PilbaraThe Pilbara has four local government authorities, the City of Karratha, Shire of Ashburton, the Town of Port Hedland and the Shire of East Pilbara. The region is home to three national parks which attract tourists from around the world: the Millstream-Chichester, Karlamilyi (Ruddell River) and Karijini National Parks. The Burrup Peninsula and surrounding Dampier Archipelago have the highest concentration of rock art in the world.

Size: 507,896 km² Regional centres: West Pilbara – Karratha; East Pilbara – Newman

Population: 47,528 Key industries: Mining, oil and gas and tourism

Arts and culture across the region

• Located in Newman, the Martumili Artists is hosted by the Shire of East Pilbara and supported by BHP Billiton.

• A new gallery and work spaces for Martumili Artists with fire-rated storage, and two dwellings for staff accommodation is presently under construction.

• Arts and cultural organisations in the Town of Port Hedland include HARTZ (Hedland Arts Council), Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre and the Port Hedland Historical Society.

• The Matt Dann Theatre and Cinema is the only CircuitWest venue in the region and plays a key role in the social and cultural life of Port Hedland. Recent upgrades undertaken by the Town of Port Hedland and the Department of Education include the provision of new technical equipment and enhanced digital cinema features. Further upgrades have been identified.

• The Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery is managed by FORM on behalf of the Town of Port Hedland. The Courthouse Gallery program includes an ongoing exhibition program, workshops, markets and the annual Hedland Art Award, which has a total prize pool of $65,000.

• Land.Mark.Art is a creative professional development model delivered through a partnership between FORM and Urban Art Projects. Land.Mark.Art has built the capacity and skills of Aboriginal artists in the Pilbara resulting in 12 public art commissions in Karratha and Port Hedland.

• Spinifex Hill Artists are a group of emerging and mid-career Aboriginal artists from the Pilbara and surrounding regions. The Spinifex Hill Studios in South Hedland were completed in February 2014 and are managed by FORM.

• Staged annually at the historic Cossack settlement in Roebourne, the Cossack Art Award is the richest regional art award in Australia.

• Arts and cultural organisations operating in the Shire of Roebourne include the Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, Friends of the Cossack Art Award and Big hART’s Yijala Yala project.

• The three major Aboriginal art centres in the region are the Roebourne Art Group, Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre and Martumili Artists.

• The City of Karratha has commenced planning for a $41 million cultural centre – the Karratha Cultural Precinct, which will include a new library facility, a theatre and performing arts centre, an art centre and gallery, and an amphitheatre.

• The Youth Shed in Karratha is a dedicated youth space offering access to musical instruments, computers, gaming stations and a pool table. The Youth Shed’s performing arts area is fully-equipped with audio and visual equipment.

• Operated by the Town of Port Hedland, the JD Hardie Youth Zone (JDYz) is a youth centre and community hub which has a program focused on visual arts, dance and music.

• Archipelago Arts operates as an arts business in Karratha and serves other communities in the eastern Pilbara.

• The Yijala Yala Project is a long-term residency by Big hART. The multi-platform arts project is focused on telling the story of the community’s culture, history and future through a range of media including theatre, film, games, iPad applications and music.

• The City of Karratha’s Red Earth Festival and the Town of Port Hedland’s North West Festival are both highlights in the Pilbara cultural calendar, attracting locals and visitors to the region.

Department of Culture and the Arts funding in the region

• The Aboriginal Art Centre Hub WA (AACHWA) is a Country Arts WA project supported by DCA through the Looking Forward Fund and other strategic initiatives. It provides services and support to its member organisations in the Pilbara, including the Roebourne Art Group, Martumili Artists and Spinifex Hills Artists.

• The critically acclaimed exhibition by Martumili Artists We don’t need a map: a Martu experience of the Western Desert is touring to six regional arts centres and galleries over the next two years through a partnership between Fremantle Arts Centre, Martumili Artists and Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa. The tour is supported by BHP Billiton, the Australia Council, DCA and Lotterywest.

AiR Grants Program STREAM 1 project 2012, Tom Price Senior High School (cluster). Workshop with artist Matthew McVeigh. Photograph courtesy of Tom Price Senior High School.

Arts and cultural priorities in the region

Outcomes from focus group consultations provide valuable insight into regional priorities that will guide the collaborative development of future initiatives by government, arts organisations and the local community. Regional issues and priorities as raised by participants of the Pilbara focus groups* include:

• Developing intra-regional networks in the Pilbara to build capacity and contact with peers, and provide access to current information.

• Developing strategic partnerships between local governments and the corporate sector, rather than multiple one-off sponsorship arrangements.

• Providing access to services, advice, professional support programs and skills development training for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists.

• Providing community organisations in remote areas with equitable access to funding bodies and the types of services provided by organisations based in Perth.

• Securing resources to meet arts programming, audience development, entertainment events and operations needs identified in the former Shire of Roebourne’s Arts and Cultural Action Plan.

• Addressing issues highlighted by the Town of Port Hedland’s Entertainment Feasibility Study, such as out-dated equipment and operational impediments.

• The need to set regional arts and cultural priorities at a local level.

• Improving co-ordination of opportunities in the region to enable young people to participate in the arts.

• Establishing partnerships with the education and training sector in order to develop traineeships and apprenticeships in the arts and cultural industry.

• Increasing opportunities for regional place-making through investment in public art in order to build the capacity of local communities.

• Mounting a viable tour in the North West of the state without support from Circuitwest and Country Arts WA is difficult.

*DCA’s focus group consultations were held in Karratha and Port Hedland. Communities in the East Pilbara will be consulted in the first year of the life of the Plan.

Region-specific actions

Priorities Key Partners Actions Timeline

Objective 1: Creative People

1.4 Intra-regional networking and skills-sharing forums

Pilbara Development Commission (PDC);Regional Development Australia Pilbara;Key regional stakeholders.

Develop an intra-regional networking forum for artists and community organisations.

2015–162016–172017–18

Objective 4: Creative Economies

4.4 Support the development of opportunities for the creative industries in the regions

PDC In partnership with the PDC, DCA will explore the potential for development of the creative industries through the Pilbara Cities Economic Diversification Framework

2014–15

1 2 1

3

4

1

1

2 3

4 5

54

76

3

21

Port Hedland

Newman

RoeburneCossackKarratha

Arts and Cultural Infrastructure

Cossack1 Cossack Art Award

Karratha1 The Youth Shed 2 Walkington Amphitheatre 3 Archipelago Arts 4 Red Earth Festival

Roebourne1 Roebourne Amphitheatre 2 Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation 3 Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre4 Roebourne Art Group 5 Big hART

Port Hedland1 Matt Dann Theatre and Cinema 2 HARTZ (Headland Arts Council)3 Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery 4 Spinifex Hill Artists and Studios5 JD Hardie Youth Zone (JDYz)6 Wangka Maya Pilbara

Aboriginal Language Centre 7 North West Festival

Newman1 Martumili Artists