Page 2862 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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some paid or unpaid work in culture and leisure activities, with 9,000 adults undertaking volunteer work in an arts or heritage organisation. These figures are supported by our key arts organisations, which in 2013 reported a total volunteer work contribution of more than 17,000 hours.
Canberra’s visual art scene remains first class. Beyond the national cultural icons such as the National Gallery, the National Museum and the National Library, there is a wonderful network of local galleries including the Canberra Glassworks, Craft ACT, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Megalo, M16 and PhotoAccess.
Collectively, hundreds of artists create and exhibit their work and thousands of patrons visit these galleries each year. These organisations are especially important in linking the ACT community with its cultural output, in defining our identity, telling our own stories and finding opportunities for us to listen and reflect upon our common experiences as Canberrans.
Similarly, the performing arts scene is also thriving. Organisations including the Canberra Theatre Centre, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the Street Theatre present a diverse range of performances where tens of thousands of patrons attend every year.
However, it is not just the professional end of the spectrum that is supported here in the ACT. To gain a full appreciation of the work of the theatre sector, the wonderful community and amateur theatre scene in Canberra is also very significant for participants and audiences. This area of practice develops theatre practitioners, creating a rich list of Canberra artists and theatre technicians alike appearing on or behind stages across Australia and internationally, and remains a notable achievement of the facilities and support that this government gives to the arts.
Overall, this paints a strong picture of how the ACT community participates in the many opportunities provided and how the arts can enrich our daily lives. Continued support to our artists and arts organisations underpins this participation. Government has a strong track record in providing significant arts funding and support for a range of arts facilities. The government is committed to ensuring that the ACT is known for its great art and artists and that it is recognised nationally. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (5.31): This is a welcome motion, and I thank Ms Berry for putting it on the notice paper. A lot of what she says is true. The ACT community is strongly engaged with the arts and cultural activities. I notice that she has quoted from the ACT arts policy framework in a number of parts of the motion—part (b), part (g) and some of the others. It is an impressive list of statistics and something we all should be quite proud of.
Access to the arts, which is very strong in the ACT, and the fact that we have got access to the national collecting institutions, which we can get to so readily and so easily, really boost what happens in the ACT, but it really is about what we do with it and where we take it. Having sat with Ms Berry and Mrs Jones on the estimates
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