What We Do
Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) is Australia’s national voice for ethno-cultural and migrant racial equity in the arts, cultural and creative industries.
Our work is underpinned by a human-rights ethic, social justice principles, and the belief that a truly diverse spectrum of creative expression and participation is fundamental to a democratic, inclusive and sustainable creative sector, and society.
Informed by our organisational values of: Inclusion, Diversity, Collaboration, Participation and Self-Determination, DARTS advocates for and actively works towards an arts sector that reflects the complex diversity of the Australian population on our screens and stages; in our audiences, our galleries and books; and within boards, committees, and positions of leadership into the future. We support the creative sector to develop practical and strategic ways to influence the stories and cultural landscape of contemporary Australia.
Our core areas of activity are:
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ADVOCACY: For greater diversity in programming, leadership, audiences and participation
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RESEARCH: Developing an evidence base that measures and tracks diversity
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BROKERING CONNECTIONS: Building strategic partnerships and fostering relationships across the arts landscape in Australia
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KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE: Creating content and establishing platforms for sharing resources, knowledge and best-practice examples of Australian and International research and work
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PROJECTS: Designing and implementing strategic projects that influence sector change and position artists as advocates
“We are often searching for a new way to learn from Australia’s cultural past, to dream it forward into a place that more closely resembles Australia’s complex cultural realities.”
Rani Pramesti on why advocacy organisations like Diversity Arts Australia are important.
DARTS is led by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) artists and cultural workers. Our work is grounded in the theory and practice of cultural studies that engage critical ideas of representation, cultural rights, integrity and autonomy. We work intersectionally with artists, groups, communities and organisations of diverse abilities, sexualities, genders, ages, languages and socioeconomic status, recognising that ethno-cultural diversity cannot be viewed in isolation from other systemic barriers to access and participation.
DARTS acknowledges First Nations peoples as the traditional custodians of the land. We seek to be guided in all our work by First Peoples’ leadership, recognising the ongoing damaging legacy of colonisation and the immense value that First Nations artists and cultural workers create within the broader arts sector and cultural landscape.
“I want to experience the pleasure of working in a sector which truly reflects the make-up of our society but where one’s ethnicity is of lesser significance than one’s artistic practice.”
Diversity Arts Australia is no longer able to help with touring artists. Find out more.
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