million in arts organisations) and an additional $15 million in the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy (VACS) and other government initiatives.

The Australia Council supported 716 individual artists, 650 organisations and 7,234 new artistic works.

20% of successful applicants to the Council’s grants program were new applicants.

175 organisations supported by multi-year funding through the Key Organisations program and the Major Performing Arts framework and more than 400 artists and organisations supported to work internationally in over 50 countries, enhancing Australia’s profile and developing global markets.

More than $50 million invested in individual artists and small to medium organisations through grants programs and strategic development initiatives and more than $100 million invested through the Major Performing Arts (MPA) framework.

$25.8 million invested in regional Australian artists to foster artistic vibrancy and access to the arts, enriching the lives of 1.9 million people through attendance at performances, exhibitions, school activities or workshops.

Audience attendances reached 15.7 million (12.8 million nationally and 2.9 million internationally) which supported the work of individual Australian artists and organisations, with many projects finding new markets and audiences.

Read the full report in PDF (7.7MB) and RTF (1MB)

Read the fact sheet here.

Useful Links

Australian arts are without borders

Building networks for First Nations artists

As part of Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) this year the Council, along with Creative New Zealand and the Canada Council, supported participation by 33 First Nations artists, producers and presenters. This first-time program delivered market development skills and capacity building in the context of cultural protocols and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts production.

The inaugural First Nations Curators’ Exchange brought together 13 curators from Australia, New Zealand and Canada during the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8) in Brisbane. The program focused on the exchange of practice and ideas between First Nations curators. The three-year partnership will see Creative New Zealand host the second stage in December 2016, and the Canada Council will host the third in 2017.

The arts enrich daily life for all

Arts Marketing Summit

The 12th annual Marketing Summit brought together 200 arts marketing professionals in Adelaide in June 2016. The theme of this year’s Summit was Valuing the Arts. This group have a unique role nationally in reaching increasingly diverse audiences and driving engagement with the arts in every part of the country.

25 speakers engaged with the delegates over the two days across a range of subjects including valuing the arts through technology, leadership, evidence of value, and audience segmentation.

The Summit gives delegates the opportunity to expand their knowledge and networks; encouraging relationship building between a range of arts organisations at a national level.

Australia is known for its great art and artists

Australia Council Awards 2016

These prestigious national awards recognise outstanding and sustained contributions by eight individuals to the arts in Australia.

The 2016 Australia Council Award recipients are:

David Malouf AO – (Literature)
Brett Dean – (Music)
Richard Bell – (Visual Arts)
Kelli McCluskey – (EEA)
Lucy Guerin – (Dance)
Yaron Lifschitz – (Theatre)
Lily Shearer – (CACD – Ros Bower)
Nathan Stoneham – (CACD – Kirk Robson)

Australians cherish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultures

Tri-Nations Exchange

The Australia Council developed an innovative partnership with Creative New Zealand and the Canada Council for the Arts to deliver a tri-nations exchange for First Nations artists and arts mediaton in conjunction with the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8) in late 2015. First Nations curators from the three countries came together at APT8, hosted by the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, to share knowledge, cultural practice and networks. The outcomes of the project include increased networks and collaborations between First Nations artists and curators, enhanced market development and exchange capabilities, and greater peer support on an international level.