Arts and culture can help realise the ambition of regional Australia 

A New Approach (ANA) CEO Kate Fielding shared insights into the role of arts and culture in strengthening regional communities last month, as part of the opening panel of the Regional Australia Institute (RAI)’s Regions Rising National Summit.

The panel, ‘Realising the ambition of regional Australia’, explored ways to address the inequalities between metropolitan and regional, rural and remote communities.

Kate spoke of Australia’s potential to become a cultural powerhouse whose creativity is locally loved, nationally valued and globally influential, and stressed that the creativity of regional, rural and remote communities is an essential part of that vision.

People across Australia want access to cultural opportunities within their communities and to share these activities with their children and families, because they recognise the benefits of cultural and creative engagement.

These benefits, which are backed up by evidence, include fostering belonging, enhancing wellbeing, promoting cohesion, increasing adaptability, diffusing innovation, and driving economic activity. These all contribute to liveability, a pillar of the RAI’s Regionalisation Ambition 2032 framework, helping attract – and retain – people to an area.

But access to cultural opportunities is not equal across the county. It can cost 200 to 500% more to take part in cultural and creative activities in the regions than in cities, meaning the benefits of cultural and creative engagement are unfairly distributed.

To become a cultural powerhouse, Australia also needs to share the culture and creativity of our entire country. This means investment and support – from governments, philanthropy, business and the public – to ensure there are opportunities for creative people in regional and remote communities to contribute, and not just be audiences for creative work from metropolitan Australia.

Kate said that Australia has seen a positive shift in understanding the role of arts and culture in our lives, and welcomed the significant policy development occurring at all levels of government. But, she said, there is an urgent need for more coordination across portfolios, to ensure that Australia can maximise the benefits of being a creative nation.

The Regions Rising National Summit is RAI’s premier annual conference. It brings together leaders from government, industry and regional communities to discuss a broad range of topics impacting the regions, including jobs and skills, housing, population, liveability, productivity and resilience. This year’s Summit was themed ‘The New Frontier’ and was held in Canberra from 13 to 15 August 2024.