Stimulating innovation for wider creative impact
Polyglot Theatre and Suitcase Royale Separation Street (2015). Photo: Greta Costello
Creativity is not limited to the creative industries. It has major impact when used in other parts of our economy and society.
Creative, cultural and artistic experiences and skills have a valuable place in mainstream healthcare to reduce stress, pain and anxiety and to improve community wellbeing. In education, they can deliver better academic results, higher motivation and attendance, and greater resilience.
Game technology and ideas, or gamification, has been used in Victoria to deliver novel approaches in police training, to reduce obesity and for injury rehabilitation. Community arts projects have achieved a reduction in recidivism rates of 50 per cent.
The application of creative services and cultural experience has enormous potential to deliver wide-reaching social outcomes for Victorians but has suffered from lack of investment and co-ordination. More needs to be done across different social policy areas and with different parts of government to demonstrate impact and encourage investment.
Creativity is also an under-utilised resource for Victorian businesses. As the basis of innovation, creativity can drive productivity, economic growth and job creation. The more innovative a business, the more likely it is to export, create jobs, train employees and turn a higher profit.
Design is one of the tools that help businesses to improve processes, products and services, and to compete internationally. Existing government programs support the design sector and also help to build business capability and increase innovation across different industries. More can be done to promote the benefits of design and expand its application to make Victorian businesses more competitive.
The government established Creative Victoria to drive this agenda in a more dedicated and coordinated way. This will see the impact of creativity pushed further.
Learn about the progress of Creative State Actions 15-19, worth $14.05 million over four years, to see how we are broadening the application of creative services, products and content to achieve social and economic benefits.
Cultural and creative services and products deliver a range of social benefits. This action will increase the number of projects that apply the services and expertise of creative industry organisations towards social goals. Projects will be developed in partnership with other areas of government (such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Premier and Cabinet, and Justice and Regulation), social delivery NGOs, and philanthropic organisations.
Four significant social impact initiatives were developed during 2016-17 including those identified in Creative State involving Mushroom Group and Prahran Mission, and new partnerships with the Department of Premier and Cabinet and VicHealth.
These pilot projects involved the application of creative industry expertise in film, music and gamification to address social issues relating to youth, social cohesion, homophobia and mental health.
In May 2017, Creative Victoria brought together a range of stakeholders for an intensive co-design workshop. The workshop generated new ideas and creative approaches to addressing social issues, as well as ways to demonstrate impact and encourage partnerships and investment.
This work led to the launch of two new programs:
- Future Makers for Change, which supports teams, comprising both creative and social delivery partners, to develop new projects that address a specified social issue through the application of creative services. Funding of up to $300,000 is available to develop, test and scale an idea over a two-year period.
- Evaluation Exchange provides existing creative social impact projects with free access to evaluation experts who will provide guidance and hands-on support for evaluation and measurement and help build the capacity of the project team.
The first round of Future Makers for Change projects was announced in June 2018, with Creative Victoria support leveraging significant funding from other Victorian Government departments and agencies including VicHealth, Office of Prevention and Women’s Equality and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
The nine supported projects focus on addressing issues such as violence, gender equality, social cohesion and mental health, and include:
- A major public art initiative and youth mental health awareness campaign.
- A digital art, augmented reality and technology initiative that aims to tackle family violence in The Pines, Frankston North through building confidence, agency and skills in young women aged 12-15.
- The creation of a new artistic, social and civic space to be installed in public parks in Bendigo and Castlemaine to be designed, programmed and operated by members of the local South Sudanese, Karen and Afghan Refugee communities.
- A filmmaking project that addresses the stigmatisation of young transgender people.
The Future Makers for Change projects, along with those supported through the Evaluation Exchange stream, will have access to an evaluation partner that will track their development and progress, and gather data about how the creative activity has created change in the community.
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A new program to support government, not-for-profit and community organisations to make service improvements and increase innovation and efficiency using design.
This action builds on the success of the Victorian Government's Design to Business (D2B), a design-led mentoring and business transformation program, and extends the opportunity to public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
The new Design to Thrive (D2T) program was launched in early 2018 to help Victorian not-for-profit and public sector organisations (and businesses - see Action 19) apply design-led thinking and practice to every aspect of their operations - from marketing to product or service design, business strategy to organisational culture - resulting in significant business outcomes.
Four Victorian not-for-profits have commenced the program to date, as well as 24 small-to-medium businesses.
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Creative Victoria will work with the Department of Education and Training to develop stronger creative and artistic capability in children and young people by helping schools embed arts and other creative programs in the curriculum. Consistent with the government's Education State policy, this collaborative approach will contribute to better student experience and outcomes.
Creative Victoria has launched a new Creative Learning Partnerships program to provide more ways for schools to partner with Victoria's creative sector to deliver significant creative education opportunities for students, and professional development for teachers. The program builds upon and expands previous school residency programs, like the long-running Artists in Schools program, and enables schools to work with individual practitioners or organisations across all creative disciplines, with the option of both physical and virtual residency models.
Creative Victoria has also partnered with the Department of Education and Training, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and other partners on a number of initiatives, including:
- The Virtual Creative Professionals in Schools pilot program, trialling innovative and effective ways of using technology to enable regional and remote schools to work with creative professionals on significant projects. This included producing video resources to support these virtual residencies. Six residencies have been embarked on to date, across a range of artforms and disciplines. For example at Swifts Creek P-12 School in the Tambo Valley in East Gippsland, Year 8-10 students worked with sculptor and sound artist Michael Prior to produce kinetic solar-powered sculptures for the school grounds. At Lismore Primary, a school with just 30 students, artist Glen Walton led an innovative and engaging music, technology and science project in which students created unique digital instruments.
- The Education in Games Summit, presented at ACMI as part of Melbourne International Games Week. In 2016, 122 educators attended the summit which provided insights and practical examples about using games, gaming thinking and techniques, to bring the curriculum to life. Another summit will take place during Melbourne International Games Week 2017 in late October.
- Great partnerships: How-to-Guide, an update of this valuable resource for partnerships between schools and creative professionals and organisations.
- Quarterly meetings of the Arts Agency Education and Learning Network, ensuring that our state-owned major arts institutions reflect best practice. Discussion topics have included: Child Safe Standards, the VCE Seasons of Excellence, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the new critical and creative thinking capability in the Victorian Curriculum.
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Creative Victoria will work with the Department of Education and Training, training institutions and potential employers to pave clearer pathways to creative careers and ensure the best industry-relevant information is readily available to students.
Through the Virtual Creative Professionals in Schools pilot program (also see Action 17), Creative Victoria has supported two projects with a focus on developing career pathways:
- A partnership between Horsham College and ACMI, providing secondary school students the opportunity to work with a range of screen industry professionals including storyboard writers, scriptwriters, film and video game animators.
- A partnership between Wodonga Flexible Learning Centre and APRA AMCOS to enable students who are disengaged from the mainstream school system to participate in Songmakers, an intensive, hands on mentoring program that prepares young people for a career in the music industry.
A second round of projects will roll out in 2017/18. Learnings from the pilot program, along with further consultation with the Department of Education and Training, education institutions and others, will help shape future opportunities.
A three-part professional development program, Music Under Wings, has been established to support career pathways in the music industry. Part of the Victorian Government's $22.2 million Music Works package, this includes:
- Live Music Professionals - a program to mentor up-and-coming venue operators and independent promoters, run through Music Victoria.
- Songwriter and composer professional and career development programs delivered in partnership with APRA AMCOS.
- A Music Pathways program, in partnership with The Push, which provides industry mentoring for 50 people a year.
In addition, ACMI, the NGV, Melbourne Museum and the Melbourne Recital Centre have all hosted VCE Season of Excellence events, showcasing the best works from the 2016 crop of VCE and VET students across visual art, filmmaking, performance, design and technology. These showcase events have been supported with talks and forums for current VCE students, including discussions on career pathways.
Also see Action 5 for dedicated professional development programs for the screen industry.
Installation view of Creating the Contemporary Chair: The Gordon Moffatt Gift at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of the inaugural Melbourne Design Week. Photo: Wayne Taylor
Reflecting the wide economic impact of design, this new package of actions will reshape and increase capability within and outside the design sector building on our strengths in this field:
Business design capability
New funding and refocusing for the Design to Business program to build business and organisational capability, making Victorian businesses better users of design and, therefore, more innovative, productive and internationally competitive.
This action builds on the success of Design to Business (D2B), a design-led mentoring and business transformation program, and extends the opportunity to more small to medium Victorian businesses, as well as public sector and not-for-profit organisations (see Action 16), positioning them for success.
The new Design to Thrive (D2T) program was launched in 2018 to help Victorian businesses apply design-led thinking and practice to every aspect of their operations, from marketing to product or service design, business strategy to organisational culture, resulting in significant business outcomes. Twenty-four Victorian businesses, and four not-for-profits, have commenced the program to date.
Design leadership and events
A coordinated approach to strengthening Victoria's global design reputation through delivery of, and participation in, significant local and international public and trade events. A re-vamped public design program in Melbourne will anchor the strategy. The Premier's Design Awards will run in parallel as a signature event.
- In May 2017, the Premier announced the selection of Melbourne as the 2018 partner city for Hong Kong Business of Design Week (BODW), one of the world's most important design events (see Actions 31 and 33). Participation in BODW as partner city in December 2018 put a strong spotlight on Victoria's design industry and talent and is expected to reap significant benefits for the state. It built on the relationship forged with Hong Kong BODW in 2016 and the strong Victorian presence at the 2016 and 2017 events.
- Creative Victoria has hosted international design delegations at key local events, such as the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne Design Week and AsiaTOPA (see Action 32).
- In August 2016, the NGV was awarded the contract to develop, manage and deliver the new Victorian Public Design program over four years. Designed to celebrate, strengthen and promote Victorian design, this program offers a curated year-round calendar of events for the design industry, students, businesses and the broader public, culminating in a new Melbourne Design Week each March.
- Melbourne Design Week was first held in 2017, developed and presented by the NGV in collaboration with the design industry. It ran from 16-26 March 2017, with over 130 events responding to the theme 'Design Values'. After another successful event in 2018, Melbourne Design Week 2019 will be the biggest to date and will extend for the first time to Geelong, Australia's only UNESCO City of Design.
- In 2016 the Victorian Premier's Design Awards were expanded to include two new award categories – Fashion Design (including apparel and accessories) and Student Design. In 2018, a further VCE Product Design Student category was introduced.
- Support was provided for a special expanded program at Open House Melbourne 2017 – celebrating the event's 10th anniversary.
- Support was also provided for the Living Forum presented by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Open House, in collaboration with other industry partners, in 2017 and 2018..
MPavilion
New funding to support the annual design and architecture installation. MPavilion, an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, delivered in partnership with the City of Melbourne and the design sector, includes a public program of talks, seminars, exhibitions, workshops and other activities to promote the benefits of design.
Victorian Government funding totalling $1.4 million has been allocated to support MPavilion for four years (2016-2019).
Each Pavilion is designed by a world renowned architect and hosts an extensive program of free events over the spring/summer period. At the conclusion of their season in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens, each Pavilion is relocated to a permanent home in Victoria.
Creative design and planning
Creative Victoria will work with the Victorian Government Architect and relevant government departments on a set of guidelines to assist state and local governments, developers, arts organisations and community groups to apply sound architectural and design principles. This work will contribute to the improvement of streetscapes, renewal of public, community and internal spaces and a stronger commitment to the integration of art into new developments.
The Office of the Victorian Government Architect is reviewing and updating its resources in collaboration with Creative Victoria.
In 2018, a new planning scheme amendment was introduced for the Melbourne Arts Precinct in Southbank to maintain and enhance the character of the precinct and to support the growth of creative industries spaces and activity, particularly at street level.