Do you need help applying for grants? Do you want to attend workshops for yourprofessional development? Do you want to participate in hands on workshops?
As a ratepayer of Inverell Shire Council, we would invite you to ask Inverell Shire Council to reinstate its membership to Arts North West by signing a petition so that you can once again access Arts North West’s programs and services. Arts and cultural activity in your Shire benefits artists and non-artists alike. It is crucial to again access to the vital professional support that Arts North West offers, and once again be connected and engaged with the wider arts and cultural community.
Arts North West develops connections, fosters creativity and enriches communities through supporting creative opportunities in the New England North West. Programs include Aboriginal Cultural Support, Arts and Disability Support, Cultural Tourism as well as specific community engagement projects (Youth Arts, Arts North West ON TOUR, Country Art Escapes, Film NENW) which aim to increase participation in arts and cultural activities in the region. Arts North West plays a vital role in building cultural community capacity, through direct and useful advice and advocacy, through substantial professional development provision and with the forging of key partnerships and networks throughout the region that directly benefits communities.
In NSW, there are 14 Regional Art Boards. $1.9 million is invested from Arts NSW into the network, $836,000 from LGAs. A further $1.5 million is sourced directly by Regional Art Boards for additional projects. 101 of 108 local Councils contribute to this network. Unfortunately Inverell Shire Council is one of the Councils that do not. Twelve of the thirteen Councils in the New England North West region of NSW contribute annually to Arts North West.
Stephanie Marshall from Drama Dreams and Stiff Jam Media is an advocate for re-establishing the link between Inverell Council and Arts North West, “I offer film and theatre projects to a wide range of people in the Inverell community-many of them are young, many live with a disability-and I find it very restricting that Inverell Council does not contribute to the Arts North West network. Arts North West is there to provide assistance and support to people such as myself on matters such as what government grants are out there that might better facilitate the work that I do and how can I best access them.
They facilitate professional networks of artists in the north west which in turn leads to professional development -something I would really value as I feel at present that I am doing all this work solo. They could provide valuable publicity for the work that I do, and in highlighting projects such as the ones I am involved in at present, they shine a light on what is going on in our Inverell community and help to make others-like our young people and those living with a disability- feel like they are valuable and visible members of our community.”
As Stephanie Marshall requests, “Inverell Council, please step up and contribute to this institution so that people like me, who want to run arts programs that help the community, can do so.”
Please SIGN PETITION HERE to stress to the Inverell Shire Council how important it is to have access to the services and programs of Arts North West within the Inverell community. Thank you.