Kaya from the CEO - Dr Pilar Kasat's April Update

Regional Arts WA

As autumn settles across our state, we’ve been having conversations that matter. On March 7th at the Margaret River HEART, we gathered to explore the intersection of art and climate change, and later in the month, the dialogue continued in Albany, where 60 community members filled the Town Hall, their voices united in the belief that art can drive positive change.

The Albany event spotlighted the Southern Edge Arts’ (SEA) innovative ‘Traps and Ladders’, drawing inspiration from the restoration of the Miaritch Oyster Harbour. You can watch the panel discussion here.

Building Stronger Foundations

Our commitment to sector development launched strongly with our first Governance webinar on April 7th for Regional Arts Network members. The well-attended session covered essential topics including Board Roles, Responsibilities, and Financial Sustainability for not-for-profits.

Supporting Regional Artists

The recent release of ‘Visual Arts Work: Key Research Findings, Implications and Proposed Actions’ by RMIT and the University of Melbourne has sparked a crucial conversation about the sustainability of artistic careers. As reported by ABC News, Artshub, and NAVA, artist incomes have plummeted to historic lows—placing the future of creative careers and the sector at risk.

This should be of major interest to the Australian Government, given the National Cultural Policy ‘Revive’ recognises the importance of supporting artists as workers through its key pillar ‘Centrality of the Artist’ – ensuring creative talent is nurtured through fair remuneration and sustainable career pathways. Hopefully discussions are taking place throughout the country on how this trend can be reversed.

Artists, how do you feel about income and sustainability in your practice? Please share your experiences through our survey to help us better understand the realities of artist income in WA and join the broader conversation about sustainability in the arts. Complete our survey here.

Weaving Stories Together

The Social Fabric Equity Project kicked off with workshops in Esperance, marking another step in our commitment to fostering inclusive and sustainable creative communities.

Social Fabric aims to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities across Goldfields-Esperance, a vast region covering 770,488 sq km – three times the size of Victoria. The program specifically addresses the challenges of participation faced by First Nations people and multicultural communities. Social Fabric will work towards creating locally relevant, culturally safe, and inclusive models of engagement within the regional WA arts and culture sector.

While I could continue to regale you with more statistics about artist incomes and fill your time with the importance of diversity frameworks (and trust me, I have a lot to say!), I’ll sign off for this month and hope you feel inspired to keep pushing boundaries and make connections that count.

Until next month,

Pilar Kasat