Dear Friend of SCAF

Like many organisations and companies that are on your contact list, I write to say that we, too, are thinking of you at this time. It is inconceivable that from the Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation launch on 21 February, our lives would be so impacted by the coronavirus pandemic across the world.

It is a time when we reach out to friends and family, staying in contact, sharing stories and wisdom, making sure we are all keeping safe and well.

I have been thinking of the artists and arts organisations, that I, like many of us, can no longer visit and experience the creativity, the beauty and the thought provoking moments, that artists bring to us through performance, painting, writing, pottery, sculpture and film-making.

We at SCAF, have been working on ideas that we may pursue to support our regional artists and arts organisations in this ‘lock-down’ period. The arts are part of life. They build our identity and connectedness. They particularly build community well-being and resilience. In times of crisis we often turn to the arts for solace, stimulation and enjoyment.

To this end, we have decided to facilitate professional development for arts companies and artists across the region to build philanthropic, fundraising and sponsorship skills and strategies for a stronger future for the arts. We will work with Creative Partnerships Australia to offer one-on-one, tailored coaching sessions to address organisations' specific challenges and opportunities to develop new and creative income streams.

Our second project is centred around much needed audience research in the region leading to an innovative strategy to develop audiences into the future. The project will begin with desk-top research leading to future focus groups and face-to-face audience conversations. Both projects are partnerships with other organisations, using a minimal amount of our own reserves.

We want to be here when all this is over.
We want the arts, and arts managers and artists, to be here ready to flourish when all this is over.
We want you to be part of our ‘family’ while we learn and grow, and to support each other at this time.
We will keep in touch, just to see how you are managing, and to let you know how our projects are progressing.

Warmest wishes

Prof Jennifer Radbourne
Chair Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation