The 2017-18 Victorian Budget includes $106.6 million in new funding for the creative industries, including a significant investment in infrastructure and the state's creative and cultural offering.
The National Gallery of Victoria will receive $28.7 million to continue its wildly successful Summer Program, which over the last four years has attracted more than 5 million visitors, including record numbers of tourists.
The record-breaking 2015-16 summer exhibition Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei alone generated $25.1 million for Victoria. The funding will also support the development of the gallery's permanent exhibitions and the management of the state collection, comprising 73,000 artworks.
$40 million will support major maintenance works and behind-the-scenes upgrades at Arts Centre Melbourne, including replacing the State Theatre's decades old flying system, critical to the staging of 200 performances each year. Security systems and other core infrastructure will also be upgraded.
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), the busiest film cultural centre in the world, will receive $5 million for the first stage of its redevelopment. In addition to developing designs for a major physical and technological overhaul of the Federation Square attraction, ACMI will also improve the current Flinders Street entrance.
Also for our screen sector, $10.7 million will go to supporting Australia's largest and longest running film festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and a diverse array of other film festivals across the state.
Melbourne's position as Australia's music capital will also be boosted with $250,000 for a major international music convention, and with the creation of the Australian Music Vault at Arts Centre Melbourne, a $10 million national hall of fame celebrating Australian music.
The Budget also includes $5 million for the revitalisation of historic spaces, including the Russell Street precinct, as part of State Library Victoria's Vision 2020 redevelopment; $6.7 million for ongoing maintenance at Victoria's state-owned cultural institutions, and support for the establishment of an Australian-first creative industries podcasting facility at the Wheeler Centre.