Australia’s arts and cultural sector has faced significant changes due to the post-COVID environment, cost of living crisis, and workforce reform. Despite increased demand for arts activities, there has been a reduction in creative arts courses at universities, affecting training and innovation. This research investigates factors influencing young people’s decisions to abandon creative arts studies and examines long-term impacts on Australia’s cultural landscape. The mixed methods approach includes in-depth interviews and co-design workshops with young people to uncover motivations behind education choices, providing a nuanced understanding of the decline in creative arts education and solutions for the sector’s future.
Research team
- Professor Sandra Gattenhof
- Professor Donna Hancox
- Dr Freya Wright-Brough
- Dr Abbey MacDonald
- Professor Craig Batty
- Associate Professor Peter Cook
- Professor Daniel Harris
Research funding
- ARC Discovery Project
