The issue: the arts and culture in Victioria are in crisis

The arts and culture in Victioria are in crisis. Public funding for the most important part of Victoria’s arts and cultural sector has fallen by 35% in real terms over the past five years.

The government is investing less into our artists and small organisations than a decade ago, after inflation and despite population growth. We can’t keep up with costs. Organisations are closing. Artists are losing work. Audiences are becoming disconnected.

Victorian culture urgently needs an immediate injection of arts funding. We need support to keep up with inflation, and ambitious investment in the growth of art and culture in Victoria through the funding of small to medium arts organisations and artists themselves. This would support the galleries in country towns, the musicians recording and touring albums, the small theatre companies
that present new plays, the education programs delivered to schools.

Victorians love the arts and culture. A 2024 survey funded by Creative Victoria found that an amazing 99% of Victorians engaged in at least one cultural event culture in the part three years. Before the pandemic, Melbourne had more live music venues per capita than any city in the world.

In 2020, the Victorian government announced that the state’s reputation as the nations’ cultural capital would be “permanently cemented”. But the Victorian budget papers tell a different story. There have been deep cuts to the funding of Victoria’s artists and arts organisations since 2022.

These cuts affect us all. In December 2025, eight Victorian arts organisations lost their operational funding outright. Many more had their funding slashed. Among organisations to have funding withdrawn were:

• the Australian Print Workshop, ending a state investment of 44 years;
• the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, leaving an $800,000 shortfall at the largest multi-arts precinct in the country;
• Writers Victoria, whose closure would leave Victoria the only mainland state or territory without a peak body for writers in a UNESCO City of Literature;
• the Public Galleries Association of Victoria, which advocates for and serves the professional development of public galleries across the state.

Direct support to artists, musicians, actors, authors, playwrights and more has fallen away. Many are leaving the sector.

The arts and culture are a fundamental part of Victoria's economic, social and cultural life, and the wellbeing of Victorian citizens. The Parliament’s 2025 Inquiry into Victoria’s Creative Industries found that the sector contributed $40.5 billion to the Victorian economy in 2022–23 and supported approximately 320,000 jobs, representing almost 9 per cent of total employment.

Our vibrant art and culture is something that Victorians are rightly proud of. But our status as Australia’s cultural capital is in jeopardy. Victoria now ranks as the second lowest of all states and territories in terms of per capita arts investment.

Victoria’s cultural standing was built through decades of consistent investment and community building. It’s a rich tapestry woven by the vision of our artists, the commitment of our arts organisations and artsworkers, and the passion of our audiences.

Under current government policies, that legacy risks being lost.