Study draws on 33 interviews and 209 survey responses
Australian Creative Histories & Futures has released its first major research report, offering what it describes as the first national overview of Australia’s cultural data sector.
The study, From Creative Histories to Futures: Mapping the Cultural Data Sector in Australia, examines how the arts, creative and cultural sector creates, manages, shares and uses data.
Researchers based the report on 33 national interviews and 209 survey responses. It covers the experiences of artists, archivists, programmers, curators and researchers.
ACHF co-leads A/Prof Bryoni Trezise and Dr Caroline Wake wrote the report with Neenah Grey, Asli Günel and Aayush Fuskelay.
“Data plays an increasingly important role in artistic and cultural life, shaping how creative work is documented, shared, understood and valued,” Trezise and Wake said.
Rather than treating data as a technical issue alone, the report looks at Australia’s different data cultures. It focuses on how artists, creative workers and cultural institutions work with data in practice.
Indigenous data governance shapes the findings
The authors identify strengths, challenges and inequities across the cultural data ecosystem. They also state that the data cultures examined in the study are underpinned by Indigenous data and Indigenous data governance.
According to ACHF, the report is intended to strengthen collaboration across the sector and support a cultural data infrastructure that is more accessible, interoperable and ethical.
The study argues that better use of cultural data could improve research, inform policy and open new opportunities for creative work. It also links Australia’s creative histories with the futures those records help shape.
“This report provides the first national picture of Australia’s cultural data sector, identifying both its strengths and the challenges that need to be addressed,” Trezise and Wake said.
Jenny Fewster, director of the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons at the Australian Research Data Commons, called the study a landmark contribution to understanding how the arts and cultural sector creates value through data.
UNSW Sydney listed the report on 25 August 2026. The university did not disclose any funding amount for the project.
