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Backing Victorian creative talent, building international engagement, and increasing participation and access will be key to making Victoria a more creative state and Melbourne a global city, according to a new report presented to the Victorian Government.

Charged with advising on the development of Victoria’s first creative industries strategy, the report was written by the Creative Industries Taskforce, chaired by Louise Adler. It outlines 42 initiatives for consideration by the Victorian which the Taskforce believes would strengthen and grow Victoria’s $23 billion creative and cultural economy, and reap social and cultural benefits right across the state.

The Taskforce has recommended a new Creative Industries Council (CIC) to back creative talent, strengthen the industry ecology and maximise economic benefits along with a Creators’ Fund to provide new fellowships for creative practitioners, accelerator programs for cultural entrepreneurs and new funding to build international exposure. It also wants more residencies for creative practitioners, fellowships for world-leading practitioners and expatriates to be based in Victoria and new co-working spaces and hubs to activate under-utilised spaces for creative use.

Other ideas are a new creative hub: a ‘House of World Cultures’ which would profile Victoria’s diversity of cultural expressions and be a tourist attraction and an annual Regional Centre of Culture, would provide a year-long celebration of the cultural assets of a particular region.

The report draws on contributions from almost 10,000 members of Victoria’s cultural and creative industries and the broader public, as well as extensive research into local and international models.

Recommended initiatives recognise the importance of the creative industries ecosystem and emphasise opportunities for cross-sector collaboration.

They include:

• Fellowships to enable creative practitioners to sustain and advance their careers at key points 
• A Commissioning Fund to generate landmark Victorian creative works 
• Increasing professional placements, on-the-job-training and secondment opportunities 
• Accelerator programs for creative and cultural entrepreneurs 
• Co-working spaces and hubs – activating under-utilised spaces for creative use, reducing organisational operating costs and fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors 
• Increased access for students to creative and cultural experiences – in and out of school 
• Funding to enable Victorian talent to gain international exposure and build global networks

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley announced that he would establish – and chair – a Creative Industries Council, as recommended in the report, to oversee the implementation of the government’s creative industries strategy once finalised. 

The report will now be considered by the Victorian Government and will inform its creative industries strategy to be released in 2016.

The full Taskforce report as well as a summary of the consultation can be viewed at www.strategy.creative.vic.gov.au

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