The 2019 theme, cross-sector partnerships and engagement positioned the arts and creative industries as essential within the contemporary regional landscape. Geographic diversity and locational politics are vitally important conversations of upmost significance and are integral to this narrative.

The arts provide unique expressions of community. They are firmly rooted in the local environment, and through participation in cultural life enrich both the individual and communities. It is precisely this relationship between the economic, the social and cultural, the ideological and the political that is paramount to understanding arts and creative industries in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Media coverage:

• Talking to politicians about art - Visual Arts Hub
• Arts Minister Fletcher tackles six timely questions - Arts Hub