Curtain won't rise on a Woden arts centre for a while yet

Those calling for an arts centre in booming Woden shouldn’t hold their breath if the government’s response to a petition is anything to go by.

Woden Valley Community Council president Fiona Carrick had called for a multipurpose arts facility to be included in the new CIT building now under construction.

Her petition, sponsored by Liberal MLA Ed Cocks, said a visual and performing arts and music venue would complement the CIT, encourage local activity on the streets and provide confidence to the private sector to establish a day and night economy in the core of Woden.

Ms Carrick said at the time that when it came to arts and culture, Woden was the forgotten Town Centre of Canberra.

But Arts Minister Tara Cheyne, in a written response to the petition, indicated that such a facility was unlikely to be built this decade and that Woden would have to be content with what was already on offer.

This included the Woden Arts program delivered by the Tuggeranong Art Centre since 2019 and funded until 2027, as well as the new facilities in the recently refurbished library.

“The Woden Arts program is designed to be inclusive, offering creative experiences for local community groups and diverse cultural groups, as well as pop-up events showcasing the work of local musicians, poets, dancers and visual artists,” Ms Cheyne wrote.

Ms Cheyne said the upgraded library should be able to offer an increased program of arts activities with its new first-floor facilities.

“Libraries ACT in Woden has a full recording studio where audio recording, live streaming and video recording can occur,” she said.

“There is a podcasting studio and a rehearsal studio, community meeting and learning space.

“These spaces are available to the community and there are staff to train the community in how to use them.”

As for the CIT, community members could hire the planned hall for a range of purposes, which may include arts or music performances.

However, the construction of a dedicated arts centre would depend on the outcome of a needs analysis to be conducted in the next five years.

Ms Cheyne said the government’s arts policy 2022-2026 committed to investing in “sustainable and connected arts and cultural venues and precincts for more creative participation across the ACT”.

“The [Infrastructure] Plan identifies that over the next five years, a needs analysis for arts centres at Gungahlin and Woden will be undertaken to inform further infrastructure decisions,” she said.

Ms Carrick said the distribution of ACT Government owned arts facilities across Canberra was inequitable with most facilities being located in the inner north and inner south.

She said that in 2022, $6.2 million was provided for arts organisations and because they were concentrated in inner Canberra, that was where most of the funding went.

“We appreciate the funding for the Warehouse Circus that is located at the old Chifley Primary School and popup arts delivered by Tuggeranong Arts Centre but nothing replaces having an arts centre in your community to bring like minded people together to be creative and have fun,” Ms Carrick said.

She said thousands of people were moving to the town centres, but little social infrastructure outside of gaming clubs was being provided.

“While the WVCC supports investment in the arts, we believe it should be targeted to local communities to facilitate the social and economic development of these hubs for the enjoyment and wellbeing of these communities,” Ms Carrick said.

“We call on the ACT Government to provide an arts centre in Woden and allow us to have conversations to investigate opportunities to leverage social and economic activity, including at the CIT.”