Arts Northern Rivers
11 Rural Street
Lismore NSW
@artsnr
Arts Northern Rivers consists of a small team doing big things! As the peak arts body, Northern Rivers Arts works with individuals, organisations and government to generate, promote and advocate for the arts in the Northern Rivers.
As the peak arts body and support agency in the Northern Rivers, you work to promote and advocate for the arts and creative industries in our region. Tell us more about Arts Northern Rivers and what you do.
Well, we’re a difficult beast to describe. At first glance, we’re a service organisation supporting arts and cultural development across the Northern Rivers. While at the same time we develop our own projects, often in partnership with other creatives and cultural organisations in the region. We also support Aboriginal artists across the Bundjalung Nation with dedicated staff providing outreach services. Additionally there’s the advocacy work we do – supporting funding applications including facilitating the annual small grants program called CASP (Country Arts Support Program), providing input into cultural policy initiatives and participating on cultural committees. Ultimately, across multiple platforms, we promote, celebrate and shine the light on arts and cultural activity across the Northern Rivers. As our tag line suggests – “for all things arts and culture”!
The Northern Rivers is home to the highest concentration of arts and creative industries practitioners outside of metropolitan centres. Who do you work with?
We work with everyone as long as they share our passion for the arts! We like to engage with as many artforms as possible meaning we support and partner with all types of artists, musicians, performers, arts administrators, local government staff and more. We are often approached for assistance and advice regarding funding opportunities and to support our region’s incredible range of creatives we need to be across opportunities for all artforms – so we’re a great one-stop-shop for all forms of creative development.
What do you love about working in the creative community of the Northern Rivers?
We love the sheer size and diversity of the creative community – and it’s always growing with new arrivals contributing to this cultural sea-change phenomenon, which we describe as both an opportunity and a challenge. With so many creatives in our region we really are spoilt for choice, the challenge is being able to stretch our resources far enough to show everyone the Arts Northern Rivers love! With a small team of staff and a big region crossing seven local government areas, it’s a challenge to make sure we’re reaching as far as we can – but we welcome the challenge and love discovering new people and projects.
What projects do you have coming up?
Okay, this is hot off the press – we’re currently finalising the re-development of a huge resource for the creative industries in the region. Launching in July, ‘Northern Rivers Creative’ is an online directory that enhances the exposure of talented creative practitioners in our region. The platform is designed specifically for these creatives to promote their work to a global audience and enhance their creative network. It’s currently in its final stages of development so if any creatives out there are keen to know more or register their interest we’d love to hear from you – info@artsnorthernrivers.com.au
Originally published in Paradiso Issue 10