Thank you for your feedback. We have now closed this consultation and will be reviewing the feedback we received.

The original Creative and Prosperous City Strategy (Art and Soul) 2018-2022 (CPC) was endorsed by the then Council in 2018.

The plan resulted in many tangible benefits for the community, traders and creative sector, including:

• public space activations trialled over the past two years - bringing to the life the action of streamlining permitting and approval processes.
• strengthening relationships with existing trader associations as well as developing new productive relationships in other areas.
• Innovation in the creative grants space, maximising community benefit
• leveraging Council’s key creative partnerships (including Linden, Gasworks and Midsumma) to deliver greater benefit for community
• developing plans to increase community access and exposure to our Art and Heritage Collection.

The Strategy concluded in June 2022 and Council is now wishing to engage the community on the next iteration. The Strategy will focus on a range of Council services, including arts, culture and heritage, economic development and tourism, festivals, libraries, markets, city planning and urban design, to create a thriving social, cultural and economic future for the City of Port Phillip.

Council has prepared a draft Creative and Prosperous City Strategy 2023-2026 which has been added to the Document Library on this page or by clicking the link.

Over the past 12 months, a strategic shift has commenced in how Council supports the arts.

This has involved applying a greater community outcome lens to programs/initiatives rather than investing in programs to support individuals.

This is most apparent in Council’s arts grant programs where criteria has been altered to focus on community outcomes (artistic, vibrancy, participation).

Council’s Events and Festivals have always measured their economic impact, but this is being strengthened with retail, hospitality and entertainment stakeholders being regularly consulted and specific outcomes being focussed upon.

Work is also taking place on Council’s Art Collection and Carlisle St Art Space to ensure this program of work is providing wider benefit to the community.

Council is working on improving its collaborations with local arts organisations including large, medium and small institutions and ‘packaging’ the offering to the community rather than encouraging separate communications.

The St Kilda Strategic Plan references the development of a St Kilda Arts precinct that would respond to strong trader feedback regarding the need to focus on visitation to the area.

Substantial opportunity exists in event attraction particularly in relation to areas that most require visitation.

A shift has taken place in focussing all arts, festivals and events activity on economic impact and wider benefit. Linking actions under a strategy would support this moving forward.

We hope that developing a new Strategy, including the consultation process, may serve to align stakeholders around key priorities which would be useful in understanding where to put budgetary and resourcing priorities.

Articulating a clear vision around how we intend to work with business, what we will do to create vibrant high streets and activity centres (including short vs long-term activation), how we will support and retain creative industries and how we will maintain and enhance a creative infrastructure including precinct planning and refinement of arts, festivals and events to move towards visitor and business benefit over individual artists would enable greater collaboration with the State and other funding bodies moving forward.