Council last night adopted a Creative Action Plan 2025-2035 following a broader review of the Greater CREATIVE Bendigo Strategy with feedback from the community.
The Greater Creative Bendigo Strategy reflects Outcome 6 within the City of Greater Bendigo Council Plan (Mir wimbul) 2021-2025 for a community that ‘inspires a culture of creativity, activates its spaces, nurtures, and supports talent, champions inclusion and access, and shows the world’.
The review identified the strategy’s strengths, trends, gaps and priorities through workshops and surveys with industry and local stakeholders, and feedback from the broader community.
As a result of internal and external consultation, the Greater CREATIVE Bendigo Strategy was considered current, with a few key updates recommended.
Identified gaps and priorities raised during the process informed the development of the refreshed Creative Action Plan.
Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said the review was an opportunity to acknowledge the strategy’s important outcomes so far and build on its success.
“The Greater CREATIVE Bendigo Strategy and its initial four-year action plan has led to many achievements for the region,” Cr Metcalf said.
“It is a bold and ambitious strategy that has delivered meaningful outcomes.
“These include the highly regarded First Nations gallery Djaa Djuwima, the extraordinary staging of Melbourne Opera’s Ring Cycle in partnership with Bendigo Venues & Events, developing a Public Art Policy, and attaining Australia’s first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy designation.
“The new Creative Action Plan aims to engage with the creative industries and deliver outcomes in a way that builds on our strong reputation as a leading centre for arts and culture.”
The plan brings a consolidated focus on First Nations cultural visibility which has been added to the themes. There are six themes in total:
- Connecting to Country and Culture
- Culture of creativity
- Create more activated spaces
- Nurture and support talent
- Champion inclusion and access
- Show the world
The 43 actions include:
- Partnering with local organisations to develop a winter gastronomy and arts event
- Continuing to pursue World Heritage recognition for the Central Victorian Goldfields
- Facilitating a bespoke mentoring project for young and emerging artists
- Facilitating a plan for public art works that amplifies a sense of arrival, reinforcing Greater Bendigo as a cultural destination
