The Art Gallery of South Australia is the major beneficiary of the state's landmark ten-year arts strategy. The long-overdue policy document launched on Monday comes with an additional $80 million in funding to be spent over the next four years, including an initial $15 million for the gallery. That money will be used to stage blockbuster art exhibitions in Adelaide over winter, attracting people to the city outside its busy festival season around March.
Previous international shows at the gallery include 2023's Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution and Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay, which broke audience records in 2018. The state government already spends $149 million on arts and culture annually, including funding for events such as the Adelaide Festival. The new policy, titled A Place to Create, also rebrands Arts South Australia as CreateSA.
Another $3 million will go to building the international profile of South Australia's arts and culture scene, while $2.5 million will go to youth arts initiatives through Adelaide Youth Orchestras, the Carclew centre and State Library. Along with $7 million in federal funding announced in February, the Adelaide Central School of Art will receive $4 million to expand into a decommissioned heritage building.
More than $2.3 million has been allocated to promote First Nations art and culture. However, the state arts strategy does not mention the stalled Aboriginal arts and culture gallery Tarrkarri, which was .