What this means
We are ensuring all South Australians have opportunities to experience, participate in and benefit from artistic, cultural and creative expression.
How we are delivering this
1.1 Prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural leadership and knowledge
What this means
CreateSA will strengthen its support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy through new initiatives, partnerships and targeted funding.
What we're doing
For the first, time, a dedicated Aboriginal leadership team has been established within CreateSA, strengthening delivery of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy for South Australia.
Key initiatives underway through this Strategy include:
- First Nations Emerging Playwright Fellowship (Brink Productions)
- First Nations Dance Program (The Mill)
- First Nations Board, Governance and Leadership Workshop (Institute of Community Directors Australia)
- Emerging First Nations Creative Program (Carclew)
- First Nations National Producers Platform Program (Performing Lines)
- First Nations performances at Adelaide Fringe, including at Gluttony
- Supported Carclew’s Blak Nite, a celebration of First Nations music, performance and culture.
Expressions of interest to join the 2026 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Advisory Panel were open from March-May 2026, with the panel set to formerly convene from July 2026. The panel provides advice on the delivery of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy, A Place to Create, and other areas of strategic priority for CreateSA.
Delivery status
Completed
What this means
The South Australian Government will provide funding to enable National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Tandanya to reopen to the community.
What we're doing
Building works at the Grenfell Street building that houses Tandanya are now complete and Tandanya has reopened to the community.
CreateSA continues to support Tandanya through annual operational funding for its programs and activities.
Delivery status
Completed
What this means
CreateSA will provide funding opportunities to Aboriginal-controlled arts and cultural organisations and creative businesses to support the establishment and development of emerging and new initiatives, programs, and opportunities that foster sector growth.
What we're doing
CreateSA has funded Iwiri Aboriginal Corporation to support its emerging art studio program.
Iwiri Art Studio was established in 2021 to create a space for artistic expression that promotes cultural retention, transmission and wellbeing while also providing Aṉangu artists with commercial opportunities to produce economic benefit for their family and community.
Further programming is planned for 2026-27 to expand this initiative.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
CreateSA's Aboriginal Arts team will regularly engage with Creative Australia to represent South Australia's Aboriginal arts sector on a national level.
What we're doing
CreateSA continues to work with Creative Australia's First Nations team to strengthen the strategic partnership, building a deeper understanding and enabling stronger alignment with the national priorities set by Creative Australia’s First Nations Board.
Delivery status
On Track
1.2 Enlivening regional culture
What this means
CreateSA will support Country Arts SA to extend its programs that sustain the creative careers of artists and arts workers across the state.
What we're doing
CreateSA has funded Country Arts SA to support the continuation of a capacity-building program for Aboriginal artists and cultural workers embedded in the Kumarangk project.
Kumarangk is an intergenerational creative work led by Ngarrindjeri artists. Centred on an exhibition honouring Ngarrindjeri mi:minar (women), the project recognises those who protected culture and Country during the Hindmarsh Island bridge campaign.
Outcomes of this project will be presented at Tarnanthi, Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Film Festival.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
Country Arts SA will expand its existing arts and cultural programs to include experiences that engage local artists, arts companies, organisations, and independent practitioners.
What we're doing
CreateSA has provided funding to Country Arts SA for the commencement of a 10-year regional initiative that will consider opportunities focussed in Barngarla/Whyalla and surrounds.
This initiative puts First Nations artists as a priority and is community led, working with local artists and companies, as well as organisations and independent artists from across the South Australian arts, culture and creative industries.
The first program includes a career pathways program for regional students and will be delivered through workshops, technical forums and work experience opportunities for upper-secondary students.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
CreateSA will support access and participation initiatives in regional South Australia.
What we're doing
CreateSA supported Australian Dance Theatre (ADT)’s 60th anniversary tour, including regional performances and exhibitions that celebrated the company's rich history and its impact on contemporary dance. This included performances of ADT’s Artistic Director Daniel Riley’s work Marrow in Galinyala/Port Lincoln.
The Regional and Remote Music Summit will be held in Berrin/Mount Gambier from 28 to 30 October 2026. Presented by MusicSA, this year’s Summit will put regional and remote voices front and centre and celebrate the vital role music plays in building and sustaining vibrant communities. The Summit is supported by CreateSA’s Music Development Office and Music Australia.
The Music Development Office’s Project Support Grants program supported regional festival activity including Space Jams held on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Daybed Records’ Live at Lincoln event on the Eyre Peninsula.
In 2024-25, 36 grants were made to regionally based applicants and/or for funded activity taking place in regional South Australia through the Arts and Culture Grants Program. These supported a broad range of regionally focused and community-driven initiatives, with a strong emphasis on First Nations leadership, artistic collaboration, youth engagement, and the development of diverse cultural voices across South Australia.
Delivery status
On Track
1.3 Increasing access to and participation in arts, culture and creative experiences
What this means
Carclew and Department for Education will continue to deliver Carclew's Strategic Plan 2024-2028, and Department for Education’s Strategy for Public Education.
What we're doing
Carclew continues to deliver this action through its Strategic Plan 2024-2028, which seeks to elevate the youth arts sector, amplify children’s voices and provide opportunities for safe creative expression, access to audience experiences and career development pathways.
Recent highlights of Carclew’s Strategic Plan include:
- Music Programs: Strengthening young people’s confidence, skills and industry connections through songwriting, recording, mentoring and live performance pathways.
- Artists in Schools: Connecting students and teachers with professional artists, supporting creative learning, engagement and access to high-quality arts experiences.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
The Sports Voucher Plus program is delivered by the South Australian Government’s Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing. In 2025, this program was expanded to include music and dance.
What we're doing
In March 2026, the Government announced it would expand the current Sports Voucher Plus program to include all 16- to 18-year-olds for the first time, providing more opportunities for young people to get active and connected with the community.
From 1 January 2027, two $100 vouchers will become available for all South Australian children and young people aged five to 18 years old.
Delivery status
Completed
What this means
CreateSA will research access programs being delivered through South Australia’s cultural institutions and arts organisations.
CreateSA will partner with relevant organisations to deliver training that supports this action.
What we're doing
CreateSA is researching opportunities to highlight inclusion and access programs delivered through cultural institutions and arts organisations including programs that support low income and low socio-economic groups, LGBTIQ+ and regional and remote communities. The final report will inform CreateSA's future policy decisions.
CreateSA is partnering with the Office for Autism and Access2Arts (a disability-led arts development agency and peak body for arts and disability in South Australia) to deliver free arts and disability training alongside autism awareness training for the creative sector. Over 90 stakeholders have attended so far, with two more sessions to be held in 2026.
CreateSA also provides funding to Access2Arts through its Arts Organisations Program.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
CreateSA will develop a set of equity plans for use by the sector.
What we're doing
CreateSA will fund Access2Arts to develop practical equity plans for small to medium arts organisations.
As many organisations lack the resources, knowledge and lived-experience guidance required to embed disability inclusion in meaningful, sustainable ways, his program addresses that gap by shifting the focus from aspiration to implementation, and from isolated access actions to systemic organisational change.
The program is expected to launch in late 2026 and will be conducted in five phases:
- Foundation and Commitment – establish shared understanding through an initial information session and expression of interest process;
- Learning and Skills Development – build knowledge through training and self-assessment;
- Co-Design and Planning – workshops and consultation with a panel of d/Deaf and disabled artists, arts workers and audiences;
- Implementation Readiness – implementation of equity plans;
- Reflection, Evaluation and Sector Sharing – reflect on outcomes, opportunity for case studies.
The program aims to increase organisational confidence and capability in disability access and inclusion through the development of tailored, practical equity plans, with the opportunity for sector-wide learning and strengthened relationships between organisations and disabled communities.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
The South Australian Government will explore opportunities for the state to host Healing Arts Week.
What we're doing
In partnership with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization, South Australia will host the southern hemisphere’s first Healing Arts Week in early 2027, as part a global initiative highlighting how arts, culture and creativity support health and wellbeing.
South Australia’s state-wide, week‑long program will be open to the public and feature interactive workshops, exhibitions, concerts, cultural activities, research symposia and knowledge‑sharing sessions, with opportunities to participate in person and online.
Events will explore the impact of multiple art forms on health, alongside new research and examples of arts‑in‑health innovation.
Delivery status
On Track
1.4 Creating places for connection through culture
What this means
CreateSA will support Aboriginal arts and cultural hubs as safe spaces for collaboration and strengthening community, through tailored programming and initiatives that foster greater opportunities and access to arts for Aboriginal people.
What we're doing
CreateSA will work with Aboriginal arts and cultural hubs as safe spaces for collaboration and strengthening community. This will be achieved through tailored initiatives that foster greater opportunities and access to arts for Aboriginal people.
Delivery status
Not Started
What this means
CreateSA will engage with local councils and the Local Government Association (LGA) to explore partnership opportunities.
What we're doing
CreateSA has developed a Creative Spaces Guide that lists venues across South Australia, from rehearsal rooms through to large theatre venues, to help artists and creatives find spaces to work, create and collaborate.
CreateSA is actively engaging with the LGA and councils to identify ways that CreateSA can better support Councils to activate the network of diverse, community‑led places for arts, cultural and creative activities.
Delivery status
On Track
What this means
CreateSA will work with relevant partners to explore the development of creative hubs across the state.
What we're doing
CreateSA will broaden the scope of its Creative Spaces Guide to include co-working spaces, studios, creative hubs etc to support artists and creatives find spaces to work, create and collaborate.
This will commence in 2026-27.
Delivery status
On Track
