Love Yarra Arts? See what we have in store for next five years

Otis Hope Carey's new mural on Rose St Giirrwaa. A beautiful pattern of pink, white and black lines span across the entire street.

Otis Hope Carey, Giirrwaa, 2021. Street mural commissioned as part of the Rose Street shared zone works. Streetbond and Dulux Roadmaster line-marking paint on bitumen, 209m x 6.2m.

We are pleased to announce that in December 2021, Council adopted our new vision for the arts in Yarra, the Arts and Culture Strategy 2022 to 2026.

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in providing comment and feedback through this process to shape the new strategy. The process to develop the strategy included asking the community what they already loved about the arts in Yarra, what people would like to see more of, and what we can do to support creativity in Yarra. From this research and discovery process, Council developed the priorities to guide the new Arts and Culture Strategy.

The COVID-19 restrictions delayed the strategy’s development, but in 2021, further community consultation gave rise to the initiatives and actions that achieve these priorities.

The new strategy has five key priorities:

  • Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultures are at the heart of Yarra
  • Artists are essential to a thriving Yarra
  • Our arts and culture shape Yarra’s places and spaces
  • We celebrate and support our creative and diverse community
  • Our arts contribute to an ecologically sustainable future

As we continue to grow and shape some or our regular programs, such as our grants opportunities and Room to Create, there will also be many new initiatives for creatives and the broader community to engage in and benefit from. This will include a greater presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice and culture, and supporting the creative community in pursuit of more environmentally sustainable practices.

View the Arts and Culture Strategy 2022-2026 and the Year 1 Action Plan.

/Public Release. View in full here.