In this report we researched Outback Arts Inc.’s Regional Indigenous Cultural Officer (RICO) contributions to the region serviced by the company, as a position created in response to a need to reflect the diversity of the region and acknowledge the fact that Aboriginal Australians have a distinct culture from the rest of the Australian population. We looked at what had been and could be achieved with Aboriginal communities of the region serviced by Outback Arts through arts and cultural activities in general and community cultural development (CCD) projects in particular.

The authors found that Outback Arts and many stakeholders believe in the value of arts and cultural activities in bringing about positive social and economic change. It is a belief that the revitalisation, maintenance and development of the arts and cultural practices of a community are the foundation for self-determination, improved social cohesion, education, employment and respect. It is thought that working with art and related activities is a way of creating economic benefits for the region and increasing career and employment opportunities through increased tourist activities and increased capacity for communities to harness public, business and community sector resources. A consequence of this is that these practices are also seen as providing a conduit for reconciliation with non-Aboriginal Australians.

The authors have also found that Outback Arts’ CCD projects have a potential to strengthen and promote culture and validate what members of the local Aboriginal population do in order to address key priority areas such as low employment rates, poor housing quality, lack of access health services, higher health risk factors and low levels of access to formal education. It is clear, though, that Outback Arts’ capacities to carry out CCD activities is constrained by how much funds are available, the level of support and understanding by external bodies and resources as well as what is actually feasible for one person.

Further, the authors have found that, overall, the RICO has been valuable and beneficial to Aboriginal people in the industry and has allowed greater local Aboriginal control. In the short period it has been created, has engaged and fostered participation with diverse elements of local communities and made some way towards establishing cultural, social and economic benefits. It has therefore made some direct and significant contributions to community capacity building that is meaningful to Aboriginal communities and represents a significant achievement towards local Aboriginal communities’ renewal. By providing advice, creating opportunities for artists to exhibit their work and helping artists seek funding for their work and projects the RICO has elevated the status of Aboriginal Arts for local artists and provided pathways to further education for some people.

The position has the potential to affect change but economic rationalist pressures to reduce costs are an obstacle to realising this potential. The challenge is therefore to facilitate community capacity building efforts that require funds and time in order to implement strategies that enable a shift in mindset from people seeing themselves as objects affected by change to agents effecting change.

The concerns emerging here are to do with how to help Aboriginal people express their aspirations and needs and work towards self-determination using arts and cultural activities. Issues such as how to engage the various communities and get them to invest time and energy in such activities are real. Those issues and concerns can be addressed by establishing long-term relationships with individuals and communities, but it is important to note that this kind of work takes time and ongoing commitment from the organisation that chooses to bring about positive social and economic change to the communities they work with.

In view of these findings, the Centre for Popular Education, UTS, recommends that Outback Arts develop and sustain its RICO position and develop for its Aboriginal arts program a five to ten-year strategic vision based around the careful planning and evaluation of some major CCD projects.