A town hall style meeting was held in Albury this week to canvas what artists and creators thought the future of the arts should look like in Australia, as part of a federal government initiative to develop a new National Cultural Policy to bring drive, direction and vision back to the arts industry.

Flying Fruit Fly Circus chief executive Richard Hull said it was fantastic to have a special envoy for the arts after "more than a decade of feeling rather forgotten and trivialised by the previous government".

"There's now definitely a feeling of optimism and hope," he said.

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"For those of us who work in the arts and arts training there's a feeling that what we do is acknowledged and respected again, so just from that perspective alone it was a very positive event."

Mr Hull said there were a range of independent artists and representatives from organisations like Hothouse Theatre, The Cube and Albury and Wodonga councils, each with different ideas and contributions.

"Our view comes very much from a perspective of youth and from arts training and from how important it is for the future of arts and culture in Australia that that passion and that interest is supported and encouraged from a very young age," he said.

"Schools don't always support the arts, culture or necessarily regard the creative industries as being a legitimate pathway into careers or professional work, and that's something we really need to address, because the cultural industries is the fastest growing sector in the world."

Mr Hull said art was broader than people realised.

"Many people will regard themselves as not really being part of the arts or supporting the arts or they don't really engage with the arts, because they don't go to the ballet maybe, or they don't go to the opera or they don't go to the circus," he said.

"But when they get home they'll turn on Netflix and watch a movie and perhaps forget that everyone in that movie as been through some kind of arts training to become an actor, to become a designer, to become a director, to become a set maker or a stage manager or a cameraman.

"So what we'd like to see as an organisation here at the Fruit Flies is really a cultural shift in the way that people view the arts and the importance of the arts and the importance of things that you learn through an arts training program, like we do here at the circus."

Mr Hull said through arts training young people could learn risk taking, critical thinking, how to think outside the box, creativity and problem solving.

"These things aren't just required in creative industries jobs, they're required across all industries and will be really important skills for young people to have in whatever they want," he said.

The new National Cultural Policy, to be delivered by the end of this year, will be shaped around five pillars:

Submissions on the National Cultural Policy can be made until August 22. For more information, visit the National Cultural Policy website.

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