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Resources

Council Arts and Culture Policies 

Councils Cultural Plans or Policies

Balonne Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Development Policy
Banana Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
Barcaldine Regional Council – draft
Barcoo Shire Council – Art and Cultural Policy
Blackall-Tambo Regional Council – Art and Cultural Policy
Cairns Regional Council – Cultural Plan 2009-2014
Carpentaria Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Development Policy
Cloncurry Shire Council – draft
Cook Shire Council – Cultural Policy 2010-2013
Etheridge Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
Gold Coast City Council – Cultural Development Policy
Gympie Regional Council – Arts and Culture Policy
Ipswich City Council – Cultural Policy for Ipswich
Lockyer Valley Regional Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
Logan City Council – Cultural Development Policy
Longreach Regional Council – Cultural Plan 2011-2015
Mackay Regional Council – Cultural Plan 2011-2015
Maranoa Regional Council – Arts and Culture Policy
Moreton Bay Regional Council – retained pre-amalgamation Redcliffe Cultural Policy
North Burnett Regional Council – 2010-2013 Strategy and Policy
Redland City Council – Cultural Plan 2008-2018
Richmond Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
Scenic Rim Regional Council –Arts and Culture Policy
Somerset Regional Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
South Burnett Regional Council – draft 
Sunshine Coast Regional Council – Creative Communities Discussion Paper 2010-2015
Tablelands Regional Council – 2010-2012 Plan
Toowoomba Regional Council – Arts and Cultural Policy
Townsville City Council – Cultural Plan
Western Downs Regional Council – Arts and Cultural Policy 
Winton Shire Council – Arts and Cultural Policy 2009 

Public Art Policies

Banana Shire Council – Art Collection Policy
Brisbane City Council – Art in Public Places
Moreton Bay Regional Council – retained pre-amalgamation Pine Rivers Public Art Policy 
Sunshine Coast Regional Council – Public Art Policy
Townsville City Council – Public Art Policy

Resources for writing plans and policies

Guidelines for writing an arts and culture policy 
Guidelines for writing arts and culture plans
Arts and Culture Policy and Planning Model

Research

Copyright

  • find out about artist and writers copyright through the Australian Copyright Council (e.g. copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, styles, techniques or information).

Research

The following links may be of interest to you.

Websites of interest

Candy Chang – Making cities more comfortable for people
2 types of creative genius
Strategies for a strong town
Richard Florida's blog
Read The Art of the Possible in the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA) Digital Journal.
 

Promotion

Promoting arts and culture

Don't underestimate the need to promote your project. The more you promote, the more arts and culture will be seen, recognised and valued as a major contributor of community expression, sense of place and whole-of-community wellbeing. If you have any resources that would help your colleagues, please share them on this site.

See also - Artslink

Avenues of Promotion

  • Media Release
  • Direct media contact – subject to council protocol (e.g. utilise the enthusiasm of a media cadet to maximise reporting and feature opportunities)
  • Advertising
  • Posters
  • Flyers
  • Direct mail ( e.g. invitations)
  • Council website
  • Council newsletters and bulletins (e-news)
  • Other organisations – newsletters and websites
  • Interviews - subject to protocol (e.g. press, radio, or regional television)
  • Feature in regional quarterly tourist newspaper or equivalent

Running a successful event

How to organise special events in Queensland (provided by Queensland Events)

Working with the media

1. Select the right person to speak to the media (in line with council protocol) – not everyone is a born public speaker.  The most effective speaker may be the one with the greatest knowledge combined with the right communication skills.  The public are more likely to view the story as authentic if it is conveyed by someone with enthusiasm and an understanding of the subject.
 

2. Tips for writing media releases (even if you have a media department, write a brief using the following tips):

  • The heading draws in the media – make it eye catching
  • The first sentence should have who, what , when, where
  • Build up the how and why of your story in the main section. Ask yourself the following questions: what will attract people to this activity/event/workshop? what is of interest to the community? what makes it a newsworthy story? 
  • Use quotes from the mayor or councillor
  • Put the most important information in the first three paragraphs – stories are edited from the bottom up (e.g. is there any funding that will benefit the community?)
  • Keep the media release short (around one page)
  • Use short descriptive sentences – every word counts
  • If you know the story then tell the story – you can help keep the promotion on track with the story emphasis you want

3. Tips for writing adverts, posters, flyers and invitations

  • Don't get carried away with too many words
  • Ask - "what do I want the reader to do"? -  to attend a show, purchase a ticket or product, tell others?
  • Make your intention clear - don't hide it with small print and poor font colour
  • Don't use too many fonts - two is enough otherwise it will look confusing
  • Avoid black writing on a red background (and visa versa) - reproduced in greyscale red prints black
  • Make the overall affect eye catching - a picture tells a thousand words
  • Check you have copywrite for the use of an image - you may need to contact the artist
  • Be creative - it's arts and culture after all!

Developing effective promotions

Maximise every opportunity to promote arts and culture.  Look for milestones such as:

  • Announcement of concept
  • Success in achieving government funding, sponsorship
  • Selection of artist (lead actor or performer)
  • Publicity angle – think creatively to stage a publicity opportunity to grab media attention
     street performance
     community preview or involvement
     special item (e.g. number of beads sewn onto a costume)
     look for photo opportunities

Regional opportunities

Queensland Music Festival – reaching out to remote and regional Queensland 
A biennial state-wide 17 day celebration of music featuring the best of local, national and international talent. QMF provides full artistic, technical and production support for each project, bringing professional artists and crew to work with the community. Council partners and communities support each project through cash and in-kind support from council and local business, and participation and volunteer support from community members. Many of the events are free for the community.

View the 8 minute 2009 Festival Highlights Video 

Grants Tools

Resources to assist in preparing applications

Tips for preparing grant applications - arts out west   
Guide to Writing Grant Applications - Regional Arts NSW 
Artslink  - an online resource of practical tools and templates, information and ideas to take some of the 'hard yakka' out of developing community arts.  

Organisations offering grant writing workshops

Arts Nexus
Youth Arts Queensland
Grant Ready
Arts Queensland – RADF Register of Training Providers and Consultants

Sector Newsletters

Newsletters

Cairns Artful-e - Issue 28.00

Creative Recovery Arts Corps

Creative Regions - Thrive e-Bulletin 

SCAN - Sunshine Coast Arts News - Latest Edition

Learning and Development

Museum Resource Centre Network

The Museum Resource Centre Network is a partnership between the Queensland Museum, Queensland Government, Local Councils and community museums and Indigenous Keeping Places.
The network, which consists of six museum development officers, is there to assist councils with cultural heritage collections.  Find out more about this professional resource network.

Museum and Gallery Services Queensland

The MGSA promotes, supports and provides services to foster excellence in museums, galleries and keeping places. Their charter is to ensure a future where museums, galleries and keeping places are relevant, accessible and valued by their communities.They offer a range of programs and services in: information and advice; training and professional development; exhibition development and touring, and promotion. Museum and Gallery Services Queensland is a non-profit company, limited by guarantee, and jointly owned by the Regional Galleries Association of Queensland Inc and Museums Australia Inc (Qld Branch)

Skilling up the arts

Creative Industries Skills Council offers a range of courses for the arts.