Fremantle reveals its arts and culture strategy

The City of Fremantle has renewed its commitment to the cultural and creative industries as part of its recently adopted Arts, Culture and Creative Strategy.

The strategy will guide the City's priorities over the next ten years.

It seeks to:

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said it's hoped the strategy will leverage much needed investment into some of Fremantle's most precious and important industries.

"This strategy is a great platform for advocacy. It's a document that articulates who we are, what we stand for and is a way for people to understand us so we can work together.

"The City can't do it all, and this strategy helps bring the community – including government, businesses, and landlords – to the table," Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

Director Creative Arts and Community, Pete Stone said Fremantle is nationally recognised as a significant cultural hub.

"It's rightly an ambitious strategy as we are a leader in the arts industry. We are confident in and excited by the work we are undertaking including advancing reconciliation and truth telling, positive steps with both State and Federal Government to improving cultural infrastructure in Fremantle, and partnering with individual creatives, arts organisations and our neighbouring local governments to provide innovative audience and community experiences," Mr Stone said.

The City employs artists and creatives to produce work in-house, ensuring its festivals, events and arts and culture projects align with community values.

The City, as a facilitator, also enables others to undertake creative pursuits, nurturing a ground-up, community-led approach to the broader cultural ecology.

The strategy was developed in consultation with the local community and industry representatives and dovetailed with the City's Strategic Community Plan Let’s Talk, Freo! campaign, reaching more than 400 people through workshops, surveys, events, and meetings.

The consultation process revealed the deep appreciation from the community of arts, culture and creativity both socially and economically, and the vital role it plays in the identity of Fremantle.

Key feedback from artists and creatives included the importance of access to creative spaces and providing employment, pathways and professional development opportunities through mentoring, support and training.

One of the City's key assets, the Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC), is going from strength to strength with 6,000 visitors per month.

Art courses are well subscribed, exhibitions and events are well attended and the summer of 2024/25 live concert series is set to deliver an inspiring program with something for everyone. 

The Revealed art exhibition featuring new and emerging WA Aboriginal artists is running until Sunday 4 August at FAC.

Multi ARIA award winner Tones and I is putting on a second FAC show in September, after her first one sold out in four hours, and rock trio Wallows will perform there in December.

The International Streets Arts Festival, delivered over the Easter long weekend included fifty local, national and international artists with an audience of 115,000.

The City is excited to grow the programming capacity of the Fremantle Town Hall, another City-owned venue, with a multi-stage investment program in the planning to make the space more accessible.

Outside the Fremantle CBD, the City is working on improving the availability of community facilities to support creative activities happening everywhere.

Council will receive an annual progress report outlining key achievements of the Arts, Culture and Creative Strategy 2024-34.

The strategy can be viewed at fremantle.wa.gov.au/arts-culture-and-creative-strategy

Above image: Kaal Koort-ak, 10 Nights in Port 2022. Image: Adrian Thomson