Our Purpose

CuriousWorks exists at the intersection of contemporary multi-arts practice and community arts and cultural development. We work across art forms and disciplines, with a focus on screen works, digital media, and emerging art forms.

Our Vision

Working with artists and communities in South West Sydney, we actively shape a future culture that is vibrant, democratic, generative, and relevant for Australia and beyond.

We want to see a fair, inclusive, equitable, innovative arts landscape that reflects the plurality and complexity of lived experience in contemporary Australia.

We want to see resources disseminated fairly and imbalances corrected. We want abundant opportunities and pathways in the arts for all and especially for historically marginalised and minoritized people and communities.

We want a cultural landscape that is inclusive and expansive, where anyone can create, participate, enjoy, and feel belonging and agency to explore their potential through the arts.

We will play our part in creating this future culture from our base in South West Sydney.

We nurture the ideas and the potential of art makers and future cultural leaders, creating space for the next generation to play, learn and grow. We believe in ethical and self-determined storytelling, and in the integrity of process, engaging deeply and meaningfully with artists, audiences, communities, and collaborators to produce and present new Australian work and cultural experiences that speak to the hyper-local of our home grounds in South West Sydney, and resonate far beyond.

We do this through commissioning new local work, co-creating cultural experiences with communities and artists, providing arts education programs, generating leadership and skills development opportunities, creating employment pathways, partnering in research and cultural development initiatives, and advocating alongside our peers for systemic change.

Our communities of focus often intersect, reflecting the reality of the plural and complex lived experiences in contemporary Australia. They include people from Western Sydney, First Nations peoples, culturally and racially marginalised people and people of colour, LGBTQI+, young people, older people, people living with disability, people who may be experiencing financial hardship, and people seeking asylum or those newly settled in Australia.

CHAIR REPORT

WELCOME TO OUR 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

On behalf of the management committee of CuriousWorks, it is a great pleasure to introduce the CuriousWorks annual report which summarises the outstanding programs and services which CuriousWorks facilitates. 2023 was a great year for CuriousWorks.

Our CEO, Kiri has finished her first full year with CuriousWorks and has dedicated herself to the dynamic leadership of CuriousWorks staff without whom it would be impossible to deliver our services and programs.

Undoubtedly the highlight of 2023 was the finalisation of CuriousWorks' new 4-year organisational strategy which formed the basis for the successful application to the newly formed Creative Australia for operational funding for 2025 -2028.  All of the CuriousWorks team worked very hard pulling the application together and our success ensures that CuriousWorks' key pillar of funding is secured.  It is not lost on us that these funding rounds are intensely competitive, and success is not guaranteed.  All at CuriousWorks are mindful and grateful for the ongoing support of the Federal and NSW governments in supporting the work that we do.

We have also seen some changes at the management committee level.

We have welcomed new general members Ashley Gray and Ameer Ali to the committee and farewelled Andrew Maiden after 5 years of service.

In addition, at the upcoming AGM we will also farewell Easha Ranasinghe who has been the CuriousWorks’ treasurer for 10 years.  Easha has brought rigour and discipline to CuriousWorks' financial records and it is because of her astute management that CuriousWorks can approach its work with confidence. Thank you, Easha.

This AGM will also mark a significant milestone for CuriousWorks as it releases its 100% membership of Co-Curious.  Initially founded as an entity for CuriousWorks founder S. Shakthidharan to undertake commercial film and television projects distinct from the work of CuriousWorks, Co-Curious has taken on different management and will continue its life as a production company run by Annabel Davis. Each of CuriousWorks and Co-Curious will have separate management bodies and separate financials.

I look forward to the implementation of the new strategic plan in 2024.

Amy Noble
Chair, CuriousWorks