We work collaboratively with the National Cultural Institutions to highlight the key role they play in the cultural lives of Australians.

2018–19 results

This is an infographic that summarises key data about the impact of the National Cultural Institutions in 2018–19. There were 10.6 million visits, comprising 6,141,194 off-site visits, 4,195,620 on-site visits, and 307,322 on-site student visits. 82.6% of on-site visitors were from major cities, 12.7% from inner regional areas, and the remaining 4.7% from outer regional and remote areas. 73.5% of off-site visits occurred in major cities, 18.5% in inner regional areas and the remaining 8% in outer regional and remote areas. There were 273.4 million total page views, averaging 5.5 page views per visit, for a total of 49.5 million website visits. There were 12,260 visits by schools, with 784,991 school students participating. There were also 712,915 public program visits. 97% of teachers reported an overall positive experience of their visits; 94% of teachers reported the visit to be of relevance to the curriculum, and 84% of public visitors reported an overall satisfaction with their visit. 147 projects supported by the National Cultural Institutions were selected for national festivals, and 117 for international festivals. There were 22.6 million attendances at activities supported by the Australia Council; Screen Australia productions reached an audience of 132.8 million, and 9,966 Australian artwork projects were supported. There are 11.3 million objects in the national collections, with 606,000 new acquisitions in 2018–19. Over 1.2 million objects are digitised; 8.1 million objects are available to the public; 33,500 objects on display, 8,600 objects on tour, and 978,400 objects available online. 2,800 volunteers generously gave their time to the Institutions, equivalent to 153 full-time positions. There were 649 initiatives to strengthen ties with other countries, and 2,200 collaborations with educational and cultural institutions.

2018–19 trends

This is an infographic that summarises key data trends about the impact of the National Cultural Institutions. Visits to the National Cultural Institutions are increasing. There were 49,521,000 website visits in 2018–19, up from 46,576,000 in 2017–18, 40,509,000 in 2016–17, 38,036,000 in 2015–16, and 37,378,000 in 2014–15. There were 10,644,000 visitors in 2018–19, 9,963,000 in 2017–18, 10,770,000 in 2016–17, 10,036,000 in 2015–16 and 9,486,000 in 2014–15. There were 22.5 million attendances at Australia Council supported activities in 2018–19, 22.7 million in 2017–18, 16.3 million in 2016–17, 15.7 million in 2015–16 and 17.7 million in 2014–15. The audience reach of Screen Australia supported productions were 132.8 million in 2018–19, 116.6 million in 2017–18, 144 million in 2016–17, 107.3 million in 2015–16 and 136.1 million in 2014–15. There were 1,498,000 program visits (comprising 785,000 student program visits and 713,000 public program visits) in 2018–19, 1,622,000 program visits (comprising 937,000 student program visits and 685,000 public program visits) in 2017–18, 1,048,000 program visits (comprising 459,000 student program visits and 589,000 public program visits) in 2016–17, and 810,000 program visits (comprising 394,000 student program visits and 416,000 public program visits) in 2015–16. 6,549 schools visited in 2018–19, up from 6,434 in 2017–18, 6,157 in 2016–17 and 6,238 in 2015–16. The collection is also increasing in size. In 2018–19 there were 11,269,000 objects (with 8,129,000 available to the public), in 2017–18 there were 10,662,000 objects (with 7,570,000 available to the public), in 2016¬–17 there were 10,563,000 objects (with 7,361,000 available to the public), in 2015–16 there were 9,822,000 objects (with 7,248,000 available to the public) and in 2014–15 there were 9,532,000 objects (with 6,985,000 available to the public). In 2018–19 11% of the collection had been digitised—or 1,244,000 objects. This is up from 1,101,000 in 2017–18, 1,052,000 in 2016–17, 973,000 in 2015–16 and 849,000 in 2014–15. The proportion of the collection available to the public online has increased from 6.1% in 2014–15 to 8.7% in 2018–19. In 2018–19 9,966 new Australian artwork projects were supported, in 2017–18 10,461 were supported, in 2016–17 6,858 were supported and 2015–16 7,619 were supported. In 2018–19 there were a further 484 culturally diverse projects and events supported, in 2017–18 509, in 2016–17 383 and in 2015–16 349. In 2018–19 the number of projects selected for festivals is the highest ever at 147 for national and 117 for international festivals. In 2017–18 it was 53 for national and 51 for international. In 2016–17 it was 91 for national and 111 for international. In 2015–16 it was 98 for national and 76 for international.

The National Cultural Institutions are:

Australian National Maritime Museum

Bundanon Trust

The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

The National Gallery of Australia

The National Library of Australia

The National Museum of Australia

The National Portrait Gallery

The Australia Council for the Arts

The Australian Film, Television and Radio School

Screen Australia