Canberra aspires to be nation’s arts capital

The plan for the national capital to become the arts capital has been kicked off with a $10M budget boost.

3 Oct 2021 9:10

Richard Watts

All Arts

Black Mountain Tower in Canberra at sunset. Photo credit: Dan Breckwoldt / Shutterstock.

The ACT’s Minister for the Arts, Tara Cheyne MLA, has announced an ambitious plan to see Canberra become Australia’s arts capital.

A supporting document describes the plan as ‘a bold step, but … not a leap’.

The first step in realising the plan is the announcement of $10 million through the 2021-22 ACT Budget to provide additional support to artists, arts organisations and cultural facilities in the ACT.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts