The arts council will invest €10 million in funding for artists and cultural organisations in the next five years through programmes targeting 750 projects and beneficiaries, all part of an extensive new strategy.

The strategy – called Create 2020 – was announced during the first Arts Council Malta national conference, held yesterday at the Mediterranean Con-ference Centre.

“Our mission is based on investment,” said arts council director of strategy, Toni Attard. “We are investing in the cultural and creative sectors with the ultimate aim of achieving higher levels of excellence.”

Addressing five cultural goals, the strategy is built around 70 deliverable actions, as well as an accompanying research programme allowing the goals to be reviewed, revisited and changed over the coming years.

Among other goals, the strategy aims to professionalise the cultural sector by nurturing creative potential and offering practitioners the tools to create their own jobs as creative entrepreneurs.

According to a statistical snapshot presented by the arts council, there are currently 1,800 employees in the performing arts sector alone, most of them part-time, earning an average of just €1,500 a year.

The strategy also highlights artistic excellence through better identification and development of talent, a stronger emphasis on quality projects in funding and plans for national awards and recognition.

“By 2020, the sector should have the confidence to talk seriously about quality and what quality entails,” Mr Attard said.

We are investing in the cultural and creative sectors with the ultimate aim of achieving higher levels of excellence

The launch of the five-year strategy follows months of consultation with more than 300 artists, creative practitioners and other stakeholders, organised by the arts council, which itself underwent a revamp this year.

Central to the artistic funding strategy is the reorganisation of the Malta Arts Fund, which will for the first time include funding for research, as well as a strand dedicated to multi-year projects.

The arts council says that, to date, 359 applications have been received this year across six different funding programmes, with a third of applicants awarded a total of €820,000.

There is also a strong drive towards internationalisation, with €500,000 set aside for the exportation of creative works, as well as a push for more collaborations with international artists.

The council will also invest one million euros in education programmes that bring together creative professionals as well as young people to promote creativity and self-expression from a young age.

Yesterday’s conference was addressed by former European Culture Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, as well as a number of local and international cultural managers.

The conference also included focus sessions and panel discussions with practitioners on different aspects of the new strategy.

Actions under the Create 2020 strategy

• Establish a new funding programme for training and continuous development as part of the National Fund for Excellence.

• Increase co-funding mechanisms through public-private financing and crowdfunding.

• Establish the arts council as a one-stop shop offering ‘brokerage’ services for artists looking for funding, networking or co-production opportunities.

• Invest a minimum of €500,000 to ensure that every secondary school student experiences at least one artistic production every year.

• Establish a national registerfor accredited arts educatorsand institutions.

• Create skills development programmes targeting sectoral gaps and needs for the improvementof artistic practice. Priority willbe given to scriptwriting, tech-nical and production skills, andcritical reviewing.

• Develop skills training related to business development, financial planning and marketing.

• Invest a minimum of €900,000in community exchange cul-tural projects.

• Create a multidisciplinary talent campus for hard-to-reach young people with creative potential.

• Invest €500,000 to nurture growth of the local games sector and another €700,000 in creative start-ups and entrepreneurship.