About the Creative
Equity Toolkit

The Creative Equity Toolkit provides an action-oriented approach to increasing cultural diversity in the arts.

Acknowledgement of Country

This website was created in Australia by Diversity Arts Australia in partnership with the British Council Australia. Diversity Arts’ national office in Parramatta stands on the unceded lands of the Burramattagal of the Darug nation. The British Council national office in Edgecliff stands on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

We honour the Elders past and present of these nations and extend that respect to the Elders of over 250 Indigenous nations and language groups across the Australian continent. Always was, always will be. Aboriginal land.

How to use this site and overview of the CET

This site features dozens of implementable actions, from simple to complex, along with hundreds of links to tools and resources developed around the world to help put these actions into practice.

Internationally there are remarkable differences in how arts organisations approach the question of diversity. This site brings together ideas, research and best practice from around the world into one place. We’ve extracted the solutions and recommendations from research and case studies, and provided short introductions to key concepts to help inform debate.

What is the scope of this website?

This website focuses on ethno-cultural and migrant racial equity in the arts, cultural and creative industries. This is also the focus of the work of Diversity Arts Australia. When we use the term ‘cultural diversity’ throughout this site, we acknowledge that this language is contested. ‘Diversity’ is not the term preferred by everyone, and also encompasses far more than cultural diversity. While focusing on ethno-cultural and migrant racial equity, Diversity Arts works intersectionally and in solidarity with many communities, including First Nations, people with disability, deaf communities, people with caring responsibilities, queer communities, regional communities and people of diverse ages, genders, religions and socio-economic statuses.

Acknowledgement of the positionality of settler-migrants

The experience of current and historical colonisation, dispossession, abuse and injustice of First Nations people cannot be conflated with settler migrant experiences as part of a narrative of ‘multiculturalism’. For migrant communities, as well as white communities, working with Indigenous communities and cultural material requires very specific frameworks, protocols and standards that this website does not attempt to address, as our writers are not Indigenous and cannot speak on behalf of Indigenous communities.

There are many excellent resources for working in this space. Good starting points for people working in the arts and screen industries are the Australia Council for the Arts and  Screen Australia. Our partners at Creative Victoria and Create NSW also have specific resources, as do arts and screen authorities in other Australian states and territories.

Take a quick tour

Find out more

Who is the Toolkit for?
People working in the creative sectors, including arts, screen and cultural organisations, government bodies, philanthropic organisations, policymakers, academics, researchers, educators, board members, activists, creatives and artists, and secondary and tertiary students and teachers.
How can I submit recommendations for the Toolkit?
We welcome feedback on the Toolkit and suggestions, including recommended resources to include. Email us to suggest a resource.
The Toolkit is a work in progress and will be continually updated in response to feedback and development. Although we cannot guarantee that we will add all of the suggested resources, we welcome all feedback.
Please let us know if there’s any accessibility issues on the website – while we’ve tried to make this website accomodating to a range of reading styles and requirements, we can’t guarantee that the resources that we link out to are accessible.
FAQs
  • We focus on ethno-cultural, migrant, refugee and minority ethnic racial equity.
    However we do include resources written and/or produced by Indigenous people, including First Nations Australians, as influential thinkers who lead and inform racial equity work for migrant communities. We strive to include intersectional works.
  • We focus on resources for organisations.
    Other DARTS and BC projects are aimed at supporting individual artists and creatives, but the audience for this project is arts, screen and cultural organisations, funding bodies, government bodies, policymakers and philanthropic organisations.
  • We only include resources available in English.
    Due to lack of resources to research and translate across languages. Unfortunately at the moment this website is only available in English.
  • We include resources from around the world.
    As a joint project of the British Council and Diversity Arts Australia, our coverage is global.
  • We take a practical, action-oriented approach
    This toolkit is a practical guide that links to existing resources for organisations that want to take action on equity. It does not seek to include all available literature, nor to identify or fill gaps in the literature, but instead to curate a selection of leading practical resources.
The Project
The Creative Equity Toolkit is an initiative of the British Council and Diversity Arts Australia, part of the INTERSECT partnership, a knowledge-exchange between Australia and the UK. The UK and Australia are both multi-ethnic societies with an under-representation of artists and creative practitioners from culturally diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. The Toolkit aims to support the work of cultural diversity and racial equity in the creative sectors between the UK and Australia. Find out more about this project.
Our Team
Project Executive Producer: Lena Nahlous (Executive Director, Diversity Arts Australia)
Project Coordinator and Content Producer: Colin Ho (Stage Two)
Lead Writer & Project Producer: Monique Choy (Stage One)
Researchers: Anique Vered, Mounira Almenoar, Anna Denejkina, Hanifa Abdiraihan, Fotis Kapetopoulos, Gary Paramanthan
Additional Research Support: Rebecca Mostyn
British Council Australia: Helen Salmon (Director), Anna Hay (Arts and Programme Manager), Kate Murray (Senior Communications Manager)

Accessibility Consultant: Shravan Reddi

Thanks to: Rupert Daniel, Simon Steele, Dan Gibney, Amanda Brizzi, Glaiza Perez, Dr Paula Abood, Dr Görkem Acaroğlu, Eugene Hoh, Karen Soldatic, Shalini Perera, Caitlin Vaughan, Reem Al-Gharabally, James Arvanitakis, Gerald Lidstone, Kevin Bathman, Joanne Cooper, Alexia Derbas.

About Diversity Arts Australia
Diversity Arts Australia is Australia’s key national organisation working for ethno-cultural
diversity in the creative sector.

About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational
opportunities, on the ground in six continents and over 100 countries, bringing international
opportunity to life, every day.

Our Partners