Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the First Peoples of the lands now called Australia where this website was created, and recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded. We extend our Acknowledgement of Country to all First Peoples around the world. We pay respects to Elders past and present and recognise the continuing connection of First Peoples to the land and waters and their ongoing custodianship and care for their lands.

We are guided in all our work by First Peoples’ leadership, recognising the immense value that First Nations artists and cultural workers create within the arts and cultural landscape.

This website was created 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. Always was, always will be. Aboriginal land.

This website provides resources for improving racial equity in the creative sector. Diversity Arts Australia focuses on culturally and racially marginalised settler communities in the arts, cultural and creative industries. Our partners, Garuwa, have provided First Nations-related content, including case studies of Indigenous arts leadership in Australia, and reviewed site content from a First Nations perspective. This work is ongoing, and we welcome feedback and contributions.

While we are connected by our analysis of racism and anti-racism, 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 comprehensively address.

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