Sydney is losing its creative workers at four times the national rate, but the amount of space available to them is shrinking at an even more rapid pace.
The city’s cultural and creative workforce fell by 6 per cent in the decade to 2021, compared to a 1.37 per cent drop nationally, according to census data.
Daniel Bourne is co-founder of The Nest Creative Space in Alexandria, which houses artists including Marnie Ross. Credit: Louie Douvis
In a new report, the Committee for Sydney thinktank says inner-city Sydney lost nearly 30 per cent of its creative work areas in roughly the same period despite overall floor space surging by 15 per cent.
It warns that creative workers – and their cultural and economic benefits – will be squeezed out unless authorities create or protect space amid a wave of development.
The committee’s culture policy lead, Matt Levinson, said there was “less space than ever for making creative work”.
“Creativity is being priced out of Sydney due to chronic housing unaffordability, the cost of living and the cost of rehearsal spaces, art studios, recording facilities and other creative work space,” he said.
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The report, launched on Thursday, said losing creative workers would strip the city of jobs, visitors and entertainment, while also reducing confidence in urban renewal and development.
“If creativity is priced out (or never priced in), we miss out on the opportunity for increased economic activity, community cohesion and simply the good life new residents aspire to,” it read.
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