New research shows COVID-19 threw existing inequalities into sharp relief: well-funded institutions were able to move their projects online, while smaller galleries struggled.
Literature funding has been cut brutally in recent years and writers’ incomes are disastrously low. Yet books shape our national identity, forming an often invisible bedrock for the wider economy.
In a year of lockdowns, The Impossible Project gives life to shows that never reached the stage. More than 150 events are listed on this online archive, and sadly, more are likely to come.
Some games developed in South Australia will now be able to access a rebate of 10% of production costs. It’s helpful but more is needed for Australia’s game industry to thrive.
After seven months of waiting for a support package, artists can finally apply for funding. But with ministerial sign-off, the guidelines don’t instil hope.
Arts service organisations advocate for artists and help develop artforms. Cuts in NSW signal a more targeted approach to reduced government support for the arts and culture.
Where the policy debate has focused on a need to ‘rescue’ the cultural sector from the ill-effects of COVID-19, the emphasis must now be on growing it as part of a wider program of public investment.
While the government is showing support and generosity to foreign filmmakers and commercial television interests, it seems less inclined to demonstrate similar largesse to its own creators.
The arts and cultural sector was plunged into crisis three months ago and pleaded for help. Now a federal rescue package has been announced – but who is it for and is it enough?
COVID-19 has shown up a mind-bending contradiction. On one hand, the arts are entwined with our daily lives. Yet culture has disappeared from federal policy. Something has gone fundamentally wrong.
COVID-19 has exposed the insecurity of the cultural workforce. Making the performing arts freely available online may further diminish their value, right when the sector is arguing its worth.
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne