Our programs offer creative, arts-rich pedagogies to support teachers and communities in nurturing students’ confidence, sense of identity and connection.
The suite of arts-rich literacy programs builds on the research that emerged from the School Drama program, a partnership between Sydney Theatre Company and the University of Sydney (2009-2024), and the pilot Arts-Rich EAL/D Language and Literacy program undertaken in partnership with the NSW Department of Education. You can download the School Drama report and download the EAL/D pilot report.
Our Teaching Artistry and TheatreConnect programs have been developed from the same blend of research and creative praxis.
Our Arts-Rich Lit and Teaching Artistry programs address the NSW Department of Education’s strategic values of excellence, equity and integrity, and are NESA accredited.
The CREATE Centre is launching the first of a suite of teacher professional learning programs that embed arts-rich pedagogy in learning:
Each program has a dual focus:
The program is delivered in partnership with Shopfront Arts Co-op.
Each version of the program is tailored to the needs of the educational partner involved. If you contact us with an outline of what you hope to achieve, we will collaborate with you to create a version that suits your needs.
Learners’ self-expression (Green, 1995) is celebrated, as the program specifically encourages the use of all learners’ linguistic resources (D’warte, 2021 & 2014; Slaughter & Cross, 2021) to enhance deep literacy learning. Quality literature, drama, visual arts, music and movement experiences are embedded in the learning experiences. The teachers first engage in Arts-Rich workshops and then co-plan and team teach with teaching artists in their classrooms once a fortnight over a semester.
An extensive body of international and national research demonstrates unequivocally the effectiveness of quality arts processes and experiences in nurturing learner wellbeing and mental health alongside engagement in learning and language and deep literacy development (for example: Fancourt, 2026; Saunders & Ewing 2022; World Health Organisation, 2019; Dutton, D’warte, Rossbridge & Rushton, 2018; Miller & Saxton, 2016; 2004; ; Cremin, 2014; Winner et al, 2013; Martin et al, 2013; Ewing, 2011; Catterall et al, 2009, 2012), Bamford, 2006).
The research questions the program aims to address include:
An extensive body of international and Australian research demonstrates unequivocally that there is a well-established relationship between learning through quality arts processes and experiences, language learning, literacy and literacy development (For example: Saunders & Ewing 2022; Dutton, D’warte, Rossbridge & Rushton,2018; Miller & Saxton, 2016; 2004; O’Toole & Dunn, 2015; Cremin, 2014; Winner et al, 2013; Ewing, 2010, 2006; 2016; O’Mara, 2004; Baldwin & Fleming, 2003; Fiske, 1999; McMaster, 1998).
The relationships between Arts-Rich pedagogies and deep literacy learning are especially relevant and compelling for EAL/D learners (Beaumont, 2022; Mcatamney, 2021; Dutton & Rushton, 2022, 2021 & 2018). For example, process-based drama reduces language anxiety in the language learning classroom, enabling more spontaneous and sustained communication, fluency and confidence among learners (Piazzoli, 2011).
The EAL/D learner is an active participant in telling their stories, celebrating their identities and creating possible worlds (Dutton, D’warte, Rossbridge & Rushton, 2018). They can also use their linguistic and cultural abilities and knowledge in a variety of ways (Schewe, 2013). In addition, learners’ creativities and imaginations are nurtured, and empathy and compassion, with other personal dispositions and capabilities, are fostered alongside literacy through the artistic processes and experiences inherent in Arts-Rich pedagogies (for example, Gibson & Ewing, 2020; Saunders, 2019; Dunn & Stinson, 2012).
Interested in bringing Arts-Rich Lit to your school? Tell us a little about your setting and what you hope to achieve, and we’ll be in touch to design a version that suits you.
This microcredential equips educators and creative practitioners with practical strategies to bring artistry, imagination, and innovation into teaching and learning. Drawing on drama, visual arts, music, dance, and digital media, the course explores how teacher artistry fosters creativity, engagement, and deeper learning.
Participants will experience arts-rich pedagogies, reflect on their own teaching practices, and develop new approaches to enhance classroom creativity. Designed for educators seeking professional growth, this short course combines theory, practice, and collaboration to inspire transformative teaching.
The course will be delivered over 6 weeks through a combination of immersive workshops and live online sessions. Participants will also engage in interactive, hands-on learning experiences (workshops) that will include instruction in arts-based processes, collaborative group activities, and reflective discussions.
TheatreConnect is a multi-year, arts-based youth engagement program developed by the CREATE Centre for young people aged 11 to 18 in South Western Sydney. It builds community cohesion and resilience through drama.
TheatreConnect is funded through Multicultural NSW’s COMPACT program, which supports community resilience by building social cohesion.
The CREATE Centre is ready to explore adaptations of this program tailored to regional and demographic needs, in collaboration with local communities. Please get in touch to discuss the possibilities.
Through week-long, site-specific theatre workshops, TheatreConnect helps young people explore their identity, build confidence and critical empathy, while connecting with peers and community.
Next workshop
Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October 2026, Liverpool Powerhouse.
Registration opens roughly ten weeks before each workshop. Details for the September workshop will be published on this page shortly. Become a CREATE member to be notified when registration opens.
