A re-elected Labor government would seek to finalise the business case and design for a new Canberra theatre precinct as a matter of top priority, while also developing a new creative industries strategy to cover arts funding and engagement, Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay said.
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Labor would also spend $8 million on upgrades at the heritage-registered Gorman House, making the facility more accessible in time for its 100th birthday in 2024. The Tuggeranong Arts Centre would receive $2 million to upgrade its theatre.
Mr Ramsay also flagged a return to commissioning public art, but said a lot had been learned and the commissions would be more than sculptures.
"When we say public art, often what we've talked about is meaning concrete and metal and the assumption that public art is by definition a sculpture. We've actually learnt more and I think it's a more important thing for us to understand public art and how it is we engage with the community to engage with spaces," Mr Ramsay said.
Labor has also committed to employing an ACT government artist, who would work to engage with artists and the broader ACT government and public service. They would not be commissioned to produce work themselves.
"It's a really key, central role as we draw our arts focus together, our creative sector focus together, and also demonstrate very clearly that our artists are part of every single part of our life," Mr Ramsay said.
Mr Ramsay told the Sunday Canberra Times it would be best if the role was filled by an arts practitioner, but the precise job description was yet to be worked out.
"It's going to be very important that this person, if they are not currently a practising artist, they certainly will need very strong arts understanding and history, and may well be an arts practitioner themselves, and I think that would be the ideal," he said.
Mr Ramsay said Labor was committed to making sure the Kingston Arts Precinct complemented, rather than detracted from, current arts facilities.
"We know that the Kingston Arts Precinct itself will be better than the sum of all of the parts, and I think the other facilities that are there at the moment can then be considered by government as to how it is we continue the cultural and community use of those centres," he said.
He confirmed community radio station ArtSound FM had decided not to move to Kingston and would stay at the Manuka Arts Centre.
Mr Ramsay said a promised review of arts organisation funding would be finished by the end of 2021, which would flow into a creative industries policy, covering arts, events and tourism. The ACT government under Labor has spent at least $10 million a year for four years on arts funding.
"The creative industries policy, as it draws together arts and culture, and events and tourism, business innovation, thinks things through both from a professional and business perspective in the arts," he said.
The Greens have announced they would implement quotas for local artists and government-supported events, a move Mr Ramsay said was "a headline waiting for a problem" because there was already good engagement with local artists.
"I'm always, always keen to ensure we foster our local artists. One of the impacts of drawing things together in a creative industries policy is that it draws very clearly together our artists, our events, our tourism, our business, fostering all of those together. I think that's very important," Mr Ramsay said.
Mr Ramsay said artsACT and the minister's creative council, established in 2018, had proven to be effective bodies in informing and managing arts policy.
He said the reviewed arts funding model needed to make clear to potential recipients what was available and what kind of projects could be funded.
"We know and we've acknowledged in the work with our arts organisations that there's more work for us to do to clarify how all of it works. We're really pleased to work with our artists, with our arts organisations, to make sure the new funding model is very clear, very simple and continues to work through for the benefit of the artists," Mr Ramsay said.
At an election policy forum last month, Liberals arts spokeswoman Vicki Dunne, due to retire from the assembly at the election, said the arts had been ignored under Labor.
"There has been poor policy or no policy as the policy has not been updated or rewritten since 2015, and we believe that the arts policy needs to be a very living document," Mrs Dunne said.
But Mr Ramsay said the Liberals had been "noticeably absent over the last four years in the area of arts".
"We still have no idea who their arts spokesman is, other than someone who won't be in the role after the election," he said.
"What we have in the ACT over the past four years has been record funding in the arts. We've completed stage two of the Belconnen Arts Centre, we've established the minister's creative council, we've provided nearly $6 million in nation-leading work around COVID time.
"Other jurisdictions have looked to the ACT as the lead jurisdiction in terms of its speed, its flexibility and in ensuring the funding has gone straight to the artists."