House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Arts Organisations Program Arts Organisations Program Ms HOOD House of Assembly Adelaide Arts Organisations Program Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Arts. Can the minister provide an update on the government's election commitments related to her important arts portfolio? The Hon. A. MICHAELS House of Assembly Enfield Minister for Small and Family Business Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs Minister for Arts Arts Organisations Program The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (15:02): I want to thank the member for Adelaide for this question and for her interest in our arts election commitments and in the arts more broadly. I know the member has a very deep and passionate interest in the arts, particularly in her local electorate—in fact, I think the beautiful Newmarch Gallery is just down the road and I'm sure the member regularly pops in to see the exhibitions there. This government is committed to a thriving arts scene and pledged $8 million over four years to boost art grants programs for South Australian artists at the last election. As part of that commitment, the state's creative sector has just received half of that additional funding: $4 million has been injected into the sector to benefit small to medium arts organisations over the next four years. These organisations represent the foundations of our cultural and creative sector, and I'm pleased that this investment, I can say, represents a 20 per cent increase in the funds available through the Arts Organisations Program (AOP). This additional funding means small to medium arts organisations will receive more than $6.2 million in 2023 to help them contribute to our rich cultural sector. I am really pleased to be able to announce today the recipients from this year's funding round who are going to benefit from over $20 million in funding over four years. This funding will support the development and presentation of work through theatre, visual art, dance and literature, including cross-disciplinary, experimental and community-based arts practice. For the first time, I am very pleased to announce the multiyear organisations will be funded for a four-year period, up from the free previous three years. It's an excellent result for these organisations, and 23 organisations will now be receiving multiyear funding from the period of 2023-26, which will provide greater funding certainty for the organisations and, in turn, increase their ability to plan and develop creative works and employ artists and arts workers. There is a long list of grant recipients, and I will quickly mention them to the house today. They include Access2Arts, ActNow Theatre, Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, Adelaide Chamber Singers, Ku Arts, APY Art Centre Collective, Artlink, the Australian Network for Art and Technology, the Australian String Quartet, Brink Productions, Chamber Music Adelaide, Feast, Guildhouse, Nexus Arts, No Strings Attached, Open Space Contemporary Arts, Restless Dance Theatre, South Australia Living Artists (SALA), Slingsby Theatre Company, The Mill, Tutti Arts, Vitalstatistix and Writers SA. These organisations are also going to be able to leverage this state government funding as part of their expression of interest for the Australia Council's Four Year Investment for Organisations, and that closes early next year. There is also another program that is being introduced as a result of an extra $1 million of our election commitment into the arts. Five organisations are going to be funded through a new Arts Organisations Program category, which is Program Support. That provides an entry point for organisations that have previously not been funded through this program, and it is a great way to enable pathways for these emerging organisations to get through the front door. Further to this, applications have just closed on the Arts and Culture Grants Program, which includes an extra $750,000 in extra funding as part of our election commitment to provide direct funding into artists and the small to medium sector. These grant applications will be determined by the end of the year, and I very much look forward to being able to notify the successful recipients of these grants. The government does not just talk about its commitment to arts; we have evidence here today of our commitment to the cultural heart of South Australia.