ABSTRACT

There is little consistency regarding what constitutes cultural policy. It can be a powerful statement of the priorities and values of a government and a framework for supporting cultural production and consumption; some cultural policies are narrowly focused on the ‘arts’ while others take a broader view of what constitutes culture. Increasingly, too, cultural policy is expected to be a blueprint for economic development and the regeneration of urban space. Governments at all levels in Australia also support the arts (and culture more broadly) through a range of mechanisms and portfolio areas that extend beyond the arts, irrespective of the existence or otherwise of a formal cultural policy. Through an examination of a recent cultural policy initiative from each of the three levels of government in Australia: the former Federal Labor Government’s Creative Australia; the NSW Arts and Cultural Policy Framework of the conservative Liberal-National Party Government; and City of Sydney’s Creative City: Cultural Policy and Action Plan 2014–2024, this chapter aims to do three things: first, it examines the ways in which the triad of culture, art and creativity are positioned in the policies; second, it asks how these three policies frame arts education and training; and third, it considers the importance (or otherwise) of a creative industries agenda.