Melbourne has long been proud of its place as Australia’s cultural capital, but this formidable arts scene was crushed in the face of shutdowns and cancellations. To aid in its recovery, Melbourne city council has announced a $17 million investment in Melbourne’s creative industries in response to the current crisis.
That $17 million aims to encourage Melburnians involvement in the arts, as well as directly fund the creation of new works, online projects and allow artists to continue to work during shutdowns. This announcement follows the state government's $150 million new fund for sport, tourism and cultural industries which will help some Melbourne galleries and museums.
Programs that have already been earmarked for a portion of the city council's funding include children’s creative space ArtPlay, Signal Arts youth studio and Arts House in North Melbourne. The 2021 Yirramboi festival will also be given $125,000 to support the creation of contemporary Indigenous works.
Expect new public works to pop up around the city in the coming months to years too, with $1.5 million allocated to the creation of public artworks. Melbourne city council’s Test Sites initiative has been moved online and is offering grants of up to $5,000 for 25 artists.
Creative industries contribute $31 billion to the Victorian economy every year.
Rising: Melbourne mega new arts festival taking over from White Night.