the cultural agency

At The Cultural Agency, we operate as a multifaceted arts organisation with a strong foundation in Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) practices. While we include a boutique booking agency for underrepresented artists as part of our services, this represents just one aspect of our comprehensive approach to cultural development and social change.

The core of our work centres on co-designed CACD projects developed in direct response to community needs. Our entire model is inspired by and deeply rooted in CACD principles, connecting First Nations, refugee, asylum seeker, LGBTQIA+, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) artists with communities through collaborative, participatory processes.

What makes us unique is our commitment to community-led cultural development. Rather than simply sending artists to events, we facilitate deep engagement between artists and communities, co-creating experiences that honour lived experiences, build upon cultural strengths, and cultivate collective action for social change.

As a booking agency transformed by CACD principles, we recognise that the most powerful creative work emerges when communities drive their own cultural expression. We financially support underrepresented artists to produce new work specifically based on the identified needs of the communities our partners and clients are serving. Our approach challenges traditional power dynamics in the arts sector by positioning community members as primary decision-makers and creative leaders in all our initiatives.

Our commitment to CACD principles is exemplified in our flagship program, "Cultures of the World." This initiative emerged in 2017 when Creating Links, a Western Sydney community organisation, approached us regarding challenges faced by 10 local schools dealing with racism, bullying, and discrimination.

True to CACD practice, we began with extensive community consultation involving the schools, Creating Links, parents, teachers, and students. Through this collaborative process, we co-designed a culturally diverse arts program specifically targeting children in playgroups and primary schools aged 0-11 years. The program promotes understanding of and respect for Australia's cultural diversity through culturally relevant art, song, and dance experiences facilitated by First Nations and CALD artists.

Program Outcomes:

• Increased cultural awareness among children aged 0-11
• Decreased cultural barriers within school communities
• Promoted cultural diversity and understanding through positive artistic expression
• Fostered community cohesion and respect through enhanced cultural understanding
• Increased participation in culturally diverse social and community life
• Facilitated opportunities to build knowledge and understanding of Australia's diversity

The success of this CACD-based program has led to its expansion beyond Western Sydney to Central Coast primary schools, with plans to extend to Hunter and Newcastle schools. This growth demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach in using community-led arts processes to address complex social issues like racism and discrimination.

Beyond our flagship program, our collaborations span schools, universities, community organisations, councils, non-profits, government agencies, and businesses across Sydney, the Central Coast, and Newcastle. Through these partnerships, we actively foster cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaboration among our diverse roster of artists.

We produce events and festivals where communities can express their identities, share their stories, and address local priorities through creative processes. We believe that arts and cultural development must be accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the specific contexts and aspirations of each community we work alongside.

We acknowledge the 65,000 years of continuous creative and cultural practice on these lands and recognise that we build upon the foundation laid by generations of First Nations artists and cultural practitioners. We approach our work with humility, understanding that meaningful community arts practice requires deep listening, ethical engagement, and a commitment to ongoing critical reflection.

• Support communities to identify their own creative and cultural priorities
• Create collaborative decision-making structures where community members guide all aspects of projects
• Ensure that intellectual and cultural property rights remain with the communities and artists involved
• Build sustainable models that enable communities to continue creative initiatives independently
• Co-design festivals and cultural events that directly address racism, discrimination, and other societal issues

• Financially support underrepresented artists to create new work addressing community-identified needs
• Facilitate meaningful cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaborations among diverse artists
• Create pathways for emerging community artists through mentorship programs
• Advocate for fair compensation and recognition of underrepresented artists
• Connect artists with opportunities while ensuring cultural safety and ethical engagement

• Challenge structural barriers that limit participation in arts and culture
• Create platforms where marginalised stories and perspectives can be heard on their own terms
• Produce festivals and events that directly address social issues and catalyse community action
• Advocate for policy changes that support greater equity in the arts and cultural sector
• Ensure that economic benefits from creative projects flow directly to participating communities and artists

• Honour the healing and transformative potential of community-led creative processes
• Support intergenerational cultural transmission through collaborative arts practices
• Create safe spaces for diverse community members to build relationships through creative expression
• Recognise that community wellbeing is inseparable from cultural identity and creative practice

• Apply rigorous ethical frameworks developed in consultation with participating communities
• Practice ongoing critical reflection to examine power relationships and improve our processes
• Engage in transparent evaluation that centres community-defined measures of success
• Document and share learnings with the broader CACD sector while respecting community ownership

• Develop a new model of artist booking that prioritises community impact and co-creation
• Advocate for sustainable funding models that support long-term community arts processes
• Build networks of solidarity among community artists and organisations
• Challenge extractive approaches to community arts that prioritise outcomes over relationships
• Create pathways for underrepresented artists to access broader opportunities while maintaining cultural integrity

With a foundation in genuine collaboration and community leadership, our unique booking agency model aims to transform how First Nations, refugee, LGBTQIA+, and CALD artists engage with communities and clients. We believe that by centring co-design and community ownership, we can create opportunities for artists that go beyond traditional representation to become vehicles for authentic expression and meaningful social change.