28/08/2026

Music Development Office strategy launched as A Place to Create enters its next chapter

The Tullamarines, Photographer: Annie Harvey

The government of South Australia has launched the Music Development Office's (MDO) new strategy, A Sound Future 2026-2028, outlining how the MDO is aiming to support artists, audiences and music businesses across the state.

A Sound Future is backed by an additional investment of more than $1.5 million in South Australia's original contemporary music industry, committed through the first delivery plan for A Place to Create, the state's 10-year cultural policy.

Over the next two years, the MDO will focus on initiatives that strengthen South Australia's music ecosystem, including support for live music venues, updated funding programs, new opportunities for young people, and stronger industry collaboration.

Key strategies in A Sound Future include:

  • prioritising Aboriginal cultural leadership and knowledge
  • updating the MDO’s funding programs to meet the evolving needs of artists and music businesses
  • supporting young people as artists, audiences and businesses, now and into the future
  • boosting support for live music venues and festivals
  • increasing state-wide access to and participation in music
  • building capabilities and professional development pathways across the music ecosystem
  • connecting the South Australian music sector to international networks
  • growing the profile of South Australia’s music sector
  • collaborating to collectively drive impact for the sector.

The strategy was informed by extensive consultation with industry stakeholders, including a dedicated roundtable with young people, ensuring it reflects the priorities and aspirations of the South Australian music community.

Today was also an opportunity to reflect on the first year of A Place to Create, with significant progress already made against the policy’s first delivery plan. Several key commitments have been achieved, including:

  • establishing a dedicated Aboriginal leadership team within CreateSA, strengthening the delivery of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy for South Australia
  • co-investing in Creative Australia’s Creative Workplaces to develop resources that support fair, safe and respectful workplaces for South Australian artists and creative workers
  • supporting young creatives and emerging leaders through investment in a new Carclew grant program. This funding more than quadruples Carclew’s existing support for youth arts capacity-building projects and grants, creating greater opportunities for young and underrepresented artists
  • opening the new Little Library at the State Library, supported through the Arts Investment Fund. Designed as an imaginative, child-led space, it invites children aged 0 to 11 to read, play, learn and belong, while fostering early literacy through talking, reading, singing, discovery and creative play
  • launching the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Winter Arts Series, which debuted this year with the acclaimed exhibition Monet to Matisse.

Work is also underway on a range of longer-term commitments, including:

  • reviewing CreateSA’s grants and funding programs to ensure they continue to meet the evolving needs of the sector and align with the vision of A Place to Create
  • launching Healing Arts South Australia, a global initiative exploring the role of arts, culture and creativity in health and wellbeing being delivered in partnership with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization
  • strengthening partnerships with organisations including Service and Creative Skills Australia and Creative Australia to support workforce and skills development across the creative industries.