Cultural strategies & policy
Shaping the Future of Culture in Cairns
Cairns Regional Council is currently developing a new Cultural Life Strategy 2027-2038, which will guide Council's support, investment and leadership of arts, culture and creativity across the region over the next decade.
Building on the strengths of the current Strategy for Culture and the Arts 2022, the new strategy will provide a long-term vision for cultural development that reflects Cairns' unique identity, diverse communities and creative ambitions.
The draft strategy is currently being developed through research, sector engagement, stakeholder consultation and analysis of existing cultural assets, challenges and opportunities. A draft strategy is expected to be released for community consultation in early 2027.
What Will the New Strategy Do?
The Cultural Life Strategy 2027-2038 will:
- Provide a clear framework for how Council supports and grows arts, culture and creativity across the region.
- Recognise and celebrate the importance of First Nations cultures, knowledge, creativity and leadership.
- Align with the priorities and focus areas of Council's Corporate Plan 2025-2030.
- Identify opportunities for artists, creative practitioners, cultural organisations, producers, creative businesses, communities and audiences to thrive.
- Support innovation, participation, cultural expression and creative industry development.
- Inform future planning, investment, partnerships, programs and cultural infrastructure.
- Use an outcome-focused planning framework based on community values, evidence, program logic and ongoing evaluation.
Have Your Say
Community feedback will play an important role in shaping the final strategy.
Opportunities for community consultation will open in early 2027 and will include ways for residents, artists, organisations, businesses and visitors to share their ideas and aspirations for the future of culture in Cairns.
Details about consultation activities will be published on this page as they become available.
Current strategy
The current Strategy for Culture and the Arts 2022 continues to guide Council's cultural planning and investment while the new Cultural Life Strategy is being developed.
Each year, we produced a report card for the Strategy for Culture and the Arts 2022, outlining our outcomes and achievements. This is the final report card providing a five year overview of the the 80+ individual actions identified in the original implementation plan:
The State of the Arts in Cairns evaluative study is a partnership between Cairns Regional Council, James Cook University (JCU) and Central Queensland University (CQU). The project has been developed to monitor and measure the outcomes of the strategy and provide tangible evidence of the value of culture and the arts to the local community and economy.
The inaugural State of the Arts Report (SoARTS) is a collection and analysis of data gained over the 2018/19 period, which provides a baseline for future investigation of creative and arts industry sectors in Cairns, and their contribution to our city's economy, business and tourism sectors.
The delivery of the second annual State of the Arts Report 2020 (SoARTS) includes details of COVID-19 impacts on the sector and has a focus on Infrastructure, Resources and Skills (Priority One of Cairns Regional Council’s Strategy for Culture and the Arts 2022). The majority of the data presented in this report is gained over the 2020 Calendar year.
Findings of the research assist us in making informed decisions about arts and cultural activities that will benefit the community as a whole based on community feedback about short, medium and long-term outcomes from programs, projects, activities and events.
The final SoArts 2023 research will highlight the diversity and resilience of the ecosystem and form the framework for the next iteration of the Council’s cultural planning cycle.
- Cultural and Creative Activity in the Cairns Region 2019 ( PDF, 0.43 MB )
- A report produced by Cummings Economics examining statistical data on the Creative Industries and comparative analysis with other relevant areas of Australia based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011 Census data.
- Cultural and Creative Business Survey 2019 ( PDF, 1.31 MB )
- A report produced by Cummings Economics analysing the responses of 112 businesses in Creative and Cultural Activities in the Cairns and immediate region. Research Focus: Economic Structure and Actions to Develop the Sector.
- Cultural and Creative Activities in the Cairns Region - Estimates of Economic Impact 2019 ( PDF, 0.43 MB )
- Produced by Cummings Economics this report brings together information from the above two reports along with standard economic modelling of the regional economy to provide order of magnitude estimates of the economic impact of the sector.
- Australia Cultural and Creative Activity: A Population and Hotspot Analysis - Cairns Report is produced by QUT and the University of Newcastle, in partnership with Arts Queensland, Create NSW, Creative Victoria, Arts South Australia and the Western Australian Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
Last Updated: 10 September 2026
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