Living Culture presents arts and culture data from the ABS’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) about Indigenous Australians’ engagement with First Nations arts, festivals, languages and broadcasting. It draws on a collaboration with researchers from the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University. The research outputs are all online and include key stories, interactive dashboards, detailed data tables and links to external reference materials.

Key stories include:

• First Nations arts engagement supports empowerment, community connectedness and wellbeing among First Nations Australians.
• First Nations arts practice has a strong relationship with First Nations language maintenance, and with outcomes in education and employment.
• First Nations arts engagement is vital to remote communities, but remote arts participation rates declined between 2008 and 2014-15.
• Older First Nations Australians are more likely to participate and earn income from First Nations arts.
• Relatives of those impacted by policies of child removal are rekindling interrupted connections to culture through the arts.
• First Nations people are a growing audience segment at arts and cultural venues such as art galleries, museums, libraries and theatres.