At Minderoo, we believe that creativity is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s the thread that weaves connection, pride, and possibility into the fabric of our communities.
by Imogen Castledine, Minderoo Foundation
This belief underpins our commitment to supporting communities to become more vibrant and connected places where families have hope for a fair future.
As part of this vision, we’re proud to have developed Thriving Creative Communities, a bold strategy to support community-led arts and cultural development across Australia.
This work is grounded in a simple but powerful idea:
When communities are empowered to tell their stories, celebrate their cultures, and imagine new futures through creative practice, they thrive.
Across Australia, many communities are grappling with disconnection, loneliness, and a loss of local identity.
According to a 2024 report from Ending Loneliness Together, almost 1 in 3 Australians feel lonely, and those living in less advantaged neighbourhoods or regional and remote areas are more likely to experience social isolation.
In these places, arts and culture can be a powerful force for change and an amplifier for other community development efforts being championed by government, philanthropy and civil society.
Community arts (where creativity is co-created with and by community) can foster belonging, elevate local voices, and build trust. It’s a practice that values process over product, and people over performance.
We’re guided by a growing global movement, across communities and arts sectors alike, towards more local, community-led creative practice.
It’s not just a trend; it’s where the future of meaningful arts investment lies.
Research shows that participating in arts, culture and creativity improves wellbeing, encourages participation, and strengthens social connection – A New Approach’s Transformative Edge 2024 insight report is one of many sources demonstrating that access to this kind of activity assists populations to live well. Yet despite its impact, community arts often fall between the cracks of traditional funding models, with considerable competing demands for investment into both communities and the creative industries. According to ABS data, community arts and cultural development activities accounted for only 1 per cent of total cultural expenditure across federal and state governments in 2023-24 ($86.5M out of $8.6B).
That’s where philanthropy can step in.
Thriving Creative Communities is a multi-year, national strategy designed to elevate community arts as a driver of social change.
Through 2027, we’re investing in:
- Place-based partnerships with local arts organisations to deliver sustained, community-led programming.
- Support for independent community-engaged artists through a collaboration with Regional Arts Australia.
- Innovative partnerships that test and scale new approaches to creative community development.
- Scoping and collaborative design of a major, multi-year national place-based community arts program for future implementation, intended for co-investment from public and private funding sources.
This strategy is a significant expansion on our long-standing commitment to arts for impact, both in artform focus and national scope.
This work aligns with our broader place-based efforts to support children and families to thrive.Our existing support for the Western Australian professional arts sector continues, and we are developing future opportunities focused on culture and creativity for children.
Spotlight: Practice in Community
Practice in Community is a flagship example of this approach in action.
Delivered by Regional Arts Australia with support from Minderoo Foundation, this transformative new program will provide two-year grants of $160,000 to 11 independent community-engaged artists working in regional Australia over two cohorts.
This $2.4m investment places creativity at the heart of community life.
Artists will be supported not just to deliver projects, but to embed their practice in place, co-creating with community over time.
The program includes tailored professional development, mentorship, peer networking, and wellbeing support, recognising that artists themselves are essential to social change.
As Ros Abercrombie, Executive Director of Regional Arts Australia, puts it:
We’re proud to support this initiative, which reflects our belief in the power of inclusive, participatory arts practice.
As Penny Dakin, Executive Director of Communities at Minderoo, shared:
What’s Next
Expressions of Interest for Practice in Community are now open.
Learn more and apply at regionalarts.com.au/pic.
As Thriving Creative Communities unfolds, we’ll continue to share stories from the field, of artists, organisations, and communities working together to build vibrant, connected futures.