Over half a century ago, Mervyn Moriarty OAM had the idea to travel over 400,000 km in a light plane to teach regional communities about art. Merv, as he was fondly called, made over 1,250 trips and averaged visiting 26 regional centres a year between 1971-1983, transforming the lives of thousands of Queenslanders. His pioneering spirit lives on today in Flying Arts – and we’ve never mattered more. Just as Merv believed all those years ago, creativity should never be out of reach for people in regional centres.
The impact of university and TAFE program closures, ATAR scaling and economic pressures are all affecting regional Queensland, leaving communities without pathways for creative education and expression. Together, we have a chance right now to change the outcomes for our future communities. As you know, Flying Arts has always been about more than art. It’s about opportunity, inclusion, community and transformation. In communities, we’ve never been needed more. With your help, we can ensure that creativity is part of everyone’s story.
We’ve never mattered more! We’ve never needed your help more.
We are hopeful you will consider supporting Flying Arts to help us protect the future of the arts in regional Queensland. Together, we can ensure creativity continues to inspire, educate, and heal — reaching more classrooms, more artists, more communities, and more lives across the state.