What is needed to create a thriving arts industry and local economy
A vibrant Moreland has a strong local economy, a thriving creative sector, and attractive arts and business precincts. These elements help to enhance the quality of life for all Moreland residents. This includes access to housing, education, cultural opportunities, recreation and healthy lifestyles.
Businesses provide stable jobs for local people and contribute to Moreland’s culture. Supporting the resilience and adaptability of Moreland’s local industries, creative sector and precincts will ensure the ongoing vitality of the city.
We want to ensure the future of Moreland is one where local businesses, the creative industries, sole traders and precincts receive the support they need to thrive.
For more detailed information on this topic, please refer to the topic paper on this page.
Key Issues
Opportunities in this space might include:
- Support the industries hardest hit by Covid-19 through initiatives such as expanding outdoor dining and Council’s Shopping Strip Renewal program.
- Upgrade Moreland’s network infrastructure to provide public Wi-Fi across Council buildings and facilities.
- Preference employment and procurement practices that create positive local, social and environmental outcomes and encourage local businesses to do the same.
- Provide affordable making spaces for artists which are fit-for-purpose and help with financial security through regulatory processes.
- Support the local live music scene through actions such as planning controls and sector development.
- Adapt the existing Moreland’s festivals program to the new Covid normal so that it can continue to have a positive impact on the community.
- Encourage collaboration amongst sole traders to identify new markets, promote their businesses and build clusters of learning in shared workspaces.
- Accelerate the creation of the Brunswick Design District to make it a national destination for all types of design-centred activity.
- Advance the Coburg Initiative, which includes the proposed development of Coburg Square and Coburg Health Precinct.
Challenges in this space might include:
- Difficult to accurately predict the future of local jobs and business closures to the unprecedented nature of a pandemic.
- Council’s budget to provide support and respond to future outbreaks is limited.
- The effects of Covid-10 on the local arts community and creative industries has dramatically changed their needs and requirements.
- Federal government expenditure on the arts and creative industries has decreased by 18.9% per capita over the past decade and is not keeping up with Australia’s population growth (A New Approach, 2019).
- Sole traders are a time-poor cohort, focussed on the day-to-day business tasks and do not typically work collaboratively. Engaging them will take dedicated resources, funding and programs that are currently unsupported.
- State Government funding will be highly competitive with Covid-19 recovery efforts likely to minimise the availability of future funds.
