Queensland’s dynamic arts, cultural and creative sector encompasses art forms and industries spanning music, theatre, dance, visual arts and craft, design, screen and games development, literature, physical theatre and fashion.
Government investment underpins the state’s largely not-for-profit sector and ensures arts are accessible for all Queenslanders by subsidising statewide activities.
The Queensland Government invests more than $420.7 million in 2025-26 through the Arts portfolio. This investment supports five Arts Statutory Bodies including Queensland Museum, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, State Library of Queensland and Queensland Theatre. It also supports four Arts Owned Companies including the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts, Major Brisbane Festivals, Queensland Music Festival and Screen Queensland.
Investment supports more than 300 arts and cultural organisations, festivals, artists, regional arts programs and tours, screen productions and games development in communities, studios, venues and galleries across the state. This investment includes essential core operational funding for arts and cultural organisations, including 18 Indigenous Art Centres.
This funding also enables longer term planning and is leveraged by the sector to grow philanthropic and corporate support and generate diverse revenue streams to strengthen businesses.
Investment in the sector can lessen financial risk in relation to new activities, increased scale and distribution across this vast state.
Queensland Government investment in local screen, game practitioners and companies supports a growing screen industry and incentives attract high-value production and projects to Queensland, securing jobs and contributing to the state’s economy. For example, Ludo’s Bluey film will be made in Queensland, supported by investment through Screen Queensland. The film will create more than 130 local jobs and contribute an estimated $35 million to the state’s economy.
Investment in our cultural infrastructure ensures Queenslanders have places to create, present and engage in arts and cultural experiences.
Our creative workforce is talented, resilient and adaptive - essential to the state’s ambition to grow an experience economy and deliver vibrant cultural programming in the lead-up to and during Brisbane 2032.
Continued investment and support through Queensland’s Time to Shine: a 10-year strategy for arts and culture will position our state’s creative sector to build capacity, generate commercial opportunities and to thrive over the next decade.