Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697634314606.pdf (Australia)
22 October 2020 Committee Secretary Senate Committee on Australia’s Creative and Cultural Industries Department of the Senate PO Box 6021 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Inquiry into Creative and Cultural Industries and Institutions Submission from: Fairfield City Council 1 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.

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THE IMPACT OF FAIRFIELD’S CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ON ENHANCING COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL WELLBEING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON FAIRFIELD CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AVENUES FOR INCREASING ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAIRFIELD THROUGH INNOVATION AND DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS 4.
CONCLUSION 3 6 7 8 2 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 1 The impact of Fairfield’s creative industries on enhancing community and social wellbeing This section addresses the following Terms of Reference as part of the Inquiry:  The non-economic benefits that enhance community, social wellbeing and promoting Australia's national identity, and how to recognise, measure and grow them The Fairfield Local Government Area (LGA) is an area with high social needs, with a resilient Aboriginal, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and refugee community.
Fairfield is widely recognised as one of the most diverse communities in Australia with a large Vietnamese, Iraqi and Cambodian community.

Fairfield has a total population of 211,695; almost 54% of our population was born overseas, and 52% were from countries where English was not their first language.

Additionally, Fairfield will see a projected increase in population to 245,148 people by 2036.

In 2016 and 2017, Fairfield LGA received the highest number of humanitarian entrants since the 1990s.
Most recently receiving a large influx of people from Iraq, Vietnam and Syria.

According to Australian Government settlement reporting data, 9,123 humanitarian entrants initially settled in the Fairfield LGA between 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017.

This comprises approximately 50% of the humanitarian entrants to NSW in this time-period and approximately 20% of the national intake.
As such, due to the rich and unique cultural and linguistic diversity of the people of Fairfield City, the potential creative output of Fairfield is significant, encompassing a diversity of cultural and arts practices not found in other areas of Australia.

Fairfield is home to groups actively practicing their artistic cultural traditions.
For example, Guntawang Aboriginal Women’s weaving and arts group; Al-Muntada’s Iraqi folkloric music; the Mandean Women’s Union’s cultural exhibition; the Peacemakers Ensemble’s Mesopotamian-led community choir by and for refugees; the Cambodian Living Arts Association’s traditional dance and music workshops; the Uygher community’s cultural celebrations; and the Assyrian community’s music and dance.
3 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 In Fairfield, creative and cultural organisations deliver programs at the intersection of arts and social wellbeing endeavouring to make long-term impact.

However, current one-off funding models destabilises this vision for communities they serve.
Our organisations are committed to delivering programs through partnerships with caseworkers and social service organisations to address a wide range of socio- economic and cultural needs.

Council recognises this expertise in our creative and cultural communities, thereby offering two arts and culture grant programs.

The Social Change through Creativity Grants Program prioritises community and cultural development projects, coupled with workshops and mentoring opportunities.
The newly released Arts and Culture Grants prioritise the production of new artistic work, and community arts events.

Projects delivered in the LGA include theatre programs at Intensive English Centres (IEC) by Powerhouse Youth Theatre Fairfield, digital storytelling workshops with migrant women, poetry slam workshops with survivors of domestic violence, and a range of other programs linked to addressing social isolation and mental health.
Creative and cultural organisations do this work in addition to producing work of artistic excellence.

The cultural sector in Fairfield is strongly positioned to devise strategies to address complex socio-economic needs through arts-based programs.

This expertise needs to be recognised, resourced and measured appropriately.

Resources need to align with the projected population growth and demographic characteristics in Fairfield City.
At present, available arts funding primarily supports one-off projects, and this is destabilising for the communities whose social needs are dependent on creative programs.

This year, both the Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (FCMG), and local arts organisation and multi-lingual bookstore Lost in Books were unable to attain state government funding to sustain their programs.

Lost in Books is an essential organisation providing a safe space for women and children in Fairfield.
Their multi-lingual storytelling, literacy and music programs offers safety and addresses gender disparities.

They also act as a referral service for women experiencing domestic violence, and are a key stakeholder for digital access and inclusion in our LGA.

4 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 The FCMG has always been responsive to community need.

Their exhibitions prioritises relevance and connection with our communities.
Some examples include featuring Fairfield-New York based artist Matt Huynh’s works on the Vietnamese diaspora in Cabramatta, and Solastalgia: Mawa Ngurra featuring First Nations artists responding to environmental impacts.

Their practice challenges current audience development methodology moving into authentic community engagement.
The FCMG has also won multiple IMAGinE Museum and Gallery Awards, provided pathways to employment and built capacity of the creative community in an area with high un/underemployment.

The creative industries also has a major role in the night-time economy, community life and increasing health and safety.

Accessible passive and active community activities in the public domain allow for positive community involvement.
Using arts- based preventative strategies result in social, environmental, health and economic benefits.

This can be seen from Council’s annual Cabramatta Moon Festival, FLAME (Fairfield Live Art, Music and Eats) festival and Women of Fairfield events.
It is recommended that the Federal Government supports and recognises the expertise that Fairfield and Greater Western Sydney’s creative and cultural industries have on community and social wellbeing by:  Devising a targeted strategy outlining key priorities, performance indicators and measures in the area of social wellbeing, community cultural development and the arts.
The strategy is best developed by spearheading a working group with community, cultural organisations and community members with expertise in the area  Recognising that socio-economic needs can only be addressed through long- term programs.

Hence, it is imperative that Federal and State governments prioritise sustainable multi-year funding for organisations in Fairfield and Greater Western Sydney for stronger community impact.
5 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 2 The impact of COVID-19 on Fairfield’s Creative and Cultural Industries This section addresses the following Terms of Reference as part of the Inquiry:  The impact of COVID-19 on the creative and cultural industries On 28 May 2020, Western Sydney based arts organisations collectively released a letter titled, “Western Sydney arts sector responds to NSW government stimulus package for the arts” in response to the $50 million package for NSW arts and culture.
From the letter, we know that the sector has lost 60-100% of self-generated income from ticket sales, events, festivals, programs, hospitality and venue hire.

Organisations in Fairfield provide creative employment pathways, capacity building initiatives, skills and training in an area with higher unemployment.

Eighty one percent of artists are freelance workers piecing together arts-related projects with non-arts related work, and many are ineligible for JobKeeper payments.
Due to current funding structures, artists and arts workers are often employed on a contract basis or in positions that are grant dependent.

More than ever, the sector will need extra support to revive and stabilise.

It is also important to emphasise that along with this, cultural infrastructure facilitates stability and drives economic impact through secure job creation.

It also facilitates collaboration, partnerships, resource sharing and creative production.
At present, Fairfield LGA has a population of 211,695 with only two 400m2 district level arts spaces, falling behind on the current benchmark for a major regional civic and performance space of 2000m2 to 4000m2 for a population of 100,000 to 150,000 people.

Fairfield still has no regional (50,000 and over) major civic and performance space or maker space to accommodate the increase in population of 245,148 people by 2036.
It is recommended that the Federal and State Government consider:  Stronger investment in cultural infrastructure and multi-year funding for cultural and creative organisations who support creatives and cultural workers who will 6 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 be at the forefront of bringing life back into the city to boost tourism and hospitality.
3 Avenues for increasing access and opportunities for Fairfield through innovation and digital environments This section addresses the following Terms of Reference as part of the Inquiry:  Avenues for increasing access and opportunities for Australia's creative and cultural industries through innovation and the digital environment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital literacy divide became more apparent.
Refugee and CALD led community organisations and associations in Fairfield City struggled to adapt to the new way of working during social distancing restrictions imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Many community organisations and associations have not been able to use online platforms to continue providing services to their community members.

Fairfield City Council has identified digital literacy as a barrier for refugee and CALD led organisations during the pandemic.
This is because some organisations did not have capacity to make the sudden shift to online and remote working arrangements.

There is a need for the establishment of multicultural digital learning hubs where communities can build their capacity in community building through an online environment, and communicate across a range of digital media.

Additionally, access to public wifi will need to be prioritised as 1 in 5 people in Fairfield do not have internet access.
In this time, a collaboration between arts organisations such as Think+Do Tank Foundation (Lost in Books), Story Factory and digital media and filmmaking organisation CuriousWorks worked alongside social service organisations to deliver Wester’ly - a digital inclusion project for Western Sydney.

These arts organisations were positioned to assist and lead on digital inclusion from their innovative work spanning film and storytelling to augmented and virtual reality.
Wester’ly is a coalition of organisations working on digital education, digital tech support, pulling local resources, data and internet access as well as access to hardware and software.

Due to the needs of our communities, supporting the creative, media and digital industry 7 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208 results in a multiplicity of positive impacts that are both social and artistic for the wider community.
It is recommended that the Federal and State Government consider:  Supporting and prioritising sustainable funding for arts and creative based organisations leading digital innovation practices in Fairfield and Greater Western Sydney  Work in partnership with Greater Western Sydney digital media and arts organisations to deliver innovative and accessible digital inclusion programs  Acknowledging the strength of digital media and filmmaking in Fairfield by providing higher education pathways in digital media.
This can be done by brokering TAFE and/or higher education tertiary programs in film and digital media in Fairfield to nurture talented community minded filmmakers in our area 4 Conclusion We recommend that Federal and State governments recognise the cultural assets and the specialised skills cultural workers and artists in Fairfield and Greater Western Sydney bring to the arts sector.
Council recognises this expertise, thereby offering a specialised Community Arts and Cultural Development capacity building and grants program.

There is a depth and richness in our communities’ cultural and artistic practices not found in other areas of Australia.

This diversity of thought and lived experience pushes the boundaries of what mainstream arts practice is in Australia.
It facilitates different ways of seeing, doing and creating work that moves beyond audience engagement and into community-centred and community-serving artistic practice.

With the projected growth in Greater Western Sydney, it is imperative that a multipronged approach be used to support Fairfield’s creative sector in harnessing its strengths, and serving the wider community.

8 Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutionsSubmission 208