Revive-ing arts and culture on the Coast

Within Creative Australia four new bodies will be established: a new First Nations-led body which will give First Nations people autonomy over decisions and investments; Music Australia, a dedicated new body to support and invest in the Australian contemporary music industry; Writers Australia, to support writers and illustrators to create new works; and new Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces to ensure creative workers are paid fairly and have safe workplaces free from harassment and discrimination.

Revive is built on five pillars but puts First Nations first –recognising and respecting the crucial place of these stories at the heart of our arts and culture.

Revive also commits the Government to: introduce legislation to protect First Nations knowledge and cultural expressions, including the harm caused by fake art; develop a First Nations creative workforce strategy; fund the establishment of a National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs and an Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Perth; and provide $11M to establish a First Nations Languages Policy Partnership between First Nations representatives and Australian governments.

NAISDA Chairperson Mayrah Sonter said Revive is an important step towards making Australian arts more accessible, valued and equitable for all communities and people.

“We are delighted by the Federal Government’s clear support to strengthen First Nations arts and the direct economic benefit this policy brings to our region through its $5M commitment to support NAISDA’s infrastructure and capacity-building on Darkinjung Land at Kariong,” she said.

“Itisastrongacknowledgement that our cultural infrastructure and national arts training institutes like NAISDA are critical in nurturing and empowering our future artists, storytellers and industry.

“First Nations culture and knowledge have been shared through stories, movement and music on Lands across Australia for tens of thousands of years.

“Revive recognises the significant contribution First Nations arts make, not only to our creative and cultural landscape, but to our understanding and celebration of personal and national identity.

“Revive provides an exciting pathway of possibility and change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, artists and all Australians.”

Revive also commits the Government to regulating Australian content on streaming platforms; improving lending rights and incomes for Australian writers; increased funding for regional art; and dozens of other measures.

Terry Collins

Richard Harris

Audiences can expect escapist fun with improbable, implausible plot twists and a bit of cross dressing when Woy Woy Little Theatre (WWLT) presents Party Piece at Peninsula Theatre for a three-week season from February 24.

The play sees events unfold in the back gardens of two adjacent neighbours, as Doctor Michael and his wife Roma’s fancy dress house-warming party descends into disaster and chaos.

The action includes a notable shortage of guests, a shed engulfed by smoke and an aerodynamic Zimmer frame.