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.

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 is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts