Cultural strategies & policy

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:

• Report Card  (2022) - Years 1 - 5
• Addendum 1 - Delivering Outcomes
• Addendum 2 -  Key Performance Indicators
• Addendum 3 -  Internal & External Factors and Trends

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.

• State of the Arts in Cairns Report 2019 (SoARTS) 

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.

• State of the Arts in Cairns Report 2020 (SoARTS)

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.

• State of the Arts in Cairns Report 2021 (SoArts) 

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.

• State of the Arts in Cairns Report 2023 (SoArts)

• 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.

• Strategy for Public Art and Creative Placemaking    ( PDF, 2.02 MB )

• Strategy for Young Creatives    ( PDF, 0.93 MB )