$69 million boost to Victoria’s vibrant cultural life

Securing the future of Victoria’s cultural icons, encouraging audiences to visit exhibitions and creating local jobs are the focus of a $69 million boost to the arts sector in the 2009 State Budget.

The Minister for the Arts, Lynne Kosky, said the Brumby Labor Government was taking action to build stronger, more liveable communities and the arts had an important role to play in this goal.

“The funding for the arts, announced in the 2009 State Budget, will create jobs around Victoria’s world-class events and institutions and attract more visitors to our state,” Ms Kosky said.

“Last year, state-owned arts institutions attracted 8.4 million visitors including international and domestic tourists.

“Victoria’s arts and cultural sectors make a significant contribution not just to the vibrant cultural life and identity of our state, but also to Victoria’s economy, employment and tourism.”

Museum Victoria will receive more than $9.2 million to continue its program of renovating and updating exhibition spaces, including projects to make exhibits more accessible for children.

“Museum Victoria, incorporating Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum, is the largest and most visited museum organisation in Australia, attracting 1.5 million visitors over the 2007-08 financial year,” Ms Kosky said.

Ms Kosky said attracting new audiences was an important way for Victoria’s arts sector to create new jobs for artists and arts professionals and the 2009 State Budget delivered:

• $1 million for an Audience Expansion package including two innovative business development programs – Test Drive the Arts and Theatre Alive - designed to help Victoria’s arts companies grow their audiences by reaching new people in the community;
• $4 million over two years for diverse programming at the Arts Centre for shows and performances aimed at younger and new audiences; and:
• $6.2 million for Victorian Opera to increase the number of performances and ensure the company provides jobs to local artists and musicians.

The Victorian Government established Victorian Opera in 2005 and in its first three years on stage delivered 69 performances of 15 productions to audiences in Melbourne and across the state.

“This funding supports the next stage in the continuing development of the company, enabling it to present an annual season of four mainstage opera productions, expand employment opportunities for more than 300 Victorian opera professionals each year, commission new work and deliver education and artist development programs to nurture Victorian artists and audiences of the future,” Ms Kosky said.

Other initiatives to secure Victoria’s position as Australia’s cultural capital include:

• $21.5 million for the Cultural Asset Maintenance Fund which assists 23 state-owned facilities including St Martins Youth Theatre, The Malthouse, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and Heide Museum of Modern Art;
• $19 million over three years for operational maintenance of the Arts Centre buildings and theatre technology;
• $3 million for the Geelong Performance Arts Centre for the first stage of its redevelopment;
• $5.1 million for the State Library of Victoria, including additional operational funding of $1 million per annum for the slv21 initiative to improve access to library facilities and $1 million to support planning for the restoration and refurbishment of the Library’s Queen’s Hall.