Premier of Victoria

Arts

The Victorian Coalition Government believes that the arts play a critical role in Victoria – culturally, socially and economically.  The arts help to invigorate our vibrant culture, make our communities stronger, celebrate our diversity and enhance our competitive advantage, nationally and internationally. The arts have always received bipartisan support in Victoria.

With internationally acclaimed arts organisations and institutions, a busy calendar of festivals and events, rich cultural collections, well-established cultural infrastructure across the State and a thriving independent arts community, Victoria has a well-earned reputation as Australia’s cultural heartland.

While Melbourne is widely considered Australia’s cultural capital, beyond the city limits regional Victoria is also rich with cultural opportunity. The Coalition Government will support and grow arts activity across regional Victoria, whether it’s through strengthening arts and cultural precincts in major regional centres like Geelong and Bendigo, transforming small towns through public art and sculpture, or increasing regional touring activity.

The Coalition Government is committed to building on Victoria’s arts heritage, providing opportunities for our artists to thrive and for Victorian communities across the state to benefit from and enjoy greater engagement in the arts in all their forms.

 Achievements and policies implemented

• Provided more than $100 million through two State Budgets to deliver our commitment to nurturing creative talent, making the arts more visible and accessible across Victoria and building on the strength and diversity of our arts sector.
  
  
• $24 million over four years to secure the future of the Victorian College of the Arts.
  
  
• $4 million in regional arts initiatives and a new $1 million sculpture initiative.
  
  
• $15.2 million to address storage issues and overcrowding to better secure and protect Victoria’s cultural collections.
  
  
• Boosted Victoria's iconic arts organisations with $7.6 million to secure the financial sustainability of the State Library and Melbourne Recital Centre.
  
  
• $15 million for the establishment of a new home for Circus Oz in Collingwood.
  
  
• $1 million a year boost for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
  
  
• An additional $120,000 a year for Multicultural Arts Victoria and $480,000 over two years to help establish Music Victoria.
  
  
• More than $700,000 a year for the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) to upgrade digital equipment and for Museum Victoria to upgrade the Planetarium at Spotswood.
  
  
• $12 million to Arts Centre Melbourne to establish Australia’s largest orchestra pit in preparation for Melbourne’s hosting of the Ring Cycle in 2013 and to support its expanded operations following the re-opening of Hamer Hall.
  
  
• Almost $6 million to support critical works at the Arts Centre Melbourne and the Geelong Performing Arts Centre.
  
  
• Boosted the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, including the introduction of the Victorian Prize for Literature – the richest prize for Australian writing.
  
  
• Established White Night Melbourne, Australia’s first dusk to dawn arts and cultural celebration, and an iconic new event for Melbourne.
  
  
• $3 million for the Bendigo Theatre Project.
  
  
• Work underway on the Southbank Arts Precinct Blueprint which will set out a vision for the future of the area.
  
  
• $10 million loan to The Australian Ballet for their new purpose-built production centre. The State Government loan is expected to save the company around $2 million in interest and fees and was made as part of the Ballet’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
  
  
• Major exhibition from the Palace Museum in Beijing to come to Melbourne in 2015 thanks to a landmark new agreement between the Palace Museum and the NGV signed by Premier and Arts Minister Ted Baillieu. In addition to facilitating the loan of artworks between the Palace Museum and the NGV, the agreement will strengthen the preservation and conservation of both respective collections through a staff exchange.
  
  
• Unveiled Arts Victoria’s new Organisations Investment Program, representing a significant reform of the way the government supports the State’s arts organisations. The new program, which will provide multi-year operational support to non-profit, non-government arts organisations, has been designed to drive artistic innovation and risk-taking together with broad audience and community engagement.
  
  
• Launched the Small Town Transformations program to support large-scale creative projects that would inspire, transform and create a lasting legacy in Victorian towns with populations of 1,500 or fewer.

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