Ipswich residents now have the opportunity to have their say on the future of arts and cultural activities in Ipswich. In an effort to bolster arts and cultural activities, Ipswich City Council recently launched an Arts and Culture Strategy Discussion Paper, for public comment on aspects such as street art, cultural festivals and support for local artists.

Mayor Andrew Antoniolli says Ipswich need to strengthen its arts and culture activities.

“The reality is it’s an area where there can be a huge amount of not just social benefit and community benefit but also economic benefit for our city,” he said. “We really need to be developing a policy and a strategy that is directly linked to arts and culture.”

After the recent success of last year’s FUSED festival and mural installation behind Goleby’s Basement, the Mayor expects more requests for more art pop-ups across the city.

“We’ve been a bit shy in that area [public and street art]. We’ve been a bit adverse to criticism and risk, that having street art and public art may attract criticism,” he said.

“Talking points through art aren’t necessarily a bad thing.They can create tourism and other economic potential for our city.

“There could be enormous jobs potential in this realm as well.”

To have your say, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/2RTMT2D.