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Futuristic fashion at London Fashion Week. Jonathan Brady/PA

New technology could spell the end of the size zero model

As I look out of the window of my office at Somerset House, I can see the Fashion Week tent dominating the courtyard. This temporary structure combines fashion’s ephemeral nature with a steely efficiency…
The hacks and flacks of old in Frith’s ‘A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881’ Wikimedia Commons

How arts journalism can thrive in the age of PR

Public relations and arts journalism are inextricable. And so, unlike in other areas of the media, the influence that PR has on the arts sections of newspapers and magazines is not so contentious. But…
Culture: not just contemporary dance in London. Jonathan Brady/PA

The arts don’t need more lobbying, but a radical new vision

Pinning down definitions of the words “culture” and “arts” has always been notoriously difficult. But over the past 60 years, fast and profound social, economic, technological and cultural changes have…
Stars in our eyes Ben Terrett

What art can learn from science about awarding greatness

It’s that season, and the award shows have begun, culminating for many in the Oscars. There are, as always, heavy favourites, films nominated numerous times, shows, musicians and actors. But one has to…
Left: Girl Reading, by Franz Eybl. Oil on canvas, 1850. Right: Woman Reading, by Andrew Stevovich. Oil painting, 2011. Flickr, Plum Leaves; Wiki Commons, Andr.V.S.

What is a book in the digital age?

As a professional book designer, I’ve spent a decade observing electronic books from a cagey distance. A couple of years ago, I reluctantly recognised the need to engage with these alien book forms, both…
Let’s be honest: the sofa’s often better than the cinema. AAP/HBO

Youth vs truth: how box sets beat the box office

The northern summer of 2013 was a bad one for Hollywood. After Earth, The Lone Ranger, White House Down, World War Z and Pacific Rim were among the million-dollar turkeys. And you may have noticed the…
RMIT Graduate Sharlee Young’s Collection, Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2012. Monty Coles

Global shift: Australian fashion’s coming of age

Fifty years ago, the notion of Australian fashion may have been regarded as an oxymoron. This is not a critique of Australians’ capacity to be intrinsically stylish, as there is plenty of evidence to reflect…
Public funding should promote unintended consequences. Abode of Chaos

You’ve got $7 billion – so how will you fund the arts?

Last year the Australian Bureau of Statistics did the maths – government spends about A$7 billion annually in Australia on arts and culture. The exact dollar figure varies depending on what we count, but…
Architects such as Glenn Murcutt tailor their designs to the Australian landscape. Anthony Browell/AAP Image

Building a nation: the state of play in Australian architecture

The Sydney Opera House celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. This Australian icon was, of course, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, as a result of an international design competition held at…
With the right policy levers, Australia’s next big boom could be creative by design. Sebastiaan ter Burg

The creative economy could fuel Australia’s next boom

Australia is richly blessed with an abundance of resources which, along with robust legal, business and political infrastructure, has allowed it to pull through tough times on several occasions. As we…
Of course, there is no singular Indigenous Australia. Angelo Soulas/AAP

What is Indigenous Australia in 2013?

What is Indigenous Australia in 2013? To begin to answer this question, I believe it is important to proceed with a few key caveats: 1) There is no singular Indigenous Australia. Thus, anything written…
Matthew Hutchinson

Go on then … what are the creative industries?

Creativity is the X factor of modern industry. When it slumps, our economy splutters. Creativity is the source of the unprecedented wealth of the last two centuries. Yet we still understand very little…
Australia does not lack art, artists or audiences, but …

Does Australia ‘get’ culture?

Why doesn’t Australia get culture? What is it about culture that defeats our perception to the point where, like an unwelcome magic trick, it vanishes as an object of collective concern? For a country…

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