QUESTIONS FOR PANEL
What does it mean to be part of a filmmaking community?
What financial concerns face the independent filmmaking community? And the not-for-profit sector?
What elements are required to create a sustainable creative sector?
What are the differing needs of emerging, mid-career and established artists and how can our community serve them?
How do we make Australia’s creative output accessible to rural areas?
How do we define “success” in the arts? How do we then reward this success?
What role should the screen community play in school education?
How can the screen industry work towards improving the protection of indigenous culture, language and heritage?


Extract from the Australia 2020 Summit Report, taken from the www.australia2020.gov.au website):
TOWARDS A CREATIVE AUSTRALIA: THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS, FILM AND DESIGN

AMBITIONS
Creativity is central to sustaining and defining the nation, fuelling the imaginations of citizens, nurturing our children and nourishing healthy communities. Indigenous culture is central to this. Creativity is broader than the arts, but the arts are central to creativity.
We will aim to double cultural output by 2020. To achieve this there is a need to implement policies that will produce a sustainable creative sector and support artists, build educational capacity, integrate Indigenous and settler perspectives and recognise the centrality of the arts and creativity to the whole economy.

This will result in increased personal capacity and confidence of all citizens, including artists, a stronger economy and greater international understanding of Australia as a mature, creative, innovative society.


THEMES
A major theme of this stream was expanding and developing education in arts and creativity to enrich and support cultural endeavours. Boosting the creative capabilities and understanding of citizens through improved access to lifelong learning was raised as a critical priority in ensuring a sustainable sector which provides opportunities for innovation and rewards excellence.
The development of new investment models to ensure financial viability was also considered. The stream agreed that the ideal funding model combines private and public support to foster and support creativity and innovation; support emerging, mid-career and established artists, and large and small enterprises.

The stream also discussed the increasing importance of creativity in the new economy, both at home and abroad. This is central to innovation in the new industries which are fuelled by creativity and draw on the arts, entertainment and design. This will present both opportunities and challenges as traditional models of income support change. Success in this new environment demands that creativity is embedded in our education systems, economy and international representation at every level.

The stream discussed the best ways of ensuring that the creative output of Australians is made accessible. This included mechanism to support major institutions and provide new and emerging artists around the nation. The stream recognised the important role of public broadcasting and emerging broadband networks to produce and distribute this output.

The place of Indigenous arts and culture at the core of Australian creative expression was recognised by the group. This is a source of identity and pride for all and gives Australia a uniqueness which is unrivalled internationally.


TOP IDEAS
Link the creative arts and education
• Bring art into our schools by introducing ‘practitioners in residence’ via a national mentoring plan funded by philanthropic funds and tax incentives
• Mandate creative, visual and performing arts subjects in national curricula with appropriate reporting requirements for schools. Explore new opportunities for extension and development such as Creativity Summer Schools, pre-service and in-service training for teachers
• Digitise the collections of major national institutions by 2020
• Make creativity a national research priority with funding access to R&D, ARC and similar funding

Develop new investment and support models
• Create a National Endowment Fund for the Arts – incorporating public endowment and private philanthropy (including patronage), and provide a wide range of support including loans and grants; a review of philanthropy and tax incentives to support organisations and individual artists and expand the scope of Prescribed Private Funds
• Fund creative endeavours through a 1% creative dividend from all Government Departments for expenditure on arts (including design, performance, installation )
• Develop mechanisms to reward success
• Federal responsibility for public liability obligations for arts organisations

Indigenous core and centrality of arts and design
• Creativity is central to Australian life and Indigenous culture is the core to this. To measure, document and leverage the strengths of this culture, to articulate our role and improve protection of indigenous culture, language and heritage through a National Indigenous Cultural Authority.
• A whole of government approach to the arts, culture, design and the creative economy across all sectors, including improved resourcing, linkages and access by using broadband connections and including building connections between sports and arts
• Facilitation of artists in residence across all industries and institutions to engage in story telling, sense making and capacity building
• Develop a national cultural and design strategy and policy


PRE–SUMMIT SUBMISSIONS
The strategic value of the creative arts to Australia’s future prosperity, economic, social and cultural development was a central theme of the 465 public submissions and pre-Summit events. Contributions emphasised the need to boost national creative and cultural capability using new investment models, targeted international arts promotion, integrated education and training curricula, an arts innovation agenda linked to creative endeavour and our ideas.

There was a specific proposal to advance Australia’s reputation and cultural capabilities including the development of a Creative Institute modelled on the Australian Institute of Sport that fosters the development of Australia’s best and brightest creative talent. The institute would be a centre of excellence which provides specialist training and has a major role in marketing Australia’s cultural capabilities locally and internationally.

The critical importance of Australia’s formal education system in encouraging participation in the creative arts was another strong theme. Commentary advanced the need for the national curriculum in secondary schools which provides opportunities for all young Australians to develop interest in the arts, and also to build lateral thinking skills to deal with ambiguity which will be necessary to secure Australia’s place in an increasingly competitive and dynamic global economy.
Several submissions expressed support for new creative “hubs” where artists of various media (and interested audiences) could meet to develop shared ideas and creative endeavours. This could be linked to online and multimedia outlets to enable broader public participation – for example allowing the public to “vote” on screenplay ideas or short clips that then go on to production.
Other major topics included government support, television content, accessibility and design.