The arts are a growth industry on the NSW North Coast

Family Connections by Michael Philp, Men's Business Exhibition
at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery, Ballina

The Arts Northern Rivers team is an enthusiastic and capable promoter of arts on the NSW North Coast.

It has produced a two-page advocacy brochure which outlines a dynamic local scene:

The Northern Rivers region of NSW is a vibrant growth centre for arts and creative industries in Australia.

The region has the highest creative industry employment growth in NSW - more than double the growth rate of Sydney, and the highest "density" of creative workers per capita in the state outside Sydney (NSW Creative Industry: Economic Fundamentals, February 2009).

Located on the far north coast of NSW, the region is internationally renowned for its creative communities such as Byron Bay, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Nimbin and Yamba, it has become a centre for increasing numbers of sophisticated export oriented creative businesses.

The estimated economic impact of Creative Industries earnings in 2006 was $187.6 million. (Imagining the Future, Cathy Henkel 2006).

Employment in the arts and creative industries in the region is growing at 25% faster than the rest of the regional economy, and the Northern Rivers now has the highest concentration of visual artists outside the capital cities, and the largest cluster of screen industry workers outside Sydney and Melbourne.

Strongest Sectors

• visual arts and design eg. furniture exporter Zaishu, jewellery by Riley Burnett, eco-textiles and homewares by Bird and renowned visual artists James Guppy and Angus McDonald, and Indigenous visual artists Karla Dickens and Garth Lena
• writing and publishing eg celebrated writers such as Robert Drewe, Di Morrissey, Marele Day, and emerging children’s writer Tristan Bancks
• screen and digital content eg. the animated children’s series DirtGirlWorld; drama series East of Everything, and the feature film Lou, and many broadcast documentaries
• music and performing arts eg Grinspoon, Troy Cassar-Daley, Vitamin Records, Studio 301, Rocking Horse Studios, local comedians Mandy Nolan and Arj Barker
• cultural festivals East Coast Blues Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay Writers Festival, Wintersun Festival, Lismore Lantern Parade
• arts education sector Southern Cross University, North Coast TAFE, SAE Colleges

Unfortunately the region has recently lost Splendor in the Grass to a Queensland venue. One of the very few backward steps taken in the last decade of cultural enrichment, which has seen as many as 76 exhibitions spaces/galleries/museums feature local artists and travelling exhibitions with the number of entertainment venues featuring local performers or touring shows ranging from pubs and clubs through to larger outdoor settings.

Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 1)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 2)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 3)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy, Mapping Report, 2008 - 2012