Planning Cultural Creation and Production in Sydney: A Venue and Infrastructure Needs Analysis

This research was commissioned to assist the City of Sydney in developing an up-to-date, wide-ranging understanding of its future needs for creative space, especially with regard to cultural creation and production. Most studies of creative space tend to focus on the material aspects of cultural venues and infrastructure, such as capacity, design or building quality. This research, however, was concerned principally with the wider social and economic environment within which creative spaces operate as crucial elements of the cultural production process. It was underpinned by 18 case studies of creative spaces in the Redfern and Green Square Villages, and 5 interviews with key stakeholders across Sydney's cultural sector. The research reflected critically on the impact of commercialisation, gentrification and casualisation on creative work and space, identifying 8 major issues facing artists and cultural practitioners in the City. In particular, the study highlighted the shortage of suitable creative space due to intensifying inward population movement, disappearance of industrial buildings, and rising property prices. It demonstrated that artists and cultural practitioners are facing growing socio-economic barriers in the conduct of their work. The research revealed a complex picture of creative space in terms of use, activity, community and cultural relationships. The Report proposed a series of interlinked recommendations to help protect and develop creative spaces in the City, including support for artists and cultural practitioners through a 'place keeping' approach to urban cultural planning that embraces cultural creation and production in the City and Greater Metropolitan Sydney.