In October, ArtStart coordinators came together to share their experiences, ideas and success stories in an ArtStart Post Festival Forum. 

A number of common themes and challenges were highlighted during the meeting.

The long term sustainability of youth art programs was discussed and two coordinating organisations reported that they were planning to develop larger, regional projects, rather than offering their traditional small grants program in future. The ArtStart funding model was also raised and Social Inclusion and Vocational Access Skills Unit, TAFE NSW, will review the comments made about the process prior to the next round of funding.
 
Coordinators offered many positive recommendations about maximising the use of the ArtStart website and a better integration of social media. The meeting also highlighted the challenges posed by working with the broad age range of ArtStart participants (12 to 24 years) and suggested that this could be addressed in future professional development. Coordinators endorsed the ArtStart Professional Development Workshop as an invaluable training and networking opportunity. Feedback from the ArtStart Post Festival Forum and the ArtStart 2011 Final Reports will inform the State Report.