tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/arts-funding-7663/articlesArts funding – The Conversation2024-01-08T19:16:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158832024-01-08T19:16:01Z2024-01-08T19:16:01Z‘Caring as much as you do was killing you’. We need to talk about burnout in the arts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563836/original/file-20231206-29-l4wsxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C21%2C4866%2C3232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Verne Ho/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Burnout is an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4911781/">occupational hazard</a> in many people-focused jobs. People in these roles routinely go “above and beyond” for the benefit of others – often in the face of funding cuts and policies that make their work harder than it needs to be. </p>
<p>Since COVID-19, concern has grown about <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/career-advice/artist-burnout-is-not-a-mental-health-issue-it-is-a-labour-issue-2650825/">burnout in the arts and culture sector</a>. However, burnout isn’t a new problem for artists. As one arts worker told me in a 2019 interview: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>the level of burnout in this industry is pretty shocking […] the idea that [burnout] even exists is a running joke […] we’re all overworked and constantly tired.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Burnout rates are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332063591_Human_Resource_Development_and_Executive_Leadership_Succession_Planning_in_Nonprofits">higher in not-for-profit</a> than in for-profit organisations, due to insufficient resources, job insecurity, low pay and disillusionment involved in meeting funders’ rising demands. </p>
<p>Yet it is ironic that cultural organisations whose success is <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-57583-4_6">based around people</a> should treat those same people poorly.</p>
<h2>What is burnout?</h2>
<p>According to both the <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases">World Health Organization</a> and the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-09146-011">Maslach Burnout Inventory</a> (widely regarded as the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6194874/">gold standard</a>” measure), burnout has three dimensions: </p>
<ul>
<li> feelings of exhaustion or energy depletion</li>
<li> negativity, cynicism or mental distancing towards work, colleagues, and/or those benefiting from our work (known as “depersonalisation”)</li>
<li> inefficacy or a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. </li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178121003206">Recent research</a> identifies three further burnout symptoms: </p>
<ul>
<li>sleep disruption</li>
<li>memory and concentration problems</li>
<li>withdrawal from social relationships. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563837/original/file-20231206-17-djskol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feelings of exhaustion or energy depletion are a symptom of burnout.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christian Erfurt/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Burnout is also associated with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2167702620917447">negative outcomes</a>, such as alcohol abuse, declining health and <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397">job withdrawal</a>, which could be presenteeism, absenteeism or quitting.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, burnout is a state of physical and/or emotional exhaustion caused by chronic stress on the job.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-companies-want-to-stop-quiet-quitting-they-need-to-take-burnout-seriously-207289">If companies want to stop quiet quitting they need to take burnout seriously</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What causes burnout in the arts?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases">Prolonged work-related stress</a> is the main cause of burnout. This type of stress <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237059/employee-burnout-part-main-causes.aspx">can stem from</a> a lack of role clarity, unmanageable workloads or time pressures, unfair treatment at work and a lack of support or communication from managers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397">Additional risk factors</a> include incongruities in workload and control (where expectations aren’t matched by experience), a lack of fairness and appropriate rewards, the loss of positive relationships at work, and conflict between personal and organisational values.</p>
<p>Artists and arts workers often experience these stressors due to the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691180110117640">boom-bust careers</a> necessitated by the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ER-05-2018-0128/full/html">project-based work</a> that characterises this sector. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dancer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563838/original/file-20231206-22-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The boom-bust cycle of art work can exacerbate stressors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hulki Okan Tabak/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Working across multiple projects and companies, often with competing deadlines, arts workers can quickly become overstretched. And the small-to-medium companies that form the “<a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-culturalpolicy-8february2023.pdf">small vertebrae in the institutional spine of the nation’s cultural sector</a>” often have limited understanding of their contingent workers’ work and emotional situations. Organisations also typically lack the human resource management expertise that might help to address those situations. </p>
<p>Other unique factors also contribute to <a href="https://abewatson.com.au/burnout-thesis">burnout in Australia’s arts and culture sector</a>. Burnout can arise from <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-where-to-now-for-australian-culture-62439">a longstanding public policy context</a> in which artists have continually had to <a href="https://theconversation.com/artists-shouldnt-have-to-endlessly-demonstrate-their-value-coalition-leaders-used-to-know-it-136608">justify the value of their work</a>, coupled with <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-arts-funding-in-australia-goes-right-back-to-its-inception-138834">a chronic lack of resources</a> and widespread <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/research/do-you-really-expect-to-get-paid/">precarious employment</a>. </p>
<p>Interestingly, <a href="https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/OP.20.00990">hope can buffer burnout</a> so more recent policy developments <a href="https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623">may bring some relief</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://abewatson.com.au/burnout-thesis">24/7 nature of the industry</a> and widespread commitments that “the show must go on” can also contribute to burn out. </p>
<p>As one submission to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Arts_Funding">2014–15 Senate Inquiry into arts funding</a> explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When you are working the equivalent of two full time jobs on below average pay, burnout, fatigue, acute anxiety, and severe depression are not simply likely, but common. It is even more difficult for women, particularly parents, and particularly those who live alone, whether by choice or circumstance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3969/">Performance anxiety</a> and “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14561128/">obsessive passion</a>” can also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-013-9384-z">cause burnout</a> for some artists – particularly in the event of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/0305735618797180">failure</a>. </p>
<h2>Individual-centred solutions are not enough</h2>
<p>Between 2020 and 2022, I facilitated more than 80 <a href="https://creatingoutloud.business.uq.edu.au/">peer coaching circles</a> with arts workers around Australia, many who were seeking help to cope with burnout. </p>
<p>Reflecting on the wisdom shared in their circle, one participant said that discussions about the stress of arts work: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>kept coming back to the idea of caring less. Not that you don’t care, but that you need to be able to care less, because caring as much as you do was killing you.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A computer and notebook." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563839/original/file-20231206-29-t51mt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Applying for grants – and justifying your value – can lead to burnout.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Morrison/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/career-advice/why-we-are-burning-out-in-the-arts-249582-2350136/">Prioritising self-care</a> is often touted as the solution to burnout, both <a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artists-share-advice-preventing-burnout">by</a> and <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/features/50-ways-to-take-care-of-yourself-in-the-arts-249726-2350300/">for artists</a>. Indeed, “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-23694-007?doi=1">fixing the person</a>” approaches dominate both academic and industry responses.</p>
<p>But as workplace expert Jennifer Moss wrote for the <a href="https://egn.com/dk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/08/Burnout-is-about-your-workplace-not-your-people-1.pdf">Harvard Business Review</a>, “burnout is about workplaces, not workers”. </p>
<h2>What can arts organisations do?</h2>
<p>The key to preventing burnout is supporting engagement and wellbeing at work by creating <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-23694-007?doi=1">six “positive ‘fits’”</a> between arts workers and their workplaces:</p>
<ul>
<li>a sustainable workload</li>
<li>choice and control</li>
<li>recognition and reward</li>
<li>a supportive work community</li>
<li>fairness, respect and social justice</li>
<li>clear values and meaningful work.</li>
</ul>
<p>This involves more than just individual job-tweaking. A holistic approach is needed to build <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/313160/preventing-and-dealing-with-employee-burnout.aspx#ite-313229">workplace cultures</a> that prioritise wellbeing from recruitment to leaving the organisation.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237185/employee-burnout-part-organizations-stop-burnout.aspx">Specific steps</a> arts organisations should take straight away are: </p>
<ul>
<li>managers and staff (including contractors) jointly identifying burnout factors in their organisations</li>
<li>giving staff as much control as possible over what, where, when and how work gets done</li>
<li>recognising and rewarding staff strengths</li>
<li>encouraging and enabling arts workers to support one another (such as through peer coaching networks).</li>
</ul>
<p>Preventing burnout among arts workers will require <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-23694-007?doi=1">long-term, organisation-</a> and <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ER-05-2018-0128/full/html">sector-wide</a> commitments. And, to maximise success, arts leaders – including those in politics and government – should <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-23694-007?doi=1">ask themselves</a> how can the arts and culture sector (and individual arts organisations) become a great place to work, and a workplace of choice? </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-resignation-didnt-happen-in-australia-but-the-great-burnout-did-201173">The 'great resignation' didn't happen in Australia, but the 'great burnout' did</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Power has received funding from the Queensland Government, under the Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship program.</span></em></p>Unique factors contribute to burnout in Australia’s arts and culture sector. Preventing burnout will require long-term, sector-wide commitments.Katherine (Kate) Power, Lecturer in Management, School of Business, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203612024-01-07T12:34:50Z2024-01-07T12:34:50ZArtists bring human richness at times of strife — and need to be allowed to speak about the Israel-Hamas war<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/artists-bring-human-richness-at-times-of-strife-and-need-to-be-allowed-to-speak-about-the-israel-hamas-war" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The current Israel-Hamas war has dominated the news for the past few months. As reports of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-hamas-war-day-79-1.7069133">military machinations</a> and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/mideast-ministers-in-ottawa-to-discuss-israel-hamas-war-with-joly-trudeau-1.6680868">diplomatic efforts</a> have gained attention, the art world has struggled with responses to the horrors of this war. </p>
<p>For example, controversy and calls for transparency and accountability followed <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ago-review-policies-criticism-indigenous-curator-departure-1.7045717">the departure of Anishinaabe-kwe curator Wanda Nanibush</a> from the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The departure was apparently related <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-indigenous-curator-ago-wanda-nanibush/">to her expressed opinions on the war</a>. </p>
<p>After the Royal Ontario Museum tried to change a Palestinian American artist’s work, <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/11/06/royal-ontario-museum-censorship-palestinian-art-death-exhibition-israel-hamas-war">Jenin Yaseen staged a sit-in</a> and others protested. </p>
<p>I have been teaching and writing about the <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520256361/art-worlds-25th-anniversary-edition">“art world”</a> — what sociologist Howard Becker calls the network of artists, art institutions, funders, patrons and audiences — for years, and researching <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003134022-9/policy-performance-lowell-gasoi">how artists navigate their thorny relationship with contentious political moments</a>. </p>
<p>Policies and regulations can serve artists, but can also engender a lack of trust and create administrative burdens that impact the healthy functioning of artists and organizations.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1718429595622379541"}"></div></p>
<h2>Endeavouring to speak truthfully, meaningfully</h2>
<p>The <em>Globe and Mail</em> reported some Canadians “active in a support group of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem” expressed concern <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-indigenous-curator-ago-wanda-nanibush">to the AGO, and that one signatory to a letter said the letter didn’t call for Nanibush’s departure</a> but rather for “antisemitism training and for the AGO to make use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.”</p>
<p>If the gallery did try to silence Nanibush, critics have reason to be concerned about how they reacted as the curator and others in the art world endeavoured to speak truthfully and meaningfully in a time of crisis. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://ago.ca/press-release/open-letter-stephan-jost-director-and-ceo">statement, the AGO’s director and CEO</a> Stephan Jost expressed the gallery’s support for Indigenous artists and a need to “reflect on our commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report …” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1729970931743752417"}"></div></p>
<p>He acknowledged cultural institutions are “being asked to better define the rights and limits of political and artistic expression in a locally diverse but globally complex environment” and that “intense discussion” also raises questions about good governance.</p>
<p>Rights, limits, regulation and the purpose of artists’ work are what is at stake in this discussion. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ago-review-policies-criticism-indigenous-curator-departure-1.7045717">An investigation is underway</a> to see how the gallery’s policies may have impacted the board’s decision-making.</p>
<h2>People trying to create and speak truth</h2>
<p>How people assess the value of policies and regulation affecting the art world depends on how much they feel the art world should, or should not, reflect political realities. </p>
<p>Some might suggest that artists <a href="https://art.art/blog/art-protest-and-politics-do-they-really-go-together">should entertain and enlighten us</a> but stay away from contentious issues.</p>
<p>I believe artists have a unique role, different than that of journalists, political leaders or even <a href="https://www.israelismfilm.com/screenings">documentary filmmakers</a>. Beyond parsing the facts of a situation or deliberating and brokering political solutions, artists work to bring human richness and complexity to experiences like conflict and strife. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-israel-gaza-conflict-is-so-hard-to-talk-about-216149">Why the Israel-Gaza conflict is so hard to talk about</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Art and our lives</h2>
<p>Thinking about “art worlds” as “<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520256361/art-worlds-25th-anniversary-edition">patterns of collective activity</a>,” as Becker does, helps us to think about art in relationship to our social and political lives, and the conditions under which artists create.</p>
<p>Art schools, professional organizations, galleries and performance spaces all play a part in enabling some artists and their messages to shine, whether through financial support, attention or time — while constraining or even silencing others. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A Canadian flag seen atop a museum." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568074/original/file-20240105-20-qq30p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Museums and galleries are frequently dependent on government funding. The Royal Ontario Museum seen in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Museum and gallery spaces, frequently dependent on government and philanthropic funding, curate and elevate certain artworks and in so doing <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Birth-of-the-Museum-History-Theory-Politics/Bennett/p/book/9780415053884">mediate relationships and foster cultural dialogue between governments and pluralistic communities of citizens</a>. At the same time, they prescribe behaviours and actions that constrain both artists and the public perception of their work.</p>
<p>In this way, the support systems around artistic work have political implications, just as much as the art itself may have.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eco-activist-attacks-on-museum-artwork-ask-us-to-figure-out-what-we-value-193575">Eco-activist attacks on museum artwork ask us to figure out what we value</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Discipline via funding</h2>
<p>As I examined in my doctoral research, <a href="https://repository.library.carleton.ca/downloads/mp48sd86j">the Summerworks Theatre Festival briefly lost funding from Canadian Heritage in 2011</a> after staging playwright <a href="https://catherinefrid.com/homegrown/">Catherine Frid’s controversial play <em>Homegrown</em></a>. </p>
<p>The play critiqued the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/play-takes-sympathetic-look-at-toronto-18/article_c95893a7-29a5-572c-8f5d-60b309b3ee58.html">reach of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the use of solitary confinement as it examined the story of one man convicted of participating in a terrorist group</a>. This was after a high-profile 2006 RCMP investigation saw 18 Muslim individuals accused of terrorism. (<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto-18-key-events-in-the-case-1.715266">Charges against seven people were stayed or dropped, while four people were convicted)</a>. Some accused the play of being pro-terrorist.</p>
<p>Artists responded to <a href="https://nationalpost.com/arts/homegrown-to-have-staged-readings-across-the-country-in-support-of-summerworks">this institutional censure by staging readings of the play to support the festival</a>. </p>
<p>The art world will find pathways to speak its own truth in the face of such pressures. </p>
<p>For instance, as the <em>Globe and Mail</em> reported, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/article-vancouvers-push-festival-stands-up-for-the-runner-as-victorias-belfry">the Belfry Theatre in Victoria made a recent decision to cancel its run of the Israel-set play <em>The Runner</em></a>. But Vancouver’s PuSh Festival is sticking by plans to run the play as a part of its <a href="https://pushfestival.ca/#program">program along with other works</a>, including the immersive installation <a href="https://pushfestival.ca/shows/dear-laila/"><em>Dear Laila</em></a> that depicts a model of one artist’s former home in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1742880197295374556"}"></div></p>
<p>When political pressure closes one door, the art world will often seek to open another, though we have yet to see how this might play out in the case of the AGO and Nanibush.</p>
<h2>What do we want from our artists?</h2>
<p>In the face of numerous wars, the climate emergency, housing and food insecurity, this is a challenging time. People around the world face what <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4483556">some scholars and activists have called a “polycrisis</a>.” </p>
<p>Artists represent and reflect this social and political upheaval. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/banksy-ukraine-murals/index.html">Banksy scrawls murals</a> on the blasted Ukrainian cityscape. Theatres across the world stage performances or screenings — <a href="https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/THE-GAZA-MONOLOGUES-Comes-to-the-Noor-Theatre-This-Week-20231128">like <em>The Gaza Monologues</em></a> — to try to represent Palestinian voices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theatre-shows-how-the-art-of-inclusion-can-help-build-a-better-canada-150488">Theatre shows how the art of inclusion can help build a better Canada</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.policymagazine.ca/canadas-growing-problem-with-trust-in-government/">Especially in a time when trust in our political leaders and institutions continues to wane</a>, artists, arts leaders and policymakers face daunting but critical questions about making ethically sound decisions. </p>
<p>If the public trusts the art world to do their work with rigour and honesty, artists and arts institutions can be a community of voices expressing diverse perspectives on our collective humanity, <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2658867568/">reflecting suffering and the power of resistance to violence in this polarizing conflict</a>. </p>
<p>We must critically assess the value of the arts and of artists to perform this important work. And we should be mindful of desires to discipline the art world at a time when its voices are so deeply needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lowell Gasoi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Especially in a time when trust in political leaders and institutions wanes, arts leaders, patrons, policymakers and artists face daunting but critical questions about the value and role of artists.Lowell Gasoi, Instructor in communication studies at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2181102023-11-23T01:46:41Z2023-11-23T01:46:41ZArts journalism captures ‘the richness of being alive’, so why is New Zealand struggling to support it? And what’s the solution?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560311/original/file-20231120-15-khccz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C1873%2C1329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://id.smb.museum/object/959084/das-lesekabinett">Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the primary roles of arts and culture is to hold a mirror up to society. The stories artists tell through books, performance, movies, music and visual art reflects an image of who we are, and shows us who we might yet become. </p>
<p>Journalism plays a crucial role in holding a mirror to this mirror. Investigations, interviews and reviews reflect and amplify the creativity and conversations explored by our artists. </p>
<p>But despite some bright spots of high-quality coverage, arts stories are often deprioritised in general media. Only 13% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s total media coverage <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/news-and-blog/2023/06/27/04/22/37/visibility-matters-arts-and-culture-benchmark-media-research-launched">focuses on arts and culture</a>, and only 3.25% on art forms outside film, music and TV.</p>
<p>My new research report, <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/development-and-resources/research-and-reports/new-mirrors">New Mirrors</a>, written with Rosabel Tan and commissioned by Creative New Zealand, investigates the state of contemporary arts journalism and proposes two pathways to strengthening this sector: a dedicated fund for arts and culture media projects, and an Arts Media Centre to connect media and creative sectors.</p>
<h2>A dusty mirror</h2>
<p>There is little dedicated arts space in the general media. Stuff, New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) and the Otago Daily Times increasingly place arts content behind paywalls. Specialist platforms often have to compete in the same funding rounds as the artists they cover. </p>
<p>To better understand these challenges, we spoke with 52 artists, arts organisations, publicists, editors, journalists and decision makers across the arts and media sectors. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="1960s photo, girls read newspapers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560631/original/file-20231121-23-fm833i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Arts coverage ‘tends to suffer first’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/765219">Museums Victoria</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We heard arts media is under critical pressure, and significant challenges limit its growth: stretched budgets, reduced staff, production pressures and low pay. Freelance journalist Tulia Thompson spoke about being paid NZ$250 to write a 1,200-word review of three books, “which makes it more like a hobby”.</p>
<p>But we found a huge appetite to strengthen coverage. Connie Buchanan, deputy editor at <a href="https://e-tangata.co.nz/">E-Tangata</a>, said the ideal was to be able to offer “decent, informed criticism of the arts landscape”.</p>
<p>Our research confirmed the need for a stronger and more visible representation of our arts and culture sector in our media, better reflecting the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand.</p>
<p>There is a significant audience for arts and culture: <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/development-and-resources/research-and-reports/audience-atlas-aotearoa-2020">96% of adults in Aotearoa New Zealand</a> participated in arts and cultural events in the past three years. </p>
<p>As we argue in the report, strengthening arts and culture media leads to better public conversations, more engaged arts consumers, and a healthier arts and culture sector. </p>
<p>Coverage builds an audience, but it also supports future career opportunities for artists and ensures work is remembered.</p>
<p>Artist Bridget Reweti spoke about the importance of “high-quality writing” to support institutions and curators to understand the value of an artwork, and how mainstream media coverage “feeds into broader knowledge and people knowing that this work exists”.</p>
<p>As Mihi Blake, cofounder of <a href="https://maiastudio.co/">communications agency Māia</a>, told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are so many stories, and people want to read them; people want to have their lives enriched by arts and culture and music. That is the richness of being alive. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-after-redundancy-what-happens-next-for-journalists-when-they-leave-newsrooms-77154">Life after redundancy: what happens next for journalists when they leave newsrooms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Under-resourced and under strain</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s media sector has experienced considerable volatility over the past two decades.</p>
<p>Between 2006 and 2018, the number of journalists working in Aotearoa
New Zealand <a href="https://mch.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projects/sapere-report-media-plurality-nz-feb22.pdf">more than halved</a>. New Zealand’s media sector is currently facing formidable headwinds due to the closing of the government’s contestable <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300932677/public-interest-journalism-fund-closes">public-interest journalism fund</a>, declining <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/06-09-2023/ten-crucial-revelations-from-new-zealands-most-important-media-data">readership numbers</a>, and a steep drop <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/496565/fall-in-real-estate-and-government-advertising-hits-nzme-in-the-pocket">in advertising revenue</a>, </p>
<p>Arts coverage, says David Rowe, head of journalism planning at New Zealand Media and Entertainment, “tends to suffer first, because in terms of core business, it’s not right at the absolute heart”.</p>
<p>It’s been 16 long years since <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/frontseat-2004-3f0/series">Frontseat</a>, TVNZ’s last dedicated arts show, broadcast its final episode. Today, opportunities for coverage of arts stories on television and commercial radio are rare. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bqsB80xZwbA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>While The Post expanded its daily <a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/s/life-culture">arts and culture coverage</a> this year in response to audience demand, many major newspapers in Aotearoa New Zealand have dropped specialist arts positions.</p>
<p>Former Stuff journalist Charlie Gates painted a stark picture for us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I started at The Press, in 2007, there was an arts editor, two film reviewers, two or three cultural writers, a feature writer who specialised in culture and things, and that’s all gone now. That’s all completely gone.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A path forward</h2>
<p>We’re facing a national deficit in arts and culture coverage. This <a href="https://mch.govt.nz/valuing-arts-research-report">has impacts</a> on social cohesion, wellbeing, and our sense of who we are as a nation. </p>
<p>We propose two key investment pathways to address this deficit.</p>
<p><strong>1. Create a public fund for arts and culture media projects</strong></p>
<p>The current funding models aren’t working. We need a dedicated fund that invests in arts and culture media projects, with co-investment across multiple agencies like Manatū Taonga, Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho. </p>
<p>By pooling resources and ringfencing funding, we could enable both specialist art platforms and general media to grow coverage, shining a spotlight on more artist voices, building capacity in the regions, and recognising arts and culture coverage as a public good.</p>
<p><strong>2. Create an Arts Media Centre</strong></p>
<p>An independent body that connects our media and creative sectors could enable high-quality arts and culture journalism through training, advocacy and relationship-building. </p>
<p>Aotearoa New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/">Science Media Centre</a>, funded by the ministry of business, innovation and employment, offers a possible model. Since its launch in 2008, it has played a <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/about/">pivotal role</a> in strengthening the quality, accuracy and depth of science reporting.</p>
<p>These two interventions hold the potential to have an enduring and positive effect, creating the infrastructure needed to support the long-term sustainability of our arts media ecology and for our creatives’ views and voices to be heard more often.</p>
<p>With new mirrors, media can better reflect the central relevance that arts, creativity and storytelling plays in the lives of New Zealanders. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-break-the-cycle-of-crisis-in-aotearoa-new-zealands-arts-and-culture-it-starts-with-proper-funding-199772">We need to break the cycle of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts and culture. It starts with proper funding</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Wenley received funding from Creative New Zealand to conduct this research. </span></em></p>New research investigates the state of contemporary arts journalism and proposes two pathways to strengthening this sector.James Wenley, Lecturer, Theatre Programme, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112702023-08-16T23:36:49Z2023-08-16T23:36:49Z95% male conductors, 70% ageing classics and zero appetite for risk: what’s wrong with elite Australian opera<p>The stories told on the operatic stage have received <a href="https://theconversation.com/opera-is-stuck-in-a-racist-sexist-past-while-many-in-the-audience-have-moved-on-120073">critical attention</a> for their representation of gender, particularly the often violent fate of their heroines.</p>
<p>But little attention has been paid to women’s representation behind the scenes in Australia. In part, this is due to a lack of readily available data about women’s actual status within opera companies. </p>
<p>We have now created a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2023.2239266">unique dataset</a> to address this gap. </p>
<p>We looked at the production credits for staged operas presented by Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, the State Opera of South Australia, Victorian Opera and West Australian Opera from 2005 to 2020. </p>
<p>For each production, we tracked the gender profile of the practitioners credited as conductors, directors and designers. We looked at who was credited when, and on which kinds of operas. </p>
<p>We found evidence of pervasive gender inequality.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/opera-is-stuck-in-a-racist-sexist-past-while-many-in-the-audience-have-moved-on-120073">Opera is stuck in a racist, sexist past, while many in the audience have moved on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Gender inequality at top opera companies</h2>
<p>Across the five companies, women were hugely underrepresented in the core creative leadership roles of conductor and director. </p>
<p>Women held just 5% of conductor credits over the 16 seasons, and less than a quarter of director credits. Not only were women less likely to see initial credits compared to men, they were also less likely to have opportunities to work on more than one production.</p>
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<p>At individual companies, women’s representation was lowest at Opera Australia and the State Opera of South Australia.</p>
<p>Less than 3% of conductors and 19% of directors credited at Opera Australia were women. The State Opera of South Australia did not credit a single woman conductor between 2005 and 2020 and just 17% of its credited directors were women. </p>
<p>In comparison, two of the smallest companies – Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera – had by far the highest representation for women in both roles.</p>
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<p>Women also saw low representation as designers, comprising 21% of set designers and 9% of lighting designers. Women were much more likely to be credited in the feminised role of <a href="https://variety.com/2018/artisans/news/the-handmaids-tale-1202911250-1202911250/">costume designer</a>.</p>
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<h2>Inequality is greatest in productions of the canon</h2>
<p>The kinds of operas programmed also affected women’s representation as conductors, directors and designers. </p>
<p>Canonical works like Puccini’s La bohème (1895) and Bizet’s Carmen (1875) are seen as <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/audiences-dont-want-to-see-new-works-opera-australias-lyndon-terracini-says-20150115-12qo1m.html">low-risk</a> because they are recognised as masterpieces of the genre and are popular with existing opera audiences. </p>
<p>Canonical operas dominated programming at four of the five companies, followed by slightly less popular works from the 19th century and earlier, such as Rossini’s La Cenerentola (1817) and Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles (1863). </p>
<p>The combination of canonical and slightly less canonical works comprised 84% of programming at West Australian Opera, 79% at Opera Australia, 73% at Opera Queensland and 64% at the State Opera of South Australia. (The outlier, Victorian Opera, explicitly focuses on modern operas.)</p>
<p>However, women practitioners were notably absent from the production teams for these popular works. On canonical operas, women’s representation as conductors dropped to less than 1%. Women directors and designers saw almost universal drops in representation across both categories of repertoire. </p>
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<p>Instead, women were more likely to be credited on high-risk modern operas. These works are thought to be <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/audiences-dont-want-to-see-new-works-opera-australias-lyndon-terracini-says-20150115-12qo1m.html">less popular</a> with audiences and are programmed less frequently and for fewer performances than canonical works. </p>
<p>Women also had higher levels of representation in musical theatre works, popular with audiences but traditionally holding <a href="https://www.nats.org/_Library/JOS_On_Point/JOS-078-02-2021-171.pdf">little prestige</a> in the sector. </p>
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<h2>Risk perception and gender inequality</h2>
<p>Beyond the risk associated with different operas and their ability to attract audiences, a contributing factor for gender inequality in opera is how “risky” certain practitioners are thought to be. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12701">Studies</a> from the creative industries have shown perceptions of risk in the arts are deeply gendered, particularly when it comes to hiring for key artistic or governance roles. While men practitioners are seen as reliable, women are seen as inherently risky.</p>
<p>These biases are exacerbated in fields like opera where work opportunities are driven by personal networks and professional visibility, both of which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/03128962231179379">favour men</a>. </p>
<p>Risk perceptions also have compounding effects. Because modern operas are already seen as “risky”, it appears these productions can take the “risk” of employing women – whereas canonical operas, programmed because they are “safe”, also make the “safe” choice in hiring men.</p>
<h2>Risk aversion in funding enables gender inequality</h2>
<p>Entrenched gender bias is difficult to shift in any field. But with Australia’s opera companies, government funding policies are exacerbating the field’s existing inequality. </p>
<p>Here again, it comes down to questions of risk. </p>
<p>Australia’s peak arts funding body, now named Creative Australia, has a particular focus on mitigating risk – both financial and artistic – through its operatic policies. </p>
<p>In exchange for <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-opera-deserve-its-privileged-status-within-arts-funding-84761">multi-year funding support</a>, companies are expected to <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national_opera_review_government_response_for_tabling_at_mcm.pdf">maintain financial targets</a> and prioritise programming operas that are low-risk financially. Companies are also encouraged to rent existing productions from Opera Australia or <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national_opera_review_final_report_0.pdf">co-commission</a> new productions with other companies.</p>
<p>These policies are laudable for their attention to efficient public spending and co-operation. But policies can have unintended impacts. </p>
<p>By encouraging companies to program low-risk popular operas, Creative Australia is trying to mitigate financial risk. But such policies don’t take into account the fact that women practitioners are largely absent from these works. </p>
<p>In the same way, policies that promote co-operation don’t consider how this leads to companies reproducing gender imbalances. Opera Australia is framed as a key source of rental productions for other companies but also has some of the lowest rates of representation for women directors and conductors. </p>
<p>It is critical that arts funding bodies and policymakers consider the practical impacts of their policies. At the same time, opera companies need to acknowledge the extent to which their own organisational practices are driving inequality within the sector. </p>
<p>The scale of gender inequality at work in Australian opera production won’t be easily remedied. But shining a light on the extent of the problem is a start towards making the sector accountable for its performance, both on and off the stage. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-opera-deserve-its-privileged-status-within-arts-funding-84761">Does opera deserve its privileged status within arts funding?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our new research has tracked the gender of artists working at Australian opera companies and found evidence of pervasive gender inequality.Caitlin Vincent, Lecturer in Creative Industries, The University of MelbourneBronwyn Coate, Senior Lecturer in Economics, RMIT UniversityKatya Johanson, Professor of Audience Research, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076122023-06-16T05:09:39Z2023-06-16T05:09:39ZCuts in the state budget, a gallery on hold and millions on sports: the decline of arts support in South Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532308/original/file-20230616-27-intfya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3600%2C2392&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Adelaide Festival Centre <a href="https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/news/hip-hip-hooray-the-iconic-adelaide-festival-centre-celebrates-turning-50-today">is celebrating</a> its 50th anniversary this month. Opened in 1973, the building was completed before the Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. </p>
<p>South Australia was regarded as a leader of the arts in Australia for around three decades from 1970 to the 1990s and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/adelaide/athens-of-the-south/1BCD191CDED2F4A7E9AB04952E85B8AC">dubbed internationally</a> the “Athens of the South”. </p>
<p>Since the early 21st century, other states have woken up to the benefits of the arts and are now supporting lively creative industries within their midst. South Australia though has done the opposite. </p>
<p>The arts are no longer seen as a priority. </p>
<h2>Arts in the budget</h2>
<p>In 2018, under the previous Liberal state government, the arts and cultural portfolio Arts South Australia was <a href="https://theconversation.com/cuts-and-restructures-send-alarm-through-south-australias-arts-sector-103441">broken up</a> and sent to different government departments. </p>
<p>Youth arts were put into the Education Department. The SA Film Corporation, the Adelaide Film Festival and the Jam Factory were relocated to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. The North Terrace cultural institutions such as the state art gallery, museum and library – while administered by the Premier’s department – are now overseen by a generic arm of the department who are not arts or cultural specialists. </p>
<p>The few remaining staff left from Arts South Australia were placed within a sector of the Department of Premier and Cabinet called “Communities and Corporate”, one of <a href="https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/about-the-department/strategic-direction/DPC-organisational-chart.pdf">ten portfolios</a> within the department. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cuts-and-restructures-send-alarm-through-south-australias-arts-sector-103441">Cuts and restructures send alarm through South Australia's arts sector</a>
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<p>The South Australian state budget was handed down this week. The only mention of the arts in the budget was within the major events fund where there is a commitment of <a href="https://www.statebudget.sa.gov.au/our-budget/Major_events,_sports_and_arts">$2 million over four years</a> to the Adelaide Film Festival’s investment fund.</p>
<p>Within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, “Arts and Cultural Policy and Support” receives a <a href="https://www.statebudget.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/914179/2023-24-Agency-Statements-Volume-4.pdf">reduction of $1.2 million</a> from the amount actually spent on the arts in 2022–23.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/cultural-funding-by-government-2020-21-south-australia.pdf">There was</a> a 6% drop in cultural spending in South Australia in 2019, and a further 3% drop in 2020. </p>
<p>The continued reductions in arts funding seem counter intuitive given the negative impact of COVID on the arts and cultural sector.</p>
<h2>Adelaide’s stalled new gallery</h2>
<p>In 2016, the Labor government and the Art Gallery of South Australia commissioned a report and undertook a <a href="https://competitions.malcolmreading.com/adelaidecontemporary/overview.html">design competition</a> for the development of a new contemporary art space at the old location of Royal Adelaide Hospital on North Terrace, known as Lot Fourteen.</p>
<p>The new gallery became an <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sa-election-2018/sa-liberals-propose-national-aboriginal-art-and-culture-gallery-highend-hotel-for-old-rah-site/news-story/4dffcba14fe283514351fbda43121bdb">election issue</a> in 2018, with the Liberal party running on a platform of developing a national Indigenous arts centre. </p>
<p>After the Liberal party won the election, the gallery was named Tarrkarri (“future” in Kaurna language) and was <a href="https://architectureau.com/articles/sa-govt-pushes-ahead-with-adelaide-contemporary-alternative/">due to be completed</a> in 2023.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532309/original/file-20230616-17-8wlqgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The proposed design for Tarrkarri. Design credit: Diller Scofidio no+ Renfro and Woods Bagot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy Lot Fourteen.</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>After Labor got back into government in early 2022, the development of Tarrkarri was put on hold while the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-31/sa-government-review-into-indigenous-art-gallery-tarrkari/101596090">project was reviewed</a> by a committee appointed by the government. </p>
<p>As of June 2023, the site remains <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-16/tarrakarri-project-on-hold-in-adelaide/102347962">a hole in the ground</a> with a potential cost blow out of $400 million while the government reviews the committee’s recommendations. </p>
<p>Significantly, there is no additional money promised for the project in the 2023–24 state budget, although there is a forecast completion date of 2027.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/perth-already-has-a-museum-of-indigenous-art-and-culture-with-proper-funding-it-could-be-our-national-centre-144280">Perth already has a museum of Indigenous art and culture. With proper funding, it could be our national centre</a>
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<h2>A critical lack of infrastructure</h2>
<p>There has been a critical lack of cultural infrastructure in South Australia for many years across all artform areas. </p>
<p>There has been a call for a <a href="https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/arts/performing-arts/2016/03/04/the-case-for-a-new-concert-hall-in-adelaide/">dedicated concert hall</a> in Adelaide for many years. Despite a <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2021/11/04/city-concert-hall-report-finished-but-kept-under-wraps/">scoping study</a> completed in 2021, nothing has happened so far, and the state’s music audience continues to miss out on many music groups and individuals touring the country. </p>
<p>In May 2023, the Malinauskas Government shelved plans to build a new storage centre for the state collections housed at the state museum, library and art gallery, citing <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2023/05/05/completely-insufficient-money-troubles-stall-sa-cultural-collection-hub/">insufficient funds</a>. </p>
<p>Given the monetary and cultural value of these collections, it might be argued that not storing them appropriately is, to misquote Oscar Wilde, rather careless. </p>
<h2>Sports are the big winners</h2>
<p>Arts funding in South Australia has not seen any noticeable increase for several years and many agencies and arts organisations are struggling to survive. </p>
<p>While most other states have acquired new concert halls, new art galleries and theatre spaces over the past two decades, South Australia has remained culturally static. The only updated space is the refurbished <a href="https://indaily.com.au/arts-culture/2020/06/12/inside-the-new-look-her-majestys-theatre/">Her Majesty’s Theatre</a>. </p>
<p>South Australia is now a long way behind all the other mainland states in terms of <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/publications/cultural-funding-government-2020-21-states-and-territories">actual expenditure</a> on arts and culture – although it sits fourth on per capita support.</p>
<p>When Labor was elected in 2022 there <a href="https://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/the-arts-policy-of-the-new-south-australian-labor-government/">was hope</a> there would be an immediate revival of a government entity focusing on the arts. It was also hoped Labor would <a href="https://indaily.com.au/arts-culture/2022/08/19/is-adelaides-arts-infrastructure-keeping-up-with-our-ambitions/">be proactive</a> about increasing arts support and build much needed new cultural infrastructure.</p>
<p>Since its election in early 2022, the state Labor government has spent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-16/adelaide-500-budget-blown-out-in-2022/101779892">$35 million</a> on reviving a car race, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-makes-huge-announcement-on-future-of-gather-round/news-story/6e000cd44c97b82af6f7418d8d77dfa3">around $14 million</a> on the AFL Gather Round, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-14/south-australia-to-host-controversial-liv-golf-series/101650096">unknown millions</a> on LIV Golf and committed <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-10/adelaide-aquatic-centre-cost-blow-out/102465896">$135 million</a> towards the development of a new swimming centre. </p>
<p>Sports events are a winner under the Malinauskas Labor government. The arts do not get a mention. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/liv-golf-sportwashing-vs-the-commercial-value-of-public-attention-185478">LIV Golf: Sportwashing vs. the commercial value of public attention</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Caust has previously received funding from the Australia Council. She is a member of the Arts Industry Council (SA) and NAVA. </span></em></p>The continued reductions in arts funding seem counter intuitive given the negative impact of COVID on the arts and cultural sector.Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2027272023-03-29T03:00:01Z2023-03-29T03:00:01ZAustralia’s cultural institutions are especially vulnerable to efficiency dividends: looking back at 35 years of cuts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518059/original/file-20230328-29-56c55m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C5919%2C3937&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January the Albanese government launched a new arts policy, <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/publications/national-cultural-policy-revive-place-every-story-story-every-place">Revive</a>. Among its measures was a commitment to exempt Australia’s seven national performing arts training organisations from the efficiency dividend.</p>
<p>The directors of Australia’s national cultural organisations in the galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) sector might well have looked on in envy, but also in hope. Revive did not deal with their problems, but Arts Minister Tony Burke does recognise they are in <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/26433/0175/hansard_frag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">deep trouble</a>. </p>
<p>Staff at the National Gallery of Australia, for example, are working in mouldy rooms and using towels and buckets to mitigate a “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/a-national-disgrace-gallery-uses-buckets-as-building-falls-into-disrepair-20230327-p5cvjo.html">national disgrace</a>”. This week, Burke gave assurances the cultural institutions will receive <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/federal/budget-will-contain-some-relief-for-national-gallery-cultural-institutions-but-government-won-t-say-how-much-20230327-p5cvmx.html">increased funding</a> in the May budget, but it is not yet clear how much, or for how long.</p>
<p>And for many of the sector’s ills, the efficiency dividend is to blame.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">'Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life': what the new national cultural policy could mean for Australia – if it all comes together</a>
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<h2>Making cultural institutions ‘efficient’</h2>
<p>The Hawke Government introduced the efficiency dividend – an annual decrease in government organisations’ funding – in 1987, levied at 1.25% annually. </p>
<p>While there was much window-dressing about greater efficiency and value for taxpayers, the overriding aim was budget savings. State governments have also levied efficiency dividends for the same reason.</p>
<p>The efficiency dividend has undermined the cultural institutions ever since. Senior public servants considered if big government departments were taking a hit, GLAM should not be treated differently. </p>
<p>But these institutions are not like other government agencies. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The war memorial" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518062/original/file-20230328-16-25v4zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Entry charges were briefly levied at the Australian War Memorial.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>While small and specialised – and therefore poorly placed to absorb continuing cuts – they are legally mandated to grow. But these institutions, required by law to “develop their collections”, can barely afford to preserve their existing materials. </p>
<p>The only place where economies could reasonably be made was in employment. As staff numbers and organisational capacity declined, successive governments told the agencies to find new funding sources, such as philanthropy or user charges. </p>
<p>Entry charges were previously levied at the <a href="https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=31405793">National Gallery</a>, and even briefly at the <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122334513">Australian War Memorial</a>. </p>
<p>Both generated animosity among visitors, who rightly felt that, as taxpayers, they should not have to pay to see the collections maintained on their behalf.</p>
<h2>Not neglecting, strangling</h2>
<p>In the end, institutions were in the invidious position of maintaining some core functions while neglecting or abandoning others. </p>
<p>When the efficiency dividend took effect in the late 1980s, the newly established National Film and Sound Archive was forced to suspend acquisition to <a href="https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=32176885">save deteriorating records</a>. </p>
<p>By 2008 similar effects were evident across the board. Required to produce efficiencies each year, the Australian National Maritime Museum found itself cancelling some exhibitions while deferring or scaling back others. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A glass museum on Darling Harbour." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518060/original/file-20230328-28-ggo9cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Australian National Maritime Museum was forced to cancel exhibitions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies told a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=jcpaa/efficdiv/report.htm">parliamentary inquiry</a> staff were “racing against time” to preserve materials that would be “lost forever” in the face of staffing cuts. </p>
<p>The institute even reported the likelihood of having to “compromise” its repatriation program to adhere to the efficiency dividend in 2008, the year of the Apology. The hypocrisies involved here were boundless.</p>
<p>The agencies have often been told to do additional work, even as funding disappeared. </p>
<p>The Rudd government <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/rudd-govt-reveals-plans-for-foi-reform-20090324-983d.html">reduced the closed period</a> of most Commonwealth records from 30 years to 20 in 2010. The National Archives would have to release two years of cabinet records annually for ten years. Meanwhile, the archives was failing to meet <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/functional-efficiency-review-national-archives-of-australia.PDF">basic statutory obligations</a> for ensuring timely public access to open period records. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/functional-efficiency-review-national-archives-of-australia.PDF">2020 review</a>, David Tune reported the timeframe for examining and clearing records was “unachievable because of resource constraints”.</p>
<p>Governments have nonetheless continued to cut funding to these institutions. The Rudd government <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=jcpaa/efficdiv/report.htm">increased the efficiency dividend</a> by 2% to a total of 3.25% for one year. In December 2015 the Turnbull government <a href="https://archive.budget.gov.au/2015-16/myefo/MYEFO_2015-16_Final.pdf">imposed another 3% hike</a> with a view to saving A$36.8 million.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-20/national-library-of-australia-gets-funding-for-trove-in-myefo/8136738">Emergency funding</a> was soon required to keep Trove, the National Library’s popular database, operational. That was a more sensitive issue for nervous politicians: there are Trove users in every electorate around the country and they love it passionately. But a leaky roof in the building that houses Trove, the National Library, is harder to see – even from Capital Hill.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/troves-funding-runs-out-in-july-2023-and-the-national-library-is-threatening-to-pull-the-plug-its-time-for-a-radical-overhaul-197025">Trove's funding runs out in July 2023 – and the National Library is threatening to pull the plug. It's time for a radical overhaul</a>
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<h2>Where to?</h2>
<p>In 2018 the Coalition government, supported by Labor, was able to find $500 million for <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6000852/500m-australian-war-memorial-expansion-to-honour-recent-conflicts/">massive renovations</a> at the Australian War Memorial. But it took concerted national action by <a href="https://honesthistory.net.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/SavingtheNationsMemoryBank.pdf">150 writers</a>, an intense media campaign and the treasurer’s personal intervention to secure <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-01/national-archives-of-australia-receives-urgent-federal-funding/100257692">$67 million in 2021</a> to save vital records at the National Archives from disintegrating before they could be digitised. </p>
<p>If the Albanese government really cares about the future of Australia’s national cultural institutions, the government will exempt them from the efficiency dividend. Revive sets a precedent in relation to performing arts institutions. The National Cultural Policy Advisory Group Burke established has <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-cultural-policy-advisory-group-independent-advice.pdf">advised dropping the efficiency dividend</a> for cultural institutions.</p>
<p>The unpalatable alternative is continuing the cycle of fiscal suffocation and emergency funding we have seen for decades. A government that creates emergencies for itself to solve can never be called efficient. And for citizens, there is no dividend.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-more-bang-for-public-bucks-is-the-efficiency-dividend-efficient-24803">Getting more bang for public bucks: is the 'efficiency dividend' efficient?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Bongiorno is President of the Australian Historical Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Black is Administrative Officer of the Australian Historical Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Arrow receives funding from The Australian Research Council. She is Vice-President of the Australian Historical Association. </span></em></p>Years of cost-cutting measures have left Australia’s national galleries, libraries, archives and museums in dire straits.Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National UniversityJoshua Black, PhD Candidate, School of History, National Centre of Biography, Australian National UniversityMichelle Arrow, Professor of History, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1997722023-02-21T18:11:53Z2023-02-21T18:11:53ZWe need to break the cycle of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts and culture. It starts with proper funding<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511245/original/file-20230220-22-tj99ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C3982%2C2215&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robinzblog/51822798492">Robin Capper/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In times of crisis, arts, culture and creative experiences play an essential role. Whether through a music gig, a performing arts festival, a visual art exhibit or a well-thumbed book – these bring joy, comfort and relief in troubled times. </p>
<p>Taking part in creative activities and events <a href="https://mch.govt.nz/valuing-arts-research-report">boosts individual and collective wellbeing</a>, brings communities together, and keeps our social bonds in tune. </p>
<p>But the full potential of arts, culture and creativity to create positive social change has been held back by cycles of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s creative sector. </p>
<p>The government’s recent announcement of a <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/News-and-blog/2023/02/06/23/26/43/Creative-New-Zealand-welcomes-additional-22-million-from-Government">NZ$22 million top-up</a> to arts funding body Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa offers temporary relief to a financially strained sector, but this short-term measure exposes the absence of a wider strategy from Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. </p>
<p>It is time for a long-term <a href="https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/nga-toi-in-aotearoa/">national Ngā Toi Arts and Culture strategy</a> to provide a much-needed circuit breaker.</p>
<h2>Compounding events</h2>
<p>Aotearoa’s arts and cultural sector remains on an emergency footing following the past three years of pandemic disruption. </p>
<p>Auckland’s Silo Theatre made the <a href="https://silotheatre.co.nz/article/2023-cancelled-2023-artistic-message">audacious call to “cancel” 2023</a> and its usual programming, saying:</p>
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<p>The impacts of the pandemic on our sector are serious and long lasting […] funding for the arts is shrinking, audience attendance is down the world over […] practitioners are burning out and leaving the sector for better pay and greater security. The time for transformation is now.</p>
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<p>Arts companies going ahead with live work face the prospects of COVID and climate crisis cancellations. </p>
<p>The Royal New Zealand Ballet was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nzballet/videos/455197303452816/">forced to cancel</a> the entire Auckland season of Venus Rising (a production that had already been postponed four times) during the recent summer COVID wave in December 2022. </p>
<p>This month’s flooding in Auckland and the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle present yet more setbacks for our arts and culture recovery. Numerous events in Auckland Pride were <a href="https://aucklandpride.org.nz/articles/weather-update-auckland-pride-2023/">disrupted</a> and the Napier Art Deco Festival was <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/cyclone-gabrielle-napier-art-deco-festival-2023-cancelled/EPNGJ7YGTZHLTBUZUYSLWULJZE/">cancelled entirely</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/junior-staff-are-finding-better-contracts-senior-staff-are-burning-out-the-arts-are-losing-the-war-for-talent-194174">Junior staff are finding better contracts, senior staff are burning out: the arts are losing the war for talent</a>
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<h2>A lack of money</h2>
<p>Low wages are a longstanding structural issue in the creative sector. In 2019 <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/News-and-blog/2022/06/15/02/26/15/Research-reflects-significant-challenges-of-making-a-living-as-a-creative-professional-in-Aotearoa">creative professionals earned</a> an average NZ$36,000 per year, NZ$8,000 below living wage. </p>
<p>The cost of living is presently biting both creatives and audiences, with <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-7-2-percent/">inflation rising above 7%</a>. </p>
<p>Creative sector workers had a <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/News-and-blog/2022/07/08/03/41/40/Arts-Sector-Remuneration-Report-released">0% median base salary increase over 2021</a>, with no salary increase forecast for artists in 2022 – effectively a pay cut.</p>
<p>There’s more demand than ever before for funding. Success rates for grants from Creative New Zealand have <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/130821901/creative-new-zealand-to-undertake-widespread-review-into-services-funding">dropped</a> from one in three to one in five. The funding body’s latest arts funding round opened and closed in 24 hours with the 250 application limit reached in <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/131220073/creative-new-zealand-closes-arts-grants-round-in-record-24hour-period">record time</a>, a highly stressful funding system which undermines practitioner wellbeing. </p>
<p>(Creative New Zealand <a href="https://creativenz.govt.nz/News-and-blog/2022/06/15/02/26/15/Research-reflects-significant-challenges-of-making-a-living-as-a-creative-professional-in-Aotearoa">has committed</a> to “co-designing a better approach to funding” with the arts community.)</p>
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<p>During the pandemic, rather than expanding the funding body’s existing funding capability, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage was rapidly upscaled to <a href="https://mch.govt.nz/covid-recovery">administer new funding schemes</a>. </p>
<p>But while the ministry has been enabled to fund new blue-sky initiatives, core arts and culture activities have gone unfunded or underfunded. </p>
<p>With COVID recovery funding winding up this year, the absence of any long-term government strategy is alarming. </p>
<h2>Breaking the cycle</h2>
<p>Comparing the approaches of the current New Zealand and Australian governments is revealing. </p>
<p>In 2017, Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government took over after nine years of arts austerity. The former National Party Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, Chris Finlayson <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/300674472/chris-finlaysons-time-as-arts-minister-spent-keeping-the-luvvies-at-bay">described his role</a> as being to “keep the luvvies at bay and stop them complaining”.</p>
<p>In contrast, Ardern wanted to “see a country where the arts are available to us all”. But there was a gulf between rhetoric and action. </p>
<p>Despite positive schemes such as <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/publications/budget-2019/creatives-in-schools/">Creatives in Schools</a>, Labour continued to underinvest in Creative New Zealand. </p>
<p>A 2017 manifesto promise to reestablish the <a href="https://pantograph-punch.com/posts/difficult-history-of-pace">Pathways to Arts and Cultural Employment scheme</a>, which enabled artists on a benefit to record arts as their chosen career and receive financial support and professional development <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/300132726/auckland-art-gallery-calls-for-revival-of-helen-clarkera-artists-wage">remains incomplete</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, Anthony Albanese’s Labor government has made arts and culture a centrepiece policy of its first term, <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/revive-286-million-national-cultural-policy-revealed-2608426/">promising</a> to “put the arts back […] at the heart of our national life” via the Revive National Cultural policy budgeted for A$286 million (NZ$315 million) over four years. </p>
<p>While some features play catch-up with New Zealand (such as the establishment of a poet laureate, which New Zealand has had since 1997), Revive’s five policy pillars provide a useful starting point for a conversation on what a national culture policy could look like in New Zealand: First Nations first; a place for every story; the centrality of the artist; strong institutions; reaching the audience. </p>
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<p>A national strategy for Aotearoa could direct resources towards where they could have the most impact and harness the wellbeing benefits of ngā toi, or art and creative expression.</p>
<p>Ngā toi derives from te toi-o-ngā-rangi, the uppermost heaven representing “<a href="https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2018/06/20/mastering-the-art-of-interpretation-what-exactly-does-toi-mean/">the highest form of knowledge and expertise</a>”. Ngā toi is regarded as intrinsic to being human, fundamental for mental and spiritual healing and balance. </p>
<p>Arts and culture are not a nice to have: they are essential to who we are as individuals and as a community. </p>
<p>Government investment in arts and culture is also an investment in education, health and employment.</p>
<p>We need to make breaking the cycle of crisis in Aotearoa’s arts and culture ecology an election issue. Our political parties should follow Australia’s lead and commit to the development of a national Ngā Toi Arts and Culture policy to boost access and participation in arts, culture and creativity for the benefit of all New Zealanders.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">'Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life': what the new national cultural policy could mean for Australia – if it all comes together</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Wenley has worked as an external peer assessor for Creative New Zealand. </span></em></p>Aotearoa’s arts and cultural sector remains on an emergency footing following the last three years of pandemic disruption.James Wenley, Lecturer, Theatre Programme, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988712023-02-08T02:07:22Z2023-02-08T02:07:22ZA story for every place, not jobs and growth: Revive reflects global trends in policy – cultural and otherwise<p>Federal Labor is engaged in urgent reform, making up for the “lost decade” under the Coalition. The Voice, industrial relations, climate change, universities, health, Asian-Pacific diplomacy, research and development are all undergoing significant policy review. We can now add the new National Cultural Policy, <a href="https://www.hawkerbritton.com/blog/2023/01/30/national-cultural-policy-revive/">dubbed Revive</a>. </p>
<p>The reference points since the launch of the policy have been Whitlam and Keating, both for their reforming energies and their love of the arts. But it is worth putting this into an international context. </p>
<p>Australia’s lack of a cultural policy was often seen as a throwback to some philistine past, provoking a toe-curling culture cringe at the thought of how this might look overseas. But the Coalition was in fact adopting a right-wing politics that began with the <a href="https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/blue-wedge/">mid-1990s US Republican Party</a>, then picked up in the United Kingdom, across the European Union and beyond.</p>
<p>If party lines in culture were string quartets versus some pop-modernism combo, the new conservative dispensation was happy to reject art. </p>
<p>In doing this they could pose as populists, setting the huddled masses of the suburbs against the metropolitan elites. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">'Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life': what the new national cultural policy could mean for Australia – if it all comes together</a>
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<h2>A creative nation</h2>
<p>Labor’s new cultural policy harks back to the ill-fated 2013 <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/documents/creative-australia-national-cultural-policy-2013">Creative Australia</a> and to 1994’s fondly remembered <a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keatings-creative-nation-a-policy-document-that-changed-us-33537">Creative Nation</a>.</p>
<p>Creative Nation set an international benchmark for a new kind of cultural policy thinking, embracing commercial popular culture alongside the arts. This combination was seized upon by UK New Labour for its creative industries <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/sda/1175/audioclip-transcript-ccut.pdf">rebranding in 1998</a>.</p>
<p>Flagging by the time Conservatives got back into power in 2010, the whole idea was briefly revived after Brexit. </p>
<p>The head of the UK Arts Council, Peter Bazalgette, got creative industries inserted into Theresa May’s 2017 industrial policy, and the British Council actively courted China as a growth non-EU market. “Getting Brexit done” and the pandemic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/19/muddled-policies-putting-uks-lead-in-creative-industries-at-risk-peers-warn">put an end to all this</a>.</p>
<p>In 2013, still in the post-financial crisis doldrums, Creative Australia was a policy wonk document with little to set the blood racing. </p>
<p>Revive addresses a cultural sector that feels battered and unloved with grace and aplomb. The arts are essential to a democratic society, and they are for everyone. </p>
<p>First Nations First is the most significant new addition, marking where we have moved even in a decade. </p>
<p>There is money, not <a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">transformative</a> but <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/31/albanese-government-arts-culture-policy/">significant</a>, and a set of new agencies. The absence of economic justification stands out, as does the way creative industries has dropped out of the big picture rhetoric. </p>
<p>A story for every place, not jobs and growth. </p>
<p>This too reflects a global trend. Jim Chalmers’ essay in <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/february/jim-chalmers/capitalism-after-crises">The Monthly</a> placed the nation squarely at the heart of a post-neoliberal world. </p>
<p>Investment in health, education and social services, along with the green transition, will require a more active, even entrepreneurial state. </p>
<p>This is of a piece with the post-pandemic centre-left, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/06/inflation-reduction-act-climate-crisis-congress">US President Joe Biden</a> and his <a href="https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/economic-diplomacy-foreign-trade/promoting-france-s-attractiveness/france-relance-recovery-plan-building-the-france-of-2030/">French counterpart Emmanuel Macron</a>, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/18/keir-starmer-post-covid-plan-for-britain-key-points">UK Labour leader Keir Starmer</a> and the <a href="https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-and-europe/europes-green-deal">German Greens</a>. </p>
<p>In Europe these “green new deals” have come with promises of greater funding for culture, other than in those with a strong right-wing contingent such as Italy, Sweden and many former Eastern bloc countries. In the austerity-headed UK <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/nov/22/arts-council-england-cuts-are-cultural-vandalism-says-juliet-stevenson">cultural funding</a> is set to be cut, while the US is <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/01/11/us-considers-rejoining-unesco-despite-616m-membership-debt-and-israel-palestine-controversies">talking about rejoining UNESCO</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humanising-capitalism-chalmers-new-version-of-an-old-labor-project-198763">Humanising capitalism: Chalmers new version of an old Labor project</a>
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<h2>Facing inequalities</h2>
<p>In September 2022 UNESCO, the UN’s lead body on culture, held a <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/mondiacult2022">cultural policy conference</a> in Mexico City. They saw a world marked by:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>climate change and biodiversity loss, armed conflicts, natural hazards, uncontrolled urbanisation, unsustainable development patterns, as well as the erosion of democratic societies – [leading] to an increase in poverty, inequalities in the exercise of rights and a growing divide in access to digital technologies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is no longer the exciting, globalised marketplace in which a dynamic creative economy was going to float all boats. The new vision was “culture as a global public good” and for the UN to pursue a cultural goal in addition to the 17 <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> adopted in 2015. </p>
<p>The next steps for UNESCO are not clear. “Global public goods” can mean a commitment to a revived and robust public culture, or to the kind of state-led investment in skills, infrastructure and accessible finance that has underpinned the global creative industries policy script for two decades.</p>
<p>Revive’s visionary talk is about art and storytelling, connection to country and culture, but the rebranded Australia Council, Creative Australia, is straight out of the neoliberal playbook. </p>
<p>Creative Australia has an expanded remit to engage with the commercial and philanthropic sector, just as Chalmers sees an expanded social services delivered by ethically motivated “impact investors”. The grounds on which this enlargement will take place are not addressed, although chief executive Adrian Collette was very enthusiastic about creative industries in the post-launch Australia Council seminar. </p>
<h2>The first step</h2>
<p>The cultural sector long abandoned the utopian promise of creative hubs and Macbook-driven start-ups. </p>
<p>Rather than creative entrepreneurship, workers in the sector are now talking about <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10286632.2022.2064459">co-operatives</a>, unionisation, <a href="https://www.smart.coop">gig worker platforms</a> and other forms of collective organising. The pandemic radically shifted debates on the social function of culture and the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2021.1938561">welfare of artists in East Asia</a>. </p>
<p>The new <a href="https://theconversation.com/pay-safety-and-welfare-how-the-new-centre-for-arts-and-entertainment-workplaces-can-strengthen-the-arts-sector-198859">Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces</a> looks set to be a site of contest, as the reality of exploitation in both the subsidised and commercial sector is given a new visibility.</p>
<p>The curtain has been drawn on neoliberalism but, as economist <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/zombie-economics">John Quiggin</a> made us all aware, its zombie form still lives on. </p>
<p>Revive is the first step into a new global landscape for which we barely have a language. This has to come not from government but from those working in the cultural sector itself. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pay-safety-and-welfare-how-the-new-centre-for-arts-and-entertainment-workplaces-can-strengthen-the-arts-sector-198859">Pay, safety and welfare: how the new Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces can strengthen the arts sector</a>
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<p><em>Correction: an earlier version of this story misnamed the CEO of the Australia Council. It is Adrian Collette.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198871/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin O'Connor receives funding from the Australia Research Council</span></em></p>Revive is the first step into a new global landscape for which we barely have a language.Justin O'Connor, Professor of Cultural Economy, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988592023-01-31T04:22:52Z2023-01-31T04:22:52ZPay, safety and welfare: how the new Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces can strengthen the arts sector<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507262/original/file-20230131-16-ddual9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C7%2C5160%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terren Hurst on Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In May, <a href="https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623">we predicted</a> Tony Burke’s joint portfolio of workplace relations and the arts was an opportunity to address some of the challenges facing the arts and cultural sector. </p>
<p>With the <a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">launch of Revive</a>, the new national cultural policy, we’re seeing this potentially start to pay off. </p>
<p>One focal point of Revive is the establishment of the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces, a new body within Creative Australia (a rebranded and expanded Australia Council). The role of the centre is,
<a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/publications/national-cultural-policy-revive-place-every-story-story-every-place">according to the policy</a>:</p>
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<p>to provide advice on issues of pay, safety and welfare in the arts and entertainment sector, refer matters to the relevant authorities and develop codes of conduct and resources for the sector.</p>
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<p>The policy frames artists as workers deserving of workplace protections and rights. As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the launch: “Arts jobs are real jobs.” </p>
<p>It’s no secret the arts sector has a poor track record when it comes to working conditions. A <a href="https://futurework.org.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/Creativity_in_Crisis-_Rebooting_Australias_Arts___Entertainment_Sector_-_FINAL_-_26_July.pdf">report from 2021</a> noted 45% of Australia’s arts and cultural workers were in casual or insecure roles. The gender pay gap in the arts is <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/advocacy-and-research/culture-and-the-gender-pay-gap-for-australian-artists/">9% wider</a> than other sectors of the economy. The music industry continues to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/sep/01/a-very-low-glass-ceiling-sexism-and-harassment-rife-in-australian-music-long-awaited-report-finds">make headlines</a> for widespread bullying and sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the sector is struggling to <a href="https://theconversation.com/junior-staff-are-finding-better-contracts-senior-staff-are-burning-out-the-arts-are-losing-the-war-for-talent-194174">attract and retain workforce talent</a>. </p>
<p>It’s clear things need to change. </p>
<p>What role could the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces play in addressing these issues? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623">Tony Burke's double ministry of arts and industrial relations could be just what the arts sector needs</a>
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<h2>Benchmarking standards</h2>
<p>The centre’s role will be a mix of regulation, policy and provision of resources. </p>
<p>It will be able to set standards around minimum inclusions in grant processes – such as compliance with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/employers-will-have-positive-duty-to-prevent-sexual-harassment-in-workplaces-under-new-legislation-191350">Respect@Work</a> recommendations. The centre will also act as a referral agency to organisations such as Fair Work Australia and Comcare. Whether it will function as an investigative or policing body remains to be seen. </p>
<p>Its overarching responsibility will be to establish a connection between the arts and issues of pay, safety and welfare. </p>
<p>The development of safe workplaces relies, first and foremost, on the provision of fair and equitable wages. If artists can’t survive financially, they can’t thrive.</p>
<p>The Australia Council has <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/investment-and-development/protocols-and-resources/payment-of-artists/">highlighted the importance</a> of fair pay. The council has a dedicated web page on artist payments and requires funding applicants to meet the minimum rates of pay under relevant industry standards. </p>
<p>The challenge has been a lack of consistent industrial benchmarks establishing these standards and the absence of consequences for organisations that choose to ignore them. Part of the difficulty also stems from the <a href="https://livemusicoffice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIIC-Valuing-Australias-Creative-Industries-2013.pdf">size and structure of many arts organisations</a>, which often lack designated human resources specialists. This leaves independent contractors and casual workers with little formal recourse against unfair working conditions. </p>
<p>Efforts to promote artist safety and welfare also already exist in Australia cultural policy. <a href="https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/arts-and-culture/grants/guidelines">Arts South Australia</a>, has incorporated “respectful behaviours” guidelines into their funding agreements. But, like fair pay, these kinds of policies can be vague and often little more than aspirational in practice. </p>
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<p>There is an opportunity for the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces to establish strong standards set expectations within the sector and help to hold arts organisations to account. </p>
<p>Burke told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/hack/14139276">Triple J’s Hack</a> the centre will develop codes of conduct, and if organisations aren’t “keeping up to date” with these codes around workplace bullying and harassment, they will not be able to “come knocking on the door for government funding”. </p>
<p>The centre will also importantly function as a point of contact and referral for arts workers who have nowhere else to go for support.</p>
<p>Other areas where the centre can offer substantive value are in the improvement of workplace standards and the communication of revised industrial frameworks and awards. However, the centre’s ability to build of new cultures across the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/characteristics-of-employment-and-business-activity-in-cultural-and-creative-sectors_0.pdf">dispersed workforce</a> of freelancers, sole traders and small to medium enterprises will remain a significant challenge. </p>
<p>Arts workers recognise the need for change, but they need access to specialist advice to achieve it. </p>
<h2>Signs of optimism</h2>
<p>There has been <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/opinions-analysis/national-cultural-policy-revives-unfamiliar-hope-2608706/">some unease</a> about the increased role of arts bureaucracy within the new cultural policy. The decision to create three new administrative entities in addition to the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces – all with significant budgets – highlights concerns institutions are once again being prioritised over individual artists. </p>
<p>In the case of the centre, the key will be whether the body can actually address the art sector’s unstable and inequitable workplace conditions through its policies and regulations. </p>
<p>As a sign of optimism, this model isn’t without precedent. The Swedish arts sector has seen significant success using a <a href="https://fr.unesco.org/creativity/policy-monitoring-platform/measures-gender-equality-area">similar top-down institutional approach</a> to address cultural workforce issues, particularly around gender inequality. </p>
<p>Since 2006, Sweden has implemented multiple policies leveraging access to funding and quotas to increase women’s representation in the arts. In 2011, the Swedish Arts Council even launched a <a href="https://musikverket.se/om-musikverket/?lang=en">dedicated agency</a> to help support projects promoting gender equality in music. </p>
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<p>Ultimately, what the centre achieves will be shaped by the decision-makers within it. The centre’s staff must represent Australia’s diverse creative community and clearly understand how and why things must change. As <a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">Jo Caust notes</a>, detail and execution are critical. Cultural policy is more than words, it’s what happens after that makes the difference. </p>
<p>As columnist Sean Kelly <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/can-australia-become-a-nation-that-takes-art-seriously-20230127-p5cg1s.html">suggests</a>, Revive’s true measure of success will be the health of arts workplaces: </p>
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<p>Burke will be judged on whether the arts again becomes a field that people want to work in – a field in which workers are respected and paid properly for their work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces will play a crucial role in determining that success. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-are-meant-to-be-at-the-heart-of-our-life-what-the-new-national-cultural-policy-could-mean-for-australia-if-it-all-comes-together-198786">'Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life': what the new national cultural policy could mean for Australia – if it all comes together</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198859/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The centre will importantly function as a point of contact and referral for arts workers who have nowhere else to go for support.Kim Goodwin, Lecturer, The University of MelbourneCaitlin Vincent, Lecturer in Creative Industries, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987862023-01-30T06:41:47Z2023-01-30T06:41:47Z‘Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life’: what the new national cultural policy could mean for Australia – if it all comes together<p>It’s finally been launched. <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/publications/national-cultural-policy-revive-place-every-story-story-every-place">A new cultural policy</a> for Australia. After years (actually decades) of neglect, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today launched a new national cultural policy, Revive. In his speech he said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Arts are meant to be at the heart of our life</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s important that our prime minister says this and owns the centrality of culture in our lives. The last prime minister who acknowledged the importance of the arts in Australian life was Paul Keating 30 years ago.</p>
<p>It has been a long time since.</p>
<p>The arts have had a tough time in Australia for many years. While the population of Australia has increased, arts funding has remained stagnant. In some areas of funding, such as grants for individual artists, there has been at least a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/may/19/the-70-drop-australia-council-grants-artists-funding-cuts">70% drop</a> since 2013. </p>
<p>The Labor Party last launched a cultural policy, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2013/April/Creative_Australia__National_Cultural_Policy_2013">Creative Australia</a>, in March 2013. Soon after, Labor lost government and Creative Australia never came to fruition. Under the Coalition government, Australia did not have a national cultural policy.</p>
<p>So what does this new document mean for Australia’s artists – and audiences – going forward?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-promises-national-aboriginal-art-gallery-in-alice-springs-and-pivots-towards-the-modern-and-mainstream-in-new-cultural-policy-198741">Albanese promises National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs and pivots towards the modern and mainstream in new cultural policy</a>
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<h2>‘Modernising’ the Australia Council</h2>
<p>Revive is framed as being inclusive. Its subtitle is “a place for every story, a story for every place”. Throughout the document, First Nations people are given priority. The hefty policy document comes in at more than 100 pages, and the preface by Christos Tsiolkas and Clare Wright is a must-read, setting the tone for what is to follow.</p>
<p>The centrepiece of the new policy seems to be the rebranding, or “modernising”, of the Australia Council. While the name of the legal governing body will remain at the top, the name underneath will become Creative Australia. </p>
<p>What happens within will also seemingly change. </p>
<p>The government is restoring previous funding cuts ($44 million) to the Australia Council. There will also be new entities within the Creative Australia revised framework, each with a new budget. These are a new First Nations First Body ($35.5 million), Music Australia ($69.4 million), Writers Australia ($19.3 million) and the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces ($8.1 million). </p>
<p>There will be a further investment in “works of scale” ($19 million), which seems to be aimed at helping work translate through different mediums or for different audiences.</p>
<p>In this new framework, there is an emphasis on First Nations programs being led by First Nations people. Alongside the First Nations First Body, $11 million will go towards establishing a First Nations Languages Policy Partnership, incorporating languages into Australian education, and $13.4 million will be directed to legislation to protect First Nations knowledge and cultural expressions, including ensuring the authenticity of First Nations art.</p>
<p>The changes beg the question: what will happen to existing structures within the Australia Council? The Australia Council <a href="https://mailchi.mp/australiacouncil/announcements-opportunities-more-6110209?e=276d6e8253">has announced</a> its own briefing in relation to the policy later in the week.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623">Tony Burke's double ministry of arts and industrial relations could be just what the arts sector needs</a>
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<h2>Not just for the arts industry</h2>
<p>The remodelled agency will not just be responsible for the not-for-profit sector but also the commercial sector, particularly popular music and publishing, and philanthropy. </p>
<p>An important step forward in the policy is the emphasis on the centrality of the artist and acknowledging arts workers as legitimate workers. The creation of a Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces will <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/crackdown-on-sexual-harassment-abuse-and-bullying-in-the-arts-20230127-p5cfy3.html">aim to address</a> issues around professional payments and conditions for arts workers. </p>
<p>There is also reference to the crucial role of arts education. This is a positive step forward with a commitment of $2.6 million to support specialist in-school arts education programs.</p>
<p>Other areas that are acknowledged are the development of an Arts and Disability Plan ($5 million) and pilot funding of $4.2 million to support access to art and music therapy programs.</p>
<p>The introduction of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/australian-authors-to-receive-compensation-for-e-book-loans-for-first-time-20230127-p5cfxk.html">lending rights fees</a> for the digital area is a long overdue reform and will be important for writers ($12.9 million). The <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/resale-royalty-scheme">resale royalties scheme</a> for visual arts practice ($1.8 million) will also be important, but may be impossible to enforce internationally.</p>
<p>There is also a commitment to better data collection around the sector and the publication of a comprehensive report every three years. This is a move forward, but it needs to include qualitative as well as quantitative data, and needs to be transparent.</p>
<p>There is limited reference in the document to how the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/neglect-of-our-cultural-heritage-will-be-to-the-nation-s-peril-20221212-p5c5r0.html">heritage institutions</a> will be addressed. Present budget shortfalls are affecting their ability to do their role. The government has said previously it will be addressing this in the next budget. </p>
<p>There is a commitment, though, of $11.8 million towards loaning the collection of the National Gallery of Australia to suburban and regional art galleries, and the regional area arts fund will get a boost of $8.5 million.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-to-have-a-poet-laureate-how-will-the-first-appointment-define-us-as-a-nation-198769">Australia is to have a poet laureate – how will the first appointment define us as a nation?</a>
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<h2>A success still to be seen</h2>
<p>A promise in the document to ensure Australian stories are being told <a href="https://theconversation.com/streaming-platforms-will-soon-be-required-to-invest-more-in-australian-tv-and-films-which-could-be-good-news-for-our-screen-sector-198757">through streaming services</a> is going to be important. How this will be achieved is yet to be revealed.</p>
<p>There is limited reference to increasing Australia’s cultural presence abroad, but the details are vague and this again has been an area of significant neglect for several years.</p>
<p>The small to medium sector and individual artists have suffered the most over the 20 years of reduced funding. How will they fit into this ambitious plan? While there is emphasis on the adequate remuneration of artists, whether the actions recommended will be sufficient remains to be seen.</p>
<p>Overall, there are many positive actions in the new policy, but the devil will be in the details on how it is rolled out.</p>
<p>This new policy is definitely not a game changer, but it is going in a healthier direction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/streaming-platforms-will-soon-be-required-to-invest-more-in-australian-tv-and-films-which-could-be-good-news-for-our-screen-sector-198757">Streaming platforms will soon be required to invest more in Australian TV and films, which could be good news for our screen sector</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Caust has previously received funding from the Australia Council. She is a member of NAVA and the Arts Industry Council (SA).</span></em></p>This is not quite a game changer, but it is going in a healthier direction.Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1941742022-11-16T19:04:12Z2022-11-16T19:04:12ZJunior staff are finding better contracts, senior staff are burning out: the arts are losing the war for talent<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495223/original/file-20221115-22-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C3514%2C1534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Museum of Warsaw</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1997, consulting firm McKinsey & Company coined the term “<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/34512/war-talent">the war for talent</a>” to define increasing labour shortages that had significant potential to impact organisational performance. </p>
<p>The war for talent significantly impacted corporations at the time, creating a scarcity mindset and encouraging a wave of employee-focussed initiatives designed to attract and retain staff. </p>
<p>For the most part, the arts and cultural sector have been sheltered from the war for talent over past decades. Global growth in creative oriented higher education coupled with the “<a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2016/04/26/book-review-be-creative-making-a-living-in-the-new-culture-industries-by-angela-mcrobbie/">romance of being creative</a>” has led to a steady stream of workers willing to enter the sector on low pay. </p>
<p>However, in 2022 things have changed.</p>
<p>Faced with labour shortages, arts and cultural organisations increasingly find it challenging to operate. In 2021, it was reported screen productions in Australia were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-24/high-demand-creates-film-skill-shortage/100479392">being jeopardised</a> due to lack of technical skills. </p>
<p>Now, summer festivals are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/nov/07/will-australias-festivals-survive-a-wet-chaotic-expensive-summer">struggling to find</a> frontline workers, including security, stage crew, ticketing and transport. </p>
<p>It’s not just entry-level positions that remain empty. </p>
<p>After <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/may/11/australias-culture-of-ideas-suffers-when-we-starve-our-creative-institutions-of-funding">a decade</a> of funding cuts and policy neglect, followed by the stresses induced by COVID-19, I am observing arts leaders leaving to find secure, better paid and sustainable work elsewhere. </p>
<p>In Australia’s increasingly tight labour market, the arts are finally facing a war for talent. </p>
<h2>A culture of burnout</h2>
<p>If we consider the role of the “arts manager”, it becomes easy to recognise why arts leaders are abandoning the industry.</p>
<p>Arts leaders do not just support the creation of art. They are marketers, customer service specialists, supply chain and logistics experts, grant writers, human resources managers and – increasingly – risk managers. </p>
<p>They are trying to bring back audiences post-COVID while juggling a contentious funding landscape that balances the need for revenue with audience, staff and artist <a href="https://overland.org.au/2021/09/the-arts-in-australia-need-to-break-up-with-fossil-fuels/">expectations</a> arts organisations do not partner with corporations that fail to align with organisational values. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4884%2C3266&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An empty office" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4884%2C3266&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495217/original/file-20221114-18-huku2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Staff are increasingly burnt out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>I am increasingly seeing young people leaving arts jobs for opportunities that recognise their skills and provide secure, better paid work. Art workers are highly valuable in today’s economy where creativity and innovation are seen as <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/news/speeches-and-opinions/creative-skills-in-times-of-crisis-how-the-arts-can-help/">keys to success</a>.</p>
<p>This lack of younger workers increases the workloads of senior staff, causing them to be burnt out and leave the sector, too.</p>
<p>Staff shortages jeopardise the sector’s ability to get back on its feet after the brutal impact of COVID-19. Those that remain in our arts companies are exhausted, left trying to rebuild programs and audiences with fewer resources. </p>
<p>While “<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-why-doing-less-at-work-could-be-good-for-you-and-your-employer-188617">quiet quitting</a>” gets media airtime, others in the sector are asking arts workers to embrace the mantra of “<a href="https://larsenkeys.com.au/2022/09/26/post-covid-or-post-burnout-less-is-necessary/">less is necessary</a>”.</p>
<p>Individuals need to take action to address their wellbeing. Still, it is also necessary to consider the systems and structures that underpin our arts organisations and how they impact workers. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-why-doing-less-at-work-could-be-good-for-you-and-your-employer-188617">Quiet quitting: why doing less at work could be good for you – and your employer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Structural issues</h2>
<p>One way to address the war for talent is to increase the labour supply. </p>
<p>Higher education providers who develop creative talent are lobbying for more resources to expand programs and are pushing for changes to the Job Ready graduate scheme that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inequity-of-job-ready-graduates-for-students-must-be-brought-to-a-quick-end-heres-how-183808">imposes higher costs</a> on arts and humanities graduates. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=14754">Graduate Outcome Survey</a> shows that the employment outcomes of creative arts and arts and humanities graduates have increased over 20% since 2019. The high rates of graduate employability aligns with Australia’s historically low unemployment rate, but also demonstrates the value creative skills now hold in the broader economy. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inequity-of-job-ready-graduates-for-students-must-be-brought-to-a-quick-end-heres-how-183808">The inequity of Job-ready Graduates for students must be brought to a quick end. Here's how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What these positive statistics do not tell us, however, is the working conditions of those employed. </p>
<p>The arts are the original gig economy. Of the over 80% of arts and humanities graduates employed six months after graduation, how many earn a living wage? How many work in the arts? How many recent creative arts graduates are juggling multiple short-term contracts simultaneously to build skills, grow networks and cope with cost of living increases? </p>
<p>As Australia’s labour market tightens, arts workers are realising they can take their skills to better paid jobs with secure contracts, in fields such as health, technology and management consulting. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A staff meeting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495220/original/file-20221114-19-3w8mbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Arts workers are finding their skills are in demand in other industries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Goodman/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unless arts organisations respond by providing similar security and career paths, the departure of talented workers will only continue. </p>
<p>This loss of staff will not only impact the ability of organisations to operate today, but will also influence the make-up of arts organisations in the future. </p>
<p>When only those who can afford to work under precarious conditions remain, the ability of the sector to attract and retain leaders from diverse communities <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/features/how-do-we-stop-losing-artists-from-the-sector-2578669/">decreases</a>. </p>
<h2>Decent work</h2>
<p>Arts leaders eagerly await the launch of a new <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-cultural-policy-is-an-opportunity-for-a-radical-rethinking-of-the-importance-of-culture-in-australia-188720">National Cultural Policy</a>, hoping for significant change in how the arts are valued. </p>
<p>Yet arts organisations need to also get their own house in order. </p>
<p>Sustainable arts careers mean <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-crisis-of-a-career-in-culture-why-sustaining-a-livelihood-in-the-arts-is-so-hard-171732">decent work</a>. This means structural changes in how arts workers are employed, a shift away from the reliance on volunteers and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/why-is-a-major-sydney-arts-festival-working-with-google-to-offer-an-unpaid-internship-20220516-p5als1.html">incorrect appointment of unpaid interns</a>, low-wage casual or fixed-term roles to more secure and fairly paid employment. </p>
<p>Many in the sector are championing change. The National Association for the Visual Arts is campaigning to <a href="https://visualarts.net.au/news-opinion/2022/recognise-artists-workers/">recognise artists as workers</a>, highlighting the need for an award to support this group that often falls under the industrial relations radar. The music sector has made similar calls for minimum wages for artists, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/paying-musicians-a-minimum-wage-would-kill-live-music-tote-owner-20220923-p5bkgw.html">yet face critics</a>. </p>
<p>The pandemic showed us how important the arts are to our lives. For the arts to continue to play a vital role in our national identity and represent our diverse communities, the sector must be funded appropriately. </p>
<p>It is also essential organisations create safe, secure and viable jobs for arts workers. </p>
<p>If the industry can only exist by systematically exploiting workers, then the war for talent will be lost. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623">Tony Burke's double ministry of arts and industrial relations could be just what the arts sector needs</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Goodwin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For a long time, arts organisations retained staff attracted to the ‘romance of being creative’. That’s no longer enough.Kim Goodwin, Lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942132022-11-10T12:12:35Z2022-11-10T12:12:35ZArts Council cuts: the problems with ‘levelling up’ through culture<p>Questions about the politics of support for the arts have always been fraught and the recent announcement about <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/uk-government-defund-london-arts-1234645796/">Arts Council England’s latest funding</a> round is no exception. At the heart of the current controversy is the movement of millions of pounds away from key London organisations to the regions. This move was ordered by former culture secretary Nadine Dorries in the name of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/levelling-up-four-problems-with-boris-johnsons-flagship-project-176386">levelling up</a>”, which was a Conservative election promise to spread economic opportunity across the country.</p>
<p>Among the high-profile organisations losing out are the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the Southbank Centre. The English National Opera will lose its annual grant and instead receive <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63512050">support to relocate</a> outside the capital. Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/statement-mayor-arts-funding">summarised the alarm</a> at this development:</p>
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<p>Many of our world-leading cultural organisations will be left devastated by this announcement of over £50 million worth of government cuts to London’s arts funding … These cuts could not have come at a worse time as arts organisations already face a triple whammy of spiralling operating costs, soaring energy bills and the impact of both the pandemic and the cost of living crisis on audience figures.</p>
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<p>Support for regional bodies is welcome, even as cuts to longstanding cultural powerhouses are distressing. But viewing the process as a zero-sum game pits different parts of the country against one another. This approach also glosses over the underlying politics of arts funding beyond the number crunching and broader questions of what it’s actually for. </p>
<h2>Social good or money maker?</h2>
<p>Notably, those critiquing and those in support of the re-deployment of resources away from London – and, indeed, the logic of culture as an engine for “levelling up” – often rest on arguments about the <a href="https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/dcms-announces-economic-model-deciding-cultural-funding">economic value of culture</a>. For instance, claims that culture contributes to urban regeneration and cultural exports boost national revenues. </p>
<p>Other considerations, though, have historically informed the political impetus for supporting the arts. </p>
<p>The roots of the current Arts Council, for instance, lie in the second world war <a href="https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7110">Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts</a>. The council was designed to boost morale as part of the war effort and preserve the “highest standards in the arts of music, drama and painting”. This led to the formation of the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, chaired by the economist and doyen of state intervention, John Maynard Keynes.</p>
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<p>Since its initial emphasis on “excellence” and close association with “crown jewel” organisations like the Royal Opera House, the council has adopted a more egalitarian view. This <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10286632.2010.546839">includes fostering a diversity</a> of artistic practices that represent different cultural backgrounds, as well as different tastes.</p>
<p>The contrasting objectives of “excellence” and “diversity” still maintain the need to support activity that might not otherwise fare well in the rough and tumble of the marketplace. However, there has been a longstanding tension in cultural policy as the emphasis has shifted inexorably from culture to the “creative industries”, which has a wider remit that includes digital businesses.</p>
<p>The breakup of the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1994 into funders for the constituent nations of the UK was accompanied by this broader policy shift towards the “creative industries”. There has been a closer focus on investment and revenues. Additionally, there has sometimes been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09548963.2014.925283">ambiguity</a> over whether the support of “creative industries” is the job of arts or business government bodies.</p>
<h2>Increasing the burden on the arts</h2>
<p>None of this is to say that there isn’t a solid economic case to be made for funding the arts. Rather, it’s important to highlight the long-term risks of ignoring why arts and culture can contribute to society beyond local regeneration and lining government coffers. For instance, the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10286632.2014.987668">capacity in arts and culture</a> for community building and personal enrichment that draw in audiences in the first place.</p>
<p>In this wider view, it isn’t a question of whether the English National Opera resides in London or Manchester, but how the arts are viewed as a good in themselves. It’s also about where they fit within the broader portfolio of a government’s responsibilities to its citizens.</p>
<p>There is a role for culture in the broader goal of “levelling up”. Venues need to be maintained and improved to attract larger audiences and investment nationwide. But putting the logistical onus of “levelling up” through culture on the Arts Council leaves it, as chair <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/11/04/brutal-cuts-to-london-arts-organisations-as-national-funds-are-moved-away-from-capital">Sir Nicholas Serota noted</a>, in the difficult position where it will have to make unpopular and divisive choices. </p>
<p>It isn’t clear, given the bigger historical picture, that “levelling up” the regions should fall to an already depleted central culture budget, which also has to cope with urgent matters like the <a href="https://www.culturehive.co.uk/CVIresources/workforce-a-slow-recovery-from-covid-for-performing-arts/">ongoing fall-out of the pandemic on the arts</a>. </p>
<p>There are enduring questions, for example, about how far the state should prioritise the established centres for culture and the diversity of communities engaged in creative work. These questions are difficult to resolve and adding the burden of regional disparity to the equation amid a shrinking pot for all involved has only exacerbated these issues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Behr has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.</span></em></p>Pitting parts of the country against each other in the battle for arts funding will only further hurt a sector still reeling from the pandemic.Adam Behr, Senior Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927762022-11-06T18:29:38Z2022-11-06T18:29:38ZLiverpool’s unsung COVID heroes: how the city’s arts scene became a life support network<blockquote>
<p>Culture was always a large part of my life. But when we all had to rush home in March 2020, I felt like I lost it on the way – as if I’d left it on the bus in a bag. It’s making me question my future: what will be left when all this ends? How many venues, how many bands, how many theatres, how many art galleries?</p>
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<p>You are never far away from culture in Liverpool. The forthcoming host of the <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/news/2022/10/liverpool-to-host-eurovision-song-contest-2023-on-behalf-of-ukraine">2023 Eurovision Song Contest</a> on Ukraine’s behalf has long pioneered the idea of “arts as life support” – via initiatives such as <a href="https://www.liferooms.org/">The Life Rooms</a>, which uses a library and theatre (among other sites) to engage people in cultural activities as part of its social health model.</p>
<p>While COVID required the temporary suspension of many in-person arts offerings, it also sparked a remarkable shift in how the city’s arts organisations and charities operated. As government health and welfare services shut down or struggled to adapt to the crisis, cultural organisations stepped in to provide vital support – including, in some cases, fundamentals of food and heating – to their networks of participants and audiences whose usual care was falling short. As one Liverpool arts organiser <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">recalls</a>:</p>
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<p>I was phoning people asking: “Have you got food, have you been to your GP, did you get your prescription sorted?” But sometimes they just wanted to have somebody to have a laugh with – some human interaction.</p>
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<p>Liverpool has long struggled with some of the poorest mental health levels in the UK. For those most at risk of loneliness and mental distress, COVID delivered a further devastating blow. At the peak of the pandemic in November 2020, <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/%7E/media/phi-reports/pdf/2021-03-vulnerable-groups-profile-liverpool-city-region">almost one in five adults</a> in the Liverpool City Region were suffering from a “common” mental health problem such as depression or anxiety – exacerbated by some of the <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/%7E/media/phi-reports/pdf/2021-03-vulnerable-groups-profile-liverpool-city-region">highest deprivation indicators in England</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://livcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/COVID-19-CARE-report_final.pdf">new research</a> shows that access to arts activities during lockdown was a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">crucial lifeline</a> for many people throughout Liverpool. One interviewee referred to cultural contacts as their “lifeblood” during those days of isolation, while another said: “Online arts activities opened a locked door, letting in some light during a very dark time for me.”</p>
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<h2>Picking up the pieces</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.choirwithnoname.org/about?gclid=Cj0KCQjwj7CZBhDHARIsAPPWv3c_VKHNJ87seBdLrk6OoAzr7FwaPQwrW6J6LN9xzgdjOgAIb_jVkCMaAtkQEALw_wcB">Choir With No Name</a> is a national charity with choirs in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff and Coventry as well as Liverpool, all supporting people affected by homelessness. Prior to the pandemic, the Liverpool branch would meet once a week – first to catch up socially, then to rehearse a forthcoming gig before finally sharing a hot meal cooked by volunteers. </p>
<p>According to the choir’s manager: “For many of our [homeless] members, it’s the only sense they get of sitting down and sharing food as a family. Sometimes coming in and getting a hug can be the only physical contact they’ve had all week.”</p>
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>When COVID struck, choir members – who were typically in the “middle ground” of need – were largely left to fend for themselves by the authorities. The choir’s volunteer staff had been used to helping them deal with GPs, housing, police and other services. But when many of these services suddenly shut down, the volunteers were left “picking up the pieces – and picking them up quickly”:</p>
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<p>There were so many people who lost the ability to get food from anywhere … People who were street homeless actually had better provision of care than people in a bedsit, where you were just abandoned. I spent a lot of time in those first months sorting food for people and making sure they had electricity. One member’s housing provider left them with no water for four days because they didn’t understand how to communicate with somebody who was vulnerable, so we had to step in.</p>
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<p>What soon became clear, says the choir’s manager, is that the more informal nature of many arts charities enabled them to fill crucial gaps where they were needed:</p>
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<p>An organisation like ours works in an unofficial way – we’re not the social worker or housing association. We’re left with a lot more freedom to support people in the way they actually need to be supported, instead of ticking the boxes that these statutory services have to tick.</p>
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<p>For Liverpool-based charity <a href="https://www.thereader.org.uk/">The Reader</a>, arts provision and social care proved inseparable during the pandemic. Having grown out of a single reading group in Birkenhead library, The Reader brings people together in a variety of health, community and secure care settings to read short stories, novels and poetry aloud. According to its head of teaching and learning:</p>
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<p>An awful lot of what we do is directed towards mitigating the disastrous effects of loneliness and social isolation. But that lifeline was immediately taken away by COVID. A big area of our work is in care homes, and a lot of our volunteers just could not get inside them at that time.</p>
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<p>This led to Reader volunteers setting up a big screen in the lounge of one Liverpool care home so that its residents – otherwise completely isolated from the outside world – could gather around the screen to hold their readings. “Lifeline packs” of stories and poems were also supplied: “We knew if we could get them into the hands of somebody working on the premises, they could distribute them.”</p>
<p>The Reader also partnered with homeless charities to offer shared reading sessions over the phone for people suddenly living alone in a single room 24 hours a day. One recipient told us that getting this call was “a highlight of my week … a salvation”.</p>
<h2>A digital crash-course</h2>
<p>Vulnerable as small arts organisations were to the economic impacts of lockdown, their relative freedom from bureaucratic constraints – coupled with their energetic creativity – meant they could adapt quickly to the new COVID conditions, including by delivering their shows, events and workshops online.</p>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, the use of online technology had been viewed with some scepticism. A video or audio version seemed counterintuitive for an activity whose raison d’etre is the power of in-person performance and connections.</p>
<p>“If you’d have asked me the week before the theatre closed [for lockdown] whether our drama activities could translate into something digital, I’d have been really sceptical,” recalls the <a href="https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/liverpool-playhouse-theatre">Liverpool Playhouse</a>’s then-director of social learning. “Yet so enormous was the impact of lockdown on our group members, we started our drama Zoom events the following week.”</p>
<p>“Not being the massive organisation that the NHS is” meant the Playhouse could quickly establish a creative wellbeing programme, running between eight and 15 sessions each week.</p>
<p>The speed of the pivot to online provision among Liverpool’s cultural organisations was remarkable. Within three weeks, The Reader was delivering shared Zoom reading sessions not only to its Liverpool members but internationally, twice weekly. It also developed a series of programmes for national prison radio that reached 120 prisons every day.</p>
<p>COVID proved a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17579139221080055">powerful catalyst</a> for arts organisations to make the switch to digital offerings. As one creative writing practitioner puts it:</p>
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<p>We’ve all had a crash course in the feasibility and practicality of online delivery of arts. That probably wouldn’t have happened with such speed or sophistication if it hadn’t been driven by the necessity of a global pandemic.</p>
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<p>According to the partnerships manager at the <a href="https://www.liverpoolphil.com/current-events/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrqao8qfJ-gIVdYBQBh2cWArSEAAYASAAEgKr0_D_BwE">Royal Liverpool Philharmonic</a>: “The pandemic has highlighted that we were missing a trick previously as to the diversity of ways of working with people through digital engagement. Some people feel safer online than being physically somewhere.”</p>
<p>In Liverpool, as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17579139221080055">elsewhere in the UK</a>, online performances, cultural events and workshops were a crucial buffer against loneliness during the pandemic. The account of woman who hadn’t spoken to anybody for a whole week so “found herself talking to the wheelie bin” was not unusual in our research. A beneficiary of the Playhouse theatre’s creative wellbeing programme says that without it: “I would have fallen back into my PTSD stress [as] I’d have been left in the lurch.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-magic-of-touch-how-deafblind-people-taught-us-to-see-the-world-differently-during-covid-191698">The magic of touch: how deafblind people taught us to 'see' the world differently during COVID</a>
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<p>Retaining cultural connections during the COVID lockdowns has been <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">highlighted as critical</a> for people who were at increased risk of psychological ill-health – with an emphasis on providing them with meaningful activities, not just check-in calls.</p>
<p>A photographer describes how her online sessions led to people “using photography as a way to document what was going on for them. It became quite a cathartic process for many – a therapeutic way to counteract the negative feelings of the lockdown experience.”</p>
<p>Similarly, a creative writing group leader says members processed the emotions that were coming up during the pandemic through their writing – “whether that was grief, anger at the government, or feelings of loneliness”.</p>
<h2>Overcoming digital poverty</h2>
<p>In its five-year action plan <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">published in February 2021</a>, the Liverpool City Region Cultural Partnership paid tribute to “the creative organisations and people who, despite the odds, were able to reach out to our communities and vulnerable groups to offer a moment of joy [during the pandemic]”.</p>
<p>Yet only a year earlier, at the onset of COVID, the financial and employment situation of many of these organisations had looked perilous. In addition to a severe loss of income from visitors to the city, as many as 60% of Liverpool’s estimated 15,000 freelance creative workers <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">faced redundancy overnight</a>.</p>
<p>Due to the complex nature of professional contracts in the creative industries, many employees did not qualify for the government’s furlough or self-employed support schemes. Across the entire region, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Anderson-19/publication/357226930_Playing_In_Exploring_the_effect_of_COVID-19_on_music_makers_across_the_Liverpool_City_Region/links/61c2523b8bb20101842a0cc8/Playing-In-Exploring-the-effect-of-COVID-19-on-music-makers-across-the-Liverpool-City-Region.pdf">62% of musicians</a> were unable to benefit from either scheme.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-will-not-forget-our-colleagues-who-have-died-two-doctors-on-the-frontline-of-the-second-wave-148152">'We will not forget our colleagues who have died': two doctors on the frontline of the second wave</a>
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<p>In March 2020, Arts Council England announced a £160m <a href="https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19/emergency-response-funds">Emergency Response Package</a> to help alleviate the immediate pressures faced by arts organisations and artists. Across Liverpool, some organisations used this fund to ensure continued connectivity among their members, recognising that digital poverty was as fundamental an issue to overcome in tackling social isolation as the provision of food and heating.</p>
<p>An arts centre running a programme for people with learning disabilities found that many participants had neither mobile data nor wifi – so it used some of the emergency fund to purchase iPads and data for them. There was an added bonus to this kind of initiative: distributing laptops and other digital hardware helped organisations sustain contact with their hardest-to-reach members – asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants – when “official” support organisations had closed their doors.</p>
<p>But while this rapid switch to digital was both necessary and valuable, arts providers and recipients still describe their sense of loss at moving online – both in terms of the unfulfilling quality of some digital experiences, and missing the wider enrichments that go with in-person cultural experiences and events. </p>
<p>“In a room you can read the energy – you read how people are feeling,” says the co-director of one dance organisation. “Over 20 years of leading dance activities, I might have a plan for a class but it always alters slightly depending on the people in the room. We can do that to an extent online, but if people aren’t sharing the things you can see in a physical space, you’re unable to respond.”</p>
<p>When the COVID lockdowns finally lifted, organisations echoed one another in describing their “joyous” responses as in-person activities resumed – “just that joy of connection … that joy of being able to come back into a space”.</p>
<h2>Collaborating with the NHS</h2>
<p>The importance of Liverpool’s cultural organisations to the city was underlined by the closeness of many partnerships with healthcare providers during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Royal Liverpool Philharmonic had already been working for more than a decade with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust on a music in mental health programme. When COVID struck, it held Zoom sessions in secure hospitals for people sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Hospital staff reported resultant changes in the ward environment, describing “a happy, warm atmosphere with patients feeling calmer, more positive and having more fun”.</p>
<p>The Liverpool Playhouse, which had begun a partnership with Mersey Care just before the pandemic, found that at the start of lockdown, the NHS trust wasn’t allowed to use Zoom because of governance issues. So their partnership model shifted, with the theatre taking the lead and the trust signposting vulnerable patients to it.</p>
<p>“While officially we couldn’t use the NHS badge,” the theatre’s former director of creativity and social learning explains, “we could see when people really needed support and help – suddenly losing benefits or getting ill – and identify where safeguarding was necessary”. She suggests this has led to an exciting opportunity to “think outside the box”, not just in Liverpool but nationally:</p>
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<p>There is going to be a huge increase in the need for wellbeing services, which are already overstretched and oversubscribed. [We need to] think more about how the arts and health sectors can work more closely together.</p>
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<p>The recent creation of NHS England’s <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/">Integrated Care Systems</a> (ICS) is an endorsement of the value of working with community groups, activities and spaces to deliver better health outcomes. Liverpool is now part of the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS, with a mission to work jointly with a wide range of local partners to tackle inequality and “improve the lives of the poorest fastest”.</p>
<p>Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s partnerships manager says their experiences during the pandemic have led them to consider “whether we should be focusing our attention more at a neighbourhood level, connecting with GP surgeries in our immediate vicinity”. She is encouraged by the way funding organisations “are now looking at how arts and mental health can be embedded in the NHS’s long-term planning”.</p>
<p>According to The Reader’s head of shared reading programmes, there is now a “really, really exciting” opportunity to create a “radical” shared platform with people working in direct healthcare. People could use the voice they gain through contact with cultural and creative organisations to let healthcare services know what the best form of care is for them.</p>
<h2>A new sense of art’s value</h2>
<p>Some Liverpool arts organisations are building on their digital successes during the pandemic to design new in-person activities for local communities. <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/house-of-memories/my-house-of-memories-app">My House of Memories</a> is an app based on memory sharing linked to activities offered by <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/">National Museums Liverpool</a>. Designed to support people living with dementia as well as their carers and families, the number of users increased to tens of thousands during the first lockdown.</p>
<p>The app’s success has inspired <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/house-of-memories/on-the-road">House of Memories On The Road</a>, a 30m² immersive cinema and exhibition space that can be taken into local communities. This physical version offers immersive walks through local landmarks, a trip on Liverpool’s overhead railway, and visits to a 1950s grocery store and 1930s wash day – complete with objects to touch and smell, to stimulate users’ sensory responses and memories.</p>
<p>House of Memories works with community partners to identify those neighbourhoods or elder groups who are experiencing loneliness. Its director explains: “We can drive into local spaces, hospital trust settings, a GP car park or a supermarket. The idea is that we bring the museum to you, wherever you are.” </p>
<p>She adds that a world without arts and culture “would be a very dark and cold place”: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The NHS is there to help us when we’re unwell, but to remain well in the rest of our lives, that’s where arts and culture can play a massive role. What COVID gave us was a real opportunity to shine a light on that value of how important the arts are.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Such initiatives also represent an important part of the “slow return to normality” as the pandemic threat recedes. According to the director of a Liverpool arts centre:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The cultural scene could play a massive part in bringing in people who are less keen to come back because they’re still very worried about COVID. [If] shops and going for a meal aren’t enough to tempt them out, something that’s more meaningful to them like coming to an exhibition, a workshop, the theatre or a concert could be really important for getting people back out, reconnecting and active.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As Liverpool emerges from the ravages of the pandemic, the hit to the city’s creative sector is particularly concerning given its importance to the local economy. Amid a continued risk of closures and loss of creative talent, reduced access to arts and culture for the city’s most vulnerable groups could be very damaging in light of <a href="https://www.thenhsa.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/A-Year-of-COVID-in-the-North-report-2021.pdf">recent research</a> showing the severe impact of the pandemic on mental health across the region.</p>
<p>Yet we have also seen a deepening appreciation of the importance of arts provision during COVID. Liverpool City Region’s 2021 <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">strategic action plan</a> identified a “culture-led and creative response” as being “most likely to be transformational and result in new ways of doing things” – not only in the arts, but for health and wellbeing more generally.</p>
<p>Perhaps just as importantly, the experience of sustaining themselves and others through the COVID ordeal has helped Liverpool’s diverse cultural organisations understand more clearly their role and significance for the regional population – both in-person and online.</p>
<p>Despite the dance tutor’s concerns about what was lost without in-person performances, she highlights that “we now have people from all over the world doing classes when normally we’re [restricted to] Liverpool. It was a really exciting opportunity to share cultures, practices and dance styles.”</p>
<p>Similarly, having been “kind of reluctant” about switching to digital for their annual festival, a writing charity’s programme manager agrees the experience has “highlighted to us the power of what we can do online – this will change the way we work forever”.</p>
<p>Throughout Liverpool and far beyond, we have seen many arts providers step up – despite severe personal challenges – during a period of extraordinary need. And they will surely continue to play a crucial role in processing the pandemic’s impacts for years to come. As The Reader’s head of shared reading programmes concludes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There’s an embodiment of grief in people now – some of it very real, but also bereavement at having lost almost two years of our lives. So if you don’t create spaces to connect with how we feel, and the thoughts we find difficult to have – whether that’s through music, dance, theatre or literature – I worry that we’re going to be “baking in” fractures into our future society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>This article is part of an Insights series developed with <a href="https://www.ukri.org/about-us/">UK Research and Innovation</a> (UKRI) to explore the wider impacts of research carried out during the pandemic. <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/english/research/featured-research/covid-19-care/">COVID-19 CARE</a> is an <a href="https://www.ukri.org/councils/ahrc/">AHRC</a>-funded project; here is its <a href="http://livcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/COVID-19-CARE-report_final.pdf">final report</a> and <a href="https://livcare.org.uk/">online resource</a>.</em></p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-magic-of-touch-how-deafblind-people-taught-us-to-see-the-world-differently-during-covid-191698?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The magic of touch: how deafblind people taught us to ‘see’ the world differently during COVID
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inside-story-of-recovery-how-the-worlds-largest-covid-19-trial-transformed-treatment-and-what-it-could-do-for-other-diseases-184772?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The inside story of Recovery: how the world’s largest COVID-19 trial transformed treatment – and what it could do for other diseases
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-body-has-37-trillion-cells-if-we-can-work-out-what-they-all-do-the-results-could-revolutionise-healthcare-185654?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The human body has 37 trillion cells. If we can work out what they all do, the results could revolutionise healthcare
</a></em></p></li>
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josie Billington receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ekaterina Balabanova receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Worsley receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI</span></em></p>New research shows the region’s arts organisations were a critical source of support for vulnerable people during lockdownJosie Billington, Professor in English Literature, University of LiverpoolEkaterina Balabanova, Professor of Politics and Media, University of LiverpoolJoanne Worsley, Research Associate, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1933042022-10-26T04:16:14Z2022-10-26T04:16:14ZThis was supposed to be a ‘wellbeing budget’ – so why does it feel like the arts have been overlooked?<p>The first Labor federal budget has come down, but the arts are almost nowhere to be seen. </p>
<p>According to Arts Minister Tony Burke, the government is waiting for its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-25/australia-new-national-cultural-policy-arts-minister-tony-burke/101363244">new cultural policy</a>, to be delivered later this year. </p>
<p>Only then will we know if the government is going to take any real action to address the disastrous issues in the arts sector.</p>
<p>Given the emphasis in the budget on addressing issues around “<a href="https://theconversation.com/wellbeing-its-why-labors-first-budget-will-have-more-rigour-than-any-before-it-187160">wellbeing</a>”, it is worrisome we have longer to wait before issues in the arts are addressed by the Labor government. </p>
<p>It took the Coalition government more than seven months to announce <a href="https://theconversation.com/too-little-too-late-too-confusing-the-funding-criteria-for-the-arts-covid-package-is-a-mess-145397">any real relief</a> to the sector during COVID, by which time many individuals and organisations had given up. Timing is everything when people are desperate.</p>
<p>What are the issues in the arts? Where do we start?</p>
<p>There is the continued <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-arts-funding-in-australia-is-falling-and-local-governments-are-picking-up-the-slack-124160">funding decline</a> and support of the arts over the past 15 years, the defunding of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/06/we-are-witnessing-a-cultural-bloodbath-in-australia-that-has-been-years-in-the-making">respected arts organisations</a> by the Australia Council since 2016, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/may/19/the-70-drop-australia-council-grants-artists-funding-cuts">dramatic decline</a> in funding support for individual artists, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications/Arts/Report/section?id=committees%2freportrep%2f024535%2f78295">dire impact</a> of the pandemic, and the need to recognise that cultural value is not the same as economic value, and both are needed. </p>
<p>Individuals who work in the arts are highly skilled and talented. Acknowledging their labour as important and valuable is just the beginning. </p>
<p>Our artists are another aspect of our national wealth. Australia cannot afford to ignore them.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-labors-first-budget-in-6-charts-192851">Everything you need to know about Labor's first budget in 6 charts</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The small budget measures</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, the government has taken action <a href="https://edm.arts.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6358681e8d16a669Pzzzz57fd70ef2def1829/page.html">in some areas</a>. </p>
<p>This budget sees:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A$83.7 million in restorative funding to the ABC</p></li>
<li><p>$5 million to the <a href="https://edm.arts.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6358681e96d03256Pzzzz57fd70ef2def1829/page.html">National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College</a></p></li>
<li><p>$2.4 million to <a href="https://edm.arts.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6358681e97fc8205Pzzzz57fd70ef2def1829/page.html">Bundanon</a>, an organisation providing artist residencies, an education centre, a gallery and other facilities in regional New South Wales</p></li>
<li><p>$5 million to the <a href="https://edm.arts.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6358681e991bc782Pzzzz57fd70ef2def1829/page.html">National Institute of Dramatic Art</a> (NIDA) to support ongoing delivery of its courses, and</p></li>
<li><p>$2.4 million over four years from 2022-23 to offset the impact of the efficiency dividend on <a href="https://edm.arts.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6358681e9a735443Pzzzz57fd70ef2def1829/page.html">national performing arts training organisations</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The budget also reflects the merging of Creative Partnerships Australia with the Australia Council.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jim-chalmers-2022-23-budget-mantra-whatever-you-do-dont-fuel-inflation-192846">Jim Chalmers’ 2022-23 budget mantra: whatever you do, don’t fuel inflation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Creative Partnerships Australia</h2>
<p>Creative Partnerships Australia costs the government around $4-5 million a year, so this merging will bring around $15 million to the Council over the next three years. </p>
<p>Creative Partnerships Australia grew out of the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF), an initiative of the Howard government. Its mandate was to promote and facilitate private sector support for the arts and initially it focused on encouraging businesses to engage with the arts. </p>
<p>From 1998 to 2012, AbaF was driven through a council of business representatives, who committed $10,000 each and actively advocated for business partnerships with arts organisations. This council provided a rich resource base of potential benefactors and in its early days <a href="https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/AbaF-support-passes-20m">was successful</a> at doing this. A separate arts philanthropy organisation, Artsupport Australia, sat under the Australia Council with AbaF support.</p>
<p>In 2012 Simon Crean, then arts minister, decided to excise Artsupport Australia from the Australia Council and re-orientate AbaF by <a href="https://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/new-body-to-promote-private-arts-support">rebranding it</a> as Creative Partnerships Australia. Creative Partnerships Australia since then has had a primary focus on philanthropic support for the arts, and unlike AbaF, also distributes Commonwealth funds through grant programs.</p>
<p>Unlike the Australia Council, Creative Partnerships Australia is based in Melbourne (rather than Sydney), with staff also located in other cities. This means it has more immediate contact with its arts constituents outside Sydney. </p>
<p>The organisation has run many workshops over the years to develop fundraising skills for the arts, and has also been the home of the <a href="https://australianculturalfund.org.au/about/">Australian Cultural Fund</a>, which allows for donations to be given to individual artists and organisations that do not have tax deductibility status. </p>
<p>The loss of this stand-alone entity will likely be felt more by the smaller organisations and individuals than the larger ones. Larger organisations have no difficulty in claiming tax deductibility and greater likelihood of making connections with donors.</p>
<p>The Australia Council is a grant giving body, and has not historically facilitated philanthropy nor been a conduit for tax deductibility. It remains to be seen how these functions will be folded into the Australia Council.</p>
<p>The Labor government has a lot to do to restore confidence in the arts sector and help the sector recover from several terrible years. There is an urgency to this, but this urgency is nowhere to be seen in this budget.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jim-chalmers-restraint-budget-the-first-stage-of-a-marathon-for-the-treasurer-192841">Jim Chalmers' 'restraint' budget the first stage of a marathon for the treasurer</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193304/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Caust has previously received from the Australia Council. She is a member of NAVA and the Arts Industry Council (SA).</span></em></p>Arts Minister Tony Burke says the government is waiting for its new cultural policy. But artists are struggling now.Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1841572022-06-09T20:05:54Z2022-06-09T20:05:54ZWith 9 Broadway musicals currently on Australian stages, musical theatre is thriving again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467331/original/file-20220607-15930-wp20rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5568%2C3684&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Australian cast of SIX: The Musical are currently performing in Adelaide.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">James D Morgan/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With nine Broadway musicals <a href="https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/major-musicals-update">currently playing</a> on Australian stages – and a further three set to open or reopen in coming months – audiences could be forgiven for thinking “what pandemic?”</p>
<p>Most of the productions originated overseas in the past decade and are having their first staging for Australian audiences. </p>
<p>Two productions are even part of the 2022 Broadway season and made their Australian debuts before the outcome of the annual <a href="https://www.tonyawards.com/">Tony Awards</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sixthemusical.com/australia">SIX: The Musical</a> is a 75-minute, pop-fuelled concert that remixes and retells the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII. <a href="https://www.northcountry.com.au/">Girl from the North Country</a> superimposes the music of Bob Dylan onto a fictional story of Depression-era America.</p>
<p>Alongside four other new productions, SIX and Girl from the North Country will vie for the title of Best Musical at the Tony Award ceremony to be held this Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467337/original/file-20220607-24-auzwtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Girl From The North Country started touring Australia in January, and is currently playing in Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Boud</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Broadway’s night of nights</h2>
<p>Broadway musicals frequently cite Tonys success in their marketing campaigns. A haul of nominations for new productions can help <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/culture/musicals/australian-musical-moulin-rouge-makes-tony-awards-history-20210927-p58v55.html">create awareness</a> with Australian audiences.</p>
<p>But with COVID-19 disrupting the Broadway calendar and shifting award <a href="https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Everything-We-Know-So-Far-About-the-75th-Annual-Tony-Awards-20220514">eligibility dates</a>, some producers haven’t waited for validation at the Tonys.</p>
<p>SIX is already playing across the world and its 2018 pre-Broadway cast album has amassed over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/09/theres-a-lot-going-on-history-making-director-of-musical-six-celebrates-tony-award-nominations">100 million streams</a>. Girl from the North Country has a <a href="https://broadwaynews.com/2022/05/13/girl-from-the-north-country-extends-broadway-run/">firm closing date on Broadway</a> after squeezing in a week-long extension, and will launch a US tour in 2023.</p>
<p>So what does a possible win in the top category mean for either Australian production?</p>
<p>Louise Withers, producer of SIX in Australia, tells me while a Tony win might provide new fodder for their marketing campaign, there’s no guarantee of increased profitability.</p>
<p>“We need local audiences to fall in love with shows, and to encourage others to see them, in order to hopefully be financially successful,” she says.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467610/original/file-20220607-14-i763kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hamilton won the Tony for Best Musical in 2016, and is now playing in Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Cassel Group/Daniel Boud</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.tonyawards.com/history/year-by-year">over 100 Tony nominations</a> between them, of the productions currently on Australian stages, only Hamilton (2015) and Moulin Rouge! (2020) took home the Best Musical award in their year of nomination. </p>
<p>Once (2012) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986) also won the top award, but the current Australian productions are not replicas of the Broadway originals. Others, like Disney’s Frozen (2018) and Mary Poppins (2004) were resolutely overlooked by peers voting in the Tonys – but have demonstrated ongoing commercial viability since.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/moulin-rouge-the-musical-is-a-spectacular-feast-for-the-senses-172866">Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a spectacular feast for the senses</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>A precarious business</h2>
<p>Accepting the 2020 award for Moulin Rouge!, Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of theatrical producer Global Creatures, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/culture/musicals/australian-musical-moulin-rouge-makes-tony-awards-history-20210927-p58v55.html">observed</a> that in light of COVID-19 disruption, all the shows of the past year – opened, closed, paused or reborn – were worthy of the title of “best”. </p>
<p>Pavlovic’s turn of phrase also hit on the fact that, awards aside, every Broadway opening represents a kind of success, marking the culmination of years of creative work and significant financial investment and risk.</p>
<p>In the case of SIX, the <a href="https://newmusicaltheatre.com/blogs/green-room/broadway-budgets-101-breaking-down-the-production-budget-1">financial capitalisation</a> for its Broadway opening was a meagre <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/theater/six-broadway.html">US$5 million</a> (A$7 million). In comparison, Frozen reportedly cost <a href="https://time.com/disney-frozen-broadway/">US$30 million</a> (A$42 million) and Broadway “turkey” Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark <a href="https://newmusicaltheatre.com/blogs/green-room/broadway-budgets-101-breaking-down-the-production-budget-1">US$75 million</a> (A$103 million).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467930/original/file-20220609-12-w3lxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Broadway staging of Frozen, currently on stage in Adelaide, cost a reported A$42 million.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Disney/Lisa Tomasetti</span></span>
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<p>With a cast and band size smaller than most productions, SIX’s lower operating costs could mean a faster opportunity to recoup that investment. But Withers rejects the assumption that a smaller number of onstage human resources delivers producers enviable economies of scale. </p>
<p>When the previous government rolled out <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/restart-investment-to-sustain-and-expand-rise-fund.pdf">RISE funding</a> to support the arts sector, the financial precarity of show business became evident.</p>
<p>To access the A$200 million fund, producers had to demonstrate their projects would be “substantially less likely to proceed” without additional financial support. </p>
<p>Big commercial players Global Creatures, Michael Cassel Group, Newtheatricals and the Gordon Frost Organisation secured a <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/latest-batch-of-rise-funding-allocates-25-million-across-the-nation-262521-2370921/">combined A$4.6 million</a> to assist their productions.</p>
<p>Some analysts criticised the decision to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/theatre/a-giant-unplanned-experiment-the-winners-and-losers-in-arts-funding-20211215-p59hz3.html">support commercial ventures</a>, noting the <a href="https://theconversation.com/latest-arts-windfalls-show-money-isnt-enough-we-need-transparency-154725">opacity of the funding regime</a> and the overwhelming <a href="https://fundthearts.com.au/report-creativity-in-crisis">level of financial need across the entire arts sector</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/latest-arts-windfalls-show-money-isnt-enough-we-need-transparency-154725">Latest arts windfalls show money isn't enough. We need transparency</a>
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</p>
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<h2>The new Australian musical</h2>
<p>Live Performance Australia data <a href="https://reports.liveperformance.com.au/ticket-survey-2019-2020/#/categories/musical-theatre">ranks musical theatre</a> as the second largest category of live performance by revenue and attendance. </p>
<p>Despite a COVID-induced downturn in 2020, local composers and writers are buoyant, staging a quantity of new work this year – such as <a href="https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/dubbo-championship-wrestling-2/">Dubbo Championship Wrestling</a> at Hayes Theatre and <a href="https://atyp.com.au/ATYP-productions/the-deb/">The Deb</a> at the Australian Theatre for Young People – matching the range and variety of the big players.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467928/original/file-20220609-20-c6qe5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A new Australian musical, The Deb, recently played in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Theatre for Young People/Tracey Schramm</span></span>
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<p>Michael Cassel Group <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/documents/rise-fund-grant-recipients-batch-one-summary-projects">secured A$420,533 in RISE funding</a> to deliver a development program for new musicals: two large-scale workshop productions and support for the creative development of a further four original works.</p>
<p>Global Creatures is moving ahead with <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/hamilton-harry-potter-and-moulin-rouge-musical-theatre-returns/news-story/f47900a9241d3c637ff1741727061010">a six-week workshop</a> of Muriel’s Wedding – which <a href="https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/campaign/2017/muriels-wedding">premiered</a> at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2017 – in New York.</p>
<p>When I ask if the next big musical will be Australian-born, Withers is sanguine, but noncommittal. She says that even with the incredible depth of talent in Australia, the power to back the next hit remains in the hands and wallets of audiences.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/muriels-wedding-the-musical-is-a-deeply-satisfying-tribute-to-australias-most-loved-dag-87855">Muriel's Wedding: the Musical is a deeply satisfying tribute to Australia's most-loved dag</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Dalton is a proud member of both the NTEU and MEAA. He has worked for a range of theatrical producers including Disney Theatrical, Really Useful Group, Gordon Frost Organisation and Michael Cassel Group.</span></em></p>The nine shows include two 2022 Tony Award nominees – and three more Broadway productions are set to open in coming months.Craig Dalton, Lecturer in Musical Theatre, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1833582022-05-19T04:34:42Z2022-05-19T04:34:42ZArts and culture have been all but overlooked this election – but the Greens have a big-picture plan<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464185/original/file-20220519-18-lueffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4074%2C2701&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The past term of government has been tough for arts and culture in Australia. Culture was among the <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Creativity_in_Crisis-_Rebooting_Australias_Arts___Entertainment_Sector_-_FINAL_-_26_July.pdf">worst affected</a> by the pandemic of any aspect of society: the first to lock down; the last to have health restrictions lifted. </p>
<p>Culture is also recovering slowly. Shows at key festivals are still being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/22/covid-disrupts-melbourne-comedy-festival-as-calls-grow-for-arts-support">cancelled due to COVID-19</a>. The damage to the sector has been so deep that informed observes believe <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/features/long-term-covid-impacts-beset-sector-2550423/">it will take years to fully recover</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this, the arts and culture have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/08/missing-in-action-five-issues-the-major-parties-are-avoiding-in-the-2022-federal-election">disappointingly absent</a> from the 2022 election campaign. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-the-major-parties-compare-on-arts-and-cultural-policy-we-asked-5-experts-183209">How do the major parties compare on arts and cultural policy? We asked 5 experts</a>
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<p>Those looking for a genuine vision for Australian arts and culture won’t find it with the major parties.</p>
<p>The Coalition has not put out an arts or cultural policy, instead running on its record of pandemic stimulus and <a>a claim of record funding</a>) to the arts portfolio in the most recent budget. </p>
<p>That is cold comfort for a sector still struggling to recover from its biggest setback in a century. March’s federal budget <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-arts-and-culture-appear-to-be-the-big-losers-in-this-budget-180127">slated funding cuts</a> of roughly 19% for the federal arts portfolio that Paul Fletcher heads.</p>
<p>The Australian Labor Party released <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/16/labor-pledges-to-get-creative-industries-back-on-track-quickly-as-it-announces-arts-policy">its policy</a> on Monday evening at the Espy Hotel in Melbourne. Labor’s arts platform at this election is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-the-major-parties-compare-on-arts-and-cultural-policy-we-asked-5-experts-183209">surprisingly modest</a>. </p>
<p>Labor’s arts spokesperson Tony Burke gave a wide-ranging address which touched on Labor’s history of cultural policy at the federal level. There were also some bite-sized policy commitments, such as $84 million for the ABC and $80 million for a First Nations art gallery in Alice Springs.</p>
<p>According to Burke, Labor will “relaunch” a cultural policy if elected, promising to consult widely. But there are few specific or concrete promises, and many decisions are deferred. </p>
<p>Notably, there was no promise of new money for the Australia Council, the nation’s primary federal cultural agency. Labor has also refused to make a specific promise on local content quotas for streaming platforms like Netflix. As of publication, Labor’s arts policy wasn’t even published on the party’s <a href="https://alp.org.au/policies">campaign website</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-relation-between-politics-and-culture-is-clear-and-real-how-gough-whitlam-centred-artists-in-his-1972-campaign-181243">'The relation between politics and culture is clear and real': how Gough Whitlam centred artists in his 1972 campaign</a>
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<h2>Big visions</h2>
<p>There are some genuinely big visions being advanced for the arts and culture in this election. They are coming from independents such as Allegra Spender <a href="https://www.allegraspender.com.au/more_policy_positions">in Wentworth</a> and Jo Dyer <a href="https://www.dyerforboothby.com/policy-positions">in Boothby</a>, and especially from the Greens. </p>
<p>In particular, the Greens’ Sarah Hanson-Young has put forward the kind of <a href="https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-05/Greens-2022-Policy-Platform--Creative-Australia.pdf">big-picture blueprint</a> for a renewed cultural policy that 30 years ago was <a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keatings-creative-nation-a-policy-document-that-changed-us-33537">advanced by Paul Keating</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keatings-creative-nation-a-policy-document-that-changed-us-33537">Paul Keating’s Creative Nation: a policy document that changed us</a>
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<p>There are transformative funding promises, including a $1 billion content fund for Australian screen production and another $1 billion for the performing arts. The Greens want to double the Australia Council’s funding, ramp up funding for game production, and <a href="https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-05/Greens-2022-Policy-Platform--democracy--media-diversity.pdf">inject $30 million</a> into the Indigenous media sector. </p>
<p>You could argue such promises are cheap, because there is no political scenario in which the Greens will sit on the government benches or control the Treasury. But their policy is also strong on regulation, where a Greens cross-bench will likely <a href="https://theconversation.com/race-for-the-senate-could-labor-and-the-greens-gain-control-181350">wield significant legislative power</a> in the next Senate.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1526030085958283264"}"></div></p>
<p>The Greens are pushing for streaming platforms to invest <a href="https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-03/Greens-2022-Policy-Platform--Jobs--Arts.pdf">20% of their earnings</a> from Australian subscribers into Australian content (some of the teal independents are also backing this). If implemented, it will lock in meaningful levels of local content on Australian screens. </p>
<p>The most original proposal put forward by the Greens is their policy for a trial of a <a href="https://junkee.com/the-greens-living-wage/329640">basic income for artists</a>, paying up to 10,000 artists $772.60 a week for a year. The policy is modeled on a trial of <a href="https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/employment_support_schemes/basic_income_arts.html">basic incomes for artists in Ireland</a>, where it is specifically targeted at redressing the crippling precarity of cultural labour markets. </p>
<p>Hanson-Young spruiks her policy as supporting artists “to develop their craft, build their portfolios and <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/opinions-analysis/opinion-why-the-arts-matter-to-the-greens-2550285/">support them to keep creating</a>.” By directly seeking to create income for artists, it is a potentially far-reaching policy intervention.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-have-a-universal-basic-income-for-artists-heres-what-that-could-look-like-182128">Australia should have a universal basic income for artists. Here's what that could look like</a>
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<h2>Moving the mainstream</h2>
<p>The artists’ wage proposal is clearly a long way off being legislated in Australia. But putting forward new ideas is a critical role for minor parties. As John Maynard Keynes recognised in the 20th century, policy ideas that seem far-fetched today can <a href="https://equitablegrowth.org/the-general-theory-of-employment-interest-and-money/#:%7E:text=Practical%20men%2C%20who%20believe%20themselves,of%20a%20few%20years%20back.">quickly move to the mainstream</a> when the winds of change blow in the right direction.</p>
<p>With the Coalition increasingly preoccupied with the prosecution of culture wars, and Labor huddled in a defensive crouch, it is now up to the minor parties and independents to advance a larger vision for Australian culture in the next term of government. </p>
<p>If the cards fall her way in the Senate, Hanson-Young may be in a position to drag Labor towards implementing some bold ideas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Eltham has previously received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. He is affiliated with the Centre for Future Work at The Australia Institute, where he has previously co-written a report about federal cultural policy. He is a member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), a union that represents workers in the cultural sector.</span></em></p>With plans to trial a universal basic income for artists and push streaming platforms to invest in local content, The Greens have a big-picture blueprint for cultural policy.Ben Eltham, Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1832092022-05-18T03:02:48Z2022-05-18T03:02:48ZHow do the major parties compare on arts and cultural policy? We asked 5 experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463470/original/file-20220516-20516-vjfht8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4732%2C3116&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mentions of arts and cultural policy have been thin on the ground this election. The Coalition has not released any specific arts policies during the campaign, and Labor’s arts policies have only just been announced in the last week before everyone heads to the polls. </p>
<p>While arts isn’t one of the big talking points this election like <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-the-major-parties-rate-on-medicare-we-asked-5-experts-182230">health</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-the-major-parties-rate-on-climate-policies-we-asked-5-experts-181790">climate change</a>, it is still an important policy area for many. In response to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-the-environment-and-the-cost-of-living-top-the-settheagenda-poll-181933">#SetTheAgenda poll</a>, readers told us they were interested in support for the ABC and Australian literature, arts and humanities.</p>
<p>One reader said they were hoping for “the recognition of the arts in relation to the well being of people”. Another said they wanted a cultural policy “catering to the smaller/gig economy not just the big players/organisations”.</p>
<p>So what do we know about the major parties’ commitment to the arts, and how do they stack up? We asked five experts to analyse and grade the major parties’ arts and cultural policies. No one gets an A, but there are a couple of Fs.</p>
<p><strong>Here are their detailed responses:</strong></p>
<h2>Coalition</h2>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-703" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/703/a313889490386952a8b550164a0800da09551fa6/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Labor</h2>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-702" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/702/31976f27fcd23239549476967a19d3f7c7e82c84/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Eltham has previously received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. He is affiliated with the Centre for Future Work at The Australia Institute, where he has previously co-written a report about federal cultural policy. He is a member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), a union that represents workers in the cultural sector.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Keogh has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Stevens has received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Tregear is Chair of IOpera, a chamber opera company which has received financial support from the Federal Government's RISE fund. He is also a founding member of Public Universities Australia, an alliance of organisations and individuals lobbying to promote the public value and function of Australian universities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tully Barnett receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>We asked five experts to analyse and grade the Coalition and ALP arts and cultural policies.Ben Eltham, Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash UniversityBrendan Keogh, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyKirsten Stevens, Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management, The University of MelbournePeter Tregear, Principal Fellow and Professor of Music, The University of MelbourneTully Barnett, Senior lecturer, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1812432022-05-16T19:59:20Z2022-05-16T19:59:20Z‘The relation between politics and culture is clear and real’: how Gough Whitlam centred artists in his 1972 campaign<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463149/original/file-20220515-65341-j4u4kv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C891%2C1125&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gough Whitlam delivering the 1972 election policy speech at the Blacktown Civic Centre in Sydney, 1972.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Archives of Australia via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we enter the final week of the election campaign with its scrappy debates and breathlessly seized “gotcha” moments, the impact of Gough Whitlam’s electoral reforms can be seen at every stage. </p>
<p>From votes for 18-year-olds, senate representation in the ACT and Northern Territory, equal electorates and “one vote one value”, Whitlam’s commitment to full franchise and electoral equity remain central to our electoral process.</p>
<p>No less significant is the innovative and dynamic election campaign built around the central theme “It’s Time” which propelled him into office. </p>
<p>“It’s Time” was the perfect two-word slogan, encapsulating the urge for long overdue change after 23 years of coalition government, and carrying that momentum into the election itself. </p>
<p>This was Australia’s first television-friendly, focus-group driven, thoroughly modern campaign. Its impact on political campaigning in this country <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-22/its-time-gough-whitlam-1972-campaign/5831996">was profound</a>. </p>
<p>Behind the glitz of the theme song and the over 200 policies enunciated in the policy speech, a raft of celebrities and leading figures from the arts – authors, artists, actors, musicians – played a major role. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/few-restrictions-no-spending-limit-and-almost-no-oversight-welcome-to-political-advertising-in-australia-181248">Few restrictions, no spending limit, and almost no oversight: welcome to political advertising in Australia</a>
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<h2>Not just political star power</h2>
<p>The presence of well-known identities at the launch in Blacktown Civic Centre lent an air of celebration – of celebrity and even glamour – to the dour set pieces that owed more to the old-fashioned stump speeches of decades earlier, still used by the outgoing Prime Minister Billy McMahon.</p>
<p>Led by soul singer Alison MacCallum, household names like singers and musicians Patricia Amphlett “Little Pattie”, Col Joye, Bobby Limb, Jimmy Hannan, actors Lynette Curran from the popular ABC series Bellbird, Terry Norris and Chuck Faulkner generated an immense reach for It’s Time both as a song and as a political moment. </p>
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<p>Patricia Amphlett <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/timely-campaign-signalled-start-of-whitlams-cultural-sea-change-20121111-296bi.html">recalls</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The ‘It’s Time’ commercial was far more effective than anyone could have imagined. Long before Live Aid, it came as a shock to some people that popular personalities would stand up publicly and be counted for a cause.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They were not simply there for added political star power. They were there because the arts had been neglected and constrained by decades of unimaginative conservative government – and they shared a mood for change. </p>
<h2>‘Intellectual and creative vigour’</h2>
<p>Whitlam harnessed the deep sense of frustration of the arts community after years of “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/timely-campaign-signalled-start-of-whitlams-cultural-sea-change-20121111-296bi.html">stifling conservatism</a>” in arts policy settings. Direct political intervention in literary grants also had a stultifying effect on cultural production.</p>
<p>The author Frank Hardy’s successful application for a Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowship in 1968 <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-674387366/view?sectionId=nla.obj-691244162&partId=nla.obj-674555695#page/n14/mode/1up">had been vetoed</a> by the Gorton coalition government because Hardy was a member of the Communist Party. </p>
<p>Whitlam was a member of the committee that had awarded Hardy the fellowship and it drove his determination to ensure arts bodies operated as autonomous decision-makers.</p>
<p>He brought arts policy to the fore both in the development of his reform agenda and during the election campaign.</p>
<p>He drew <a href="https://west-sydney-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ROSETTAIE3079&context=L&vid=UWS-WHITLAM&lang=en_US&search_scope=whitlam_scope&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=whitlam_tab&query=title,contains,labor%20and%20literature,AND&mode=advanced&offset=0">a direct link</a> between a healthy cultural sector, national identity and a flourishing political sphere:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the relation between politics and culture is clear and real. Political vigour has invariably produced intellectual and creative vigour.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>‘Refresh, reinvigorate and liberate’</h2>
<p>The rapid elevation of cultural policy as a major area for change soon after Whitlam came to office on December 5 1972 gave voice to his <a href="https://west-sydney-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ROSETTAIE3079&context=L&vid=UWS-WHITLAM&lang=en_US&search_scope=whitlam_scope&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=whitlam_tab&query=title,contains,labor%20and%20literature,AND&mode=advanced&offset=0">pre-election commitment</a> to the arts community “to refresh, reinvigorate and liberate Australian intellectual and cultural life”.</p>
<p>Just six days later, in the ninth of the 40 decisions made by the first Whitlam <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Whitlam_ministry">“duumvirate” ministry</a>, the government announced major increases in grants for the arts in every state and the ACT and forecast a major restructure of existing arts organisations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Lance Barnard and Gough Whitlam" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463221/original/file-20220516-12-9vwtpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first Whitlam Ministry was made up of just Lance Barnard and Gough Whitlam.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Archives of Australia via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On January 26 1973, Whitlam announced the establishment of the interim Australian Council of the Arts. A range of autonomous craft-specific boards would sit under it – Aboriginal arts, theatre, music, literary, visual and plastic arts, crafts, film and television – with the renowned arts administrator <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-biography-hc-nugget-coombs">H.C. Coombes</a> as its inaugural head. </p>
<p>After years of delay, a newly appointed interim council for the National Gallery began work in 1973 on the new gallery, with James Mollison as interim director.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/james-mollison-the-public-art-teacher-who-brought-the-blue-poles-to-australia-130285">James Mollison: the public art teacher who brought the Blue Poles to Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This was just the beginning of “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/timely-campaign-signalled-start-of-whitlams-cultural-sea-change-20121111-296bi.html">a cultural sea change</a>” in the arts.</p>
<p>There would be reforms in radio with Double J, later Triple J, and the first “ethnic” broadcasting in Australia through 2EA and 3EA. </p>
<p>The film industry was rebooted through the establishment of the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Film & Television School and Film Australia, and an increase in the quota for Australian made television and films. </p>
<p>The Public Lending Rights scheme was introduced to compensate authors for the circulation of their works through libraries. </p>
<p>Kim Williams <a href="https://www.whitlam.org/publications/2019/11/13/whitlam-the-arts-and-democracy">describes</a> the “innovative thinking” behind the close involvement of arts practitioners in policy development and administration as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>a new ground plane for empowered decision making by artists in a profoundly democratic action for the arts. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A new choice</h2>
<p>At a time of relentless funding reductions, cost-cutting and job losses, renewal and revival is desperately needed across our most important cultural institutions. </p>
<p>The dire effects of this decade of neglect can be seen most starkly in the 25% staff cuts and under-resourcing of the National Archives of Australia which, as the highly critical <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/publications/tune-review">Tune review</a> made clear, has led to the disintegration of irreplaceable archival material including recordings of endangered Indigenous languages. The 2022 budget <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-arts-and-culture-appear-to-be-the-big-losers-in-this-budget-180127">only continued</a> those reductions.</p>
<p>We are again at a time when renewal and reinvigoration of the arts is urgently needed – yet it has scarcely featured thus far in this campaign. </p>
<p>The Liberal Party’s <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/our-policies">policy statements</a> do not feature the arts. In contrast, <a href="https://themusic.com.au/news/labor-2022-election-arts-policy-announcement/YT15dXR3dnk/16-05-22">Labor’s Arts policy</a>, announced last night, promises a “landmark cultural policy” which would restore arms-length funding, explore a national insurance scheme for live events and ensure fixed <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/better-funded-abc">five-year funding terms</a> for the ABC and SBS. </p>
<p>There is a choice for the arts on 21 May between stasis and renewal. I’ll take the renewal, and hope it becomes a renaissance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-arts-and-culture-appear-to-be-the-big-losers-in-this-budget-180127">Why arts and culture appear to be the big losers in this budget</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Hocking receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Cultural policy has scarcely featured in the 2022 campaign – when Whitlam campaigned in 1972, the arts were centre stage.Jenny Hocking, Emeritus Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822782022-05-12T20:00:34Z2022-05-12T20:00:34ZThe arts helped us through the pandemic – NZ’s budget should radically rethink how and why they’re funded<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462596/original/file-20220512-22-tp7a94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5439%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist Sofia Minson working on a mural of musician Tiki Taane in downtown Auckland.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The past two years have made it impossible to ignore the problem in Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts sector. The pandemic has been brutal, with venues shut, festivals cancelled and audiences staying home. </p>
<p>At the same time, art in all its forms – books, music, TV, film, even the visual and performing arts – <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444919/kiwis-find-refuge-escape-or-healing-in-arts-during-pandemic-study">helped people</a> through lockdowns and uncertainty. We were reminded how vital art is for our well-being, sense of belonging, education and aspirations for a better world. </p>
<p>The government acknowledged this with emergency relief packages in <a href="https://mch.govt.nz/regenerating-arts-culture-and-heritage-sector">2020</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/127656062/govts-120m-funding-boost-for-arts-and-culture-offers-relief-for-omicronhit-sector">earlier this year</a>.
Yet the basic model for arts funding hasn’t changed and still doesn’t deliver equitable, sustainable income for artists or arts organisations. Nor is it delivering equitable and sustainable <em>access</em> to the arts for all people. </p>
<p>The evidence has been stark. People working in the creative arts <a href="https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/news/research-reflects-significant-challenges-of-making-a-living-as-a-creative-professional-in-aotearoa">earn just NZ$35,800 a year</a> on average, with only $15,000 of that coming from their creative practice. It’s hard to be hopeful about support for up-and-coming artists when the funding system and wider arts economy is geared towards an elite few.</p>
<p>The existing funding model has also been <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/127067028/artists-renew-calls-for-changes-to-aotearoas-arts-funding-models">questioned</a> for the amount that ultimately reaches artists themselves, and what this means for <a href="https://creativewellbeingnz.org/News%20Links%20Index/Creating%20change%20for%20Rangatahi">audiences</a> and everyone involved the sector. </p>
<p>The pandemic brought this all to a head, with arts sector advocates calling for more than a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/128618617/hundreds-of-events-artists-access-governments-culture-support-schemes?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">temporary lifeline</a>, and nothing less a <a href="https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/nga-toi-advocacy-network/nga-toi-in-aotearoa/">long-term vision and strategy</a> for a sustainable, diverse, equitable future for the sector.</p>
<p>Rather than ask what the arts should receive in next week’s budget, we propose instead a complete revamp of Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts policy and funding systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462600/original/file-20220512-14-c6ua2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Laneway Festival in Auckland in 2019, before the pandemic threw live entertainment into turmoil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New world, old models</h2>
<p>As we emerge (tentatively) from a world-changing experience, now is the perfect moment to listen to those calls for action. The government has already indicated an <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/recognising-importance-our-arts-culture-and-heritage">understanding</a> of the multiple ways in which the arts are important to society, beyond just the economic.</p>
<p>And while the pandemic placed immense financial pressure on those working in the arts, it also showed how the sector could be funded at an unprecedented level that acknowledges the vital relationship between the arts, society and well-being.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-have-a-universal-basic-income-for-artists-heres-what-that-could-look-like-182128">Australia should have a universal basic income for artists. Here's what that could look like</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/development-and-resources/new-zealanders-and-the-arts-2020">2021 survey</a> by Creative New Zealand, most New Zealanders support public funding of the arts. But despite the many social and political changes since the country adopted the British arts council model in 1963, the essential funding rationale has barely changed from its colonial origins.</p>
<p>Specifically, and in spite of the official rhetoric, the government’s arts policy initiatives still rely on a calculus, embedded in policy over the past 40 years, that measures the primary value of art based on its direct or indirect contribution to the economy and GDP.</p>
<p>How about we set 2023 – the 60th anniversary of the Arts Council – as the year we come up with a completely new system?</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1524526029536079873"}"></div></p>
<h2>10 ways forward</h2>
<p>Change needs to start with the state genuinely listening to artists, others involved with the sector, and the wider population, about the role and function of the arts beyond purely economic measures. That should include Māori views of art as integral to, and integrated with, all aspects of life and society.</p>
<p>Genuinely listening implies an open-ended process, not one where there is already a plan waiting in the wings to be implemented regardless. Such a process could draw on <a href="https://kep.org.nz/assets/resources/site/Voices7-15.Wananga.pdf">marae-based decision making</a> and <a href="https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/consensus">consensus-based democracy</a> models, with the process guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-if-next-weeks-budget-avoids-the-issue-its-time-new-zealand-seriously-considered-a-wealth-tax-182505">Even if next week’s budget avoids the issue, it’s time New Zealand seriously considered a wealth tax</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But we can also look overseas for inspiration with alternative ways of resourcing the arts. Research we’re involved with has thrown up ten tangible ways New Zealand’s support for the arts could be improved:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a liveable universal <a href="https://www.thebigidea.nz/stories/calls-for-artists-wage-revived">wage, benefit or income</a> for artists</p></li>
<li><p>a social insurance or welfare scheme for artists, including pensions</p></li>
<li><p>tax exemptions and credits</p></li>
<li><p>liveable pay standards and fair minimum fee scales aligned with expertise</p></li>
<li><p>long-term funding schemes, grants of five years and longer available for all artists</p></li>
<li><p>royalties for all arts disciplines</p></li>
<li><p>housing support for artists</p></li>
<li><p>subsidised arts studios, venues and offices</p></li>
<li><p>participatory grant systems where artists and communities decide on funding allocation</p></li>
<li><p>arts funding in all levels of education, including fully subsidised tertiary education</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-budget-should-treat-public-health-like-transport-vital-infrastructure-with-long-term-economic-benefits-180322">Why the budget should treat public health like transport – vital infrastructure with long-term economic benefits</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Transformative change</h2>
<p>Revamping government policies and structures will ideally involve a more holistic recognition of the multiple ways the arts benefit society. For example, the Treasury’s <a href="https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/higher-living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">Living Standards Framework</a> considers individual and collective well-being and wealth beyond the merely financial.</p>
<p>Similarly, we might listen to the late <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/01/25/manuka-henare-obituary.html">Manuka Henare</a>’s proposal for a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299135370_The_economy_of_mana">Māori economic model</a> that placed mana, well-being and self-determination at its centre. Or the <a href="https://doughnuteconomics.org/stories/24">Māori adaptation</a> of so-called “doughnut economics”, based on fairness, sustainability and social well-being.</p>
<p>Applying these kinds of values to arts policies and funding would help avoid tokenism and the risk of sliding back towards the economic status quo.</p>
<p>In 2017, the government promised it would be transformative, although the catchphrase was quietly dropped. It’s time to revive that transformative ideal and begin the change that would make a difference, for and through the arts, for generations to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Harvey is affiliated with Arts Makers Aotearoa. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Molly Mullen is affiliated with Te Ora Auaha: Creative Wellbeing Alliance Aotearoa.</span></em></p>Art has value well beyond the financial, including proven health and well-being benefits. It’s time this was recognised in the way the sector is funded.Mark Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Creative Arts, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauMolly Mullen, Senior Lecturer in Applied Theatre, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1821282022-05-02T02:32:29Z2022-05-02T02:32:29ZAustralia should have a universal basic income for artists. Here’s what that could look like<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460678/original/file-20220502-18-ij3dwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5949%2C3963&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Frankie Cordoba/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While artists struggle to get noticed in the Australian political arena, particularly in the lead up to an election, other nations take their artists more seriously – even seeing them as critical to a successful and vibrant community.</p>
<p>When I talked to artists during the pandemic, it became evident they needed <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13561">four conditions</a> in place to be able to practice successfully as artists: a regular income, a place to do their work, capacity to do their work and validation of their work. </p>
<p>Without these conditions, productivity and mental health suffer. </p>
<p>The Republic of Ireland has recently instituted <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/ireland-basic-income-program/">a new scheme</a> to provide three-year support for up to 2,000 individual artists, piloting a form of universal basic income. </p>
<p>Artists will be expected to meet at least two out of three qualifying terms to apply for the scheme: have earned an income from the arts, have an existing body of work and/or be members of a recognised arts body, such as a trade union. </p>
<p>Successful artists and creative workers will be given a weekly income of €325 (A$479), and be able to earn additional money without this basic income being affected.</p>
<p>The Irish Minister for the Arts Catherine Martin hopes this first model <a href="https://www.thesun.ie/news/8609980/basic-income-support-scheme-artists-ireland-catherine-martin/">can be broadened</a> to include all practising Irish artists in the future. </p>
<p>She sees it as a simple and economic method to protect artists from precarious existences while benefiting the community as whole.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/could-the-idea-of-a-universal-basic-income-work-in-australia-59811">Could the idea of a universal basic income work in Australia?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>International support for artists</h2>
<p>The Irish scheme for a universal basic income for artists isn’t the only model.</p>
<p>In the US, several states and private foundations have developed schemes to provide direct support to artists as an outcome of the pandemic. </p>
<p>In May 2021, the City of New York paid <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dcla/cultural-funding/cityartistcorp.page">3,000 artists</a> no-strings-attached grants of US$5,000 (A$7,080). Additional grants were provided for public art works, exhibitions, workshops and showcase events.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man paints" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460679/original/file-20220502-14-nnhrbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The City of New York gave artists no-strings-attached grants: giving them time to create work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flow Clark/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In June 2021, the philanthropic Mellon Foundation announced a new program called <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mellon-foundation-creatives-rebuild-new-york-1976068">Creatives Rebuild New York</a> to provide 2,400 New York artists with a guaranteed monthly income of US$1,000 (A$1,415) for 18 months.</p>
<p>The program employed another 300 artists and creative workers on an annual salary of US$65,000 (A$92,000) to work in collaboration with community organisations and local authorities for two years. They will <a href="https://www.creativesrebuildny.org/">also receive</a> other benefits and dedicated time to work on their artistic practice. Both these programs were designed by artists. </p>
<p>The city of San Francisco provided US$1,000 per month for 130 local artists for six months from mid-2021. Thanks to philanthropic support from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, the <a href="https://sfist.com/2021/05/24/guaranteed-income-program-for-sf-artists-gets-expanded-thanks-to-3-5m-gift-from-twitter-square-ceo-jack-dorsey/">scheme expanded</a> to support 180 artists for 18 months.</p>
<p>The city of St Paul in Minnesota, with a population of just over 300,000, has <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2021/04/05/st-paul-springboard-for-the-arts-launches-program-to-grant-500-a-month-to-frogtown-and-rondo-artists/">initiated a program</a> to give 25 artists a guaranteed unrestricted income of US$500 (A$708) per month for a period of 18 months.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the House of the Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast recognised the economic dilemma of local artists during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In 2021, they <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/artkeeper-program-puts-artists-on-payroll-2515622">employed four artists</a> to work three days a week for six months on their own creative projects at HOTA. They were given a regular salary, a studio to work in, and were invited to participate in the organisational planning of HOTA.</p>
<h2>Could we recreate this in Australia?</h2>
<p>In Australia, some artists were eligible for schemes like JobKeeper and JobSeeker during 2020 and into early 2021, which could provide a model for how to support artists with a basic income going forward. </p>
<p>But in 2020-21 the Australia Council only funded <a href="https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/australia-council/reporting-year/2020-21">584 individual artists</a>, a drop of nearly 50% <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/australia_council_annual_report_2012-13.pdf">since 2012-13</a>.</p>
<p>Ireland’s three-year pilot program for artists will cost the government around €25 million (A$37 million). With a population about a fifth of Australia’s, a similar scheme applied here using the same ratio could provide funding to 10,000 individual artists at a cost of A$185 million over three years. </p>
<p>This would be a drop in the ocean for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2022-frydenberg-has-spent-big-but-on-the-whole-responsibly-180122">Australian federal budget</a>, but it could be a game changer for the community, the arts and artists. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-arts-and-culture-appear-to-be-the-big-losers-in-this-budget-180127">Why arts and culture appear to be the big losers in this budget</a>
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<p>A universal basic income provides a regular amount of money that allows the individual to live above the breadline. It can transform an individual’s life while having a <a href="https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/161361">positive impact</a> on the whole of society. </p>
<p>Schemes that provide an ongoing income to individual artists – such as royalty schemes, lending rights and long-term leasing of artwork by government bodies and corporations – are all important, but the amounts received from them for the majority of artists are usually quite limited. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman dancing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460683/original/file-20220502-56362-jn73md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Australian model could support 10,000 artists at a cost of $185 million over three years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carolin Thiergart/Unsplash</span></span>
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<p>Just imagine if every Australian arts centre, library, school, university, hospital, local council and government department employed an artist in residence. The artist gets an income while the institution gets an extraordinary input of ideas and imagination that can transform their environment. </p>
<p>We need to stop patronising our artists by giving them tiny grants and making them go through endless hoops and form filling to gratefully receive them. </p>
<p>Artists are essential to our community. It is time to demonstrate – like Ireland and New York – the success of our artists reflects our healthy and vibrant nation, and pay them accordingly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Caust has previously received from the Australia Council. She is a member of NAVA and the Arts Industry Council (SA).</span></em></p>A new scheme in the Republic of Ireland provides a compelling model for supporting Australian artists.Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1794762022-04-03T19:57:55Z2022-04-03T19:57:55ZAustralian writing and publishing faces ‘grinding austerity’ as funding continues to decline<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455717/original/file-20220401-25-kfap6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Hermans/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was a grim federal budget for arts and culture on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>With the end of the Morrison government’s pandemic stimulus program for culture, <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/rise-fund">the RISE fund</a>, there will be a rapid withdrawal of federal support for cultural production.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-arts-and-culture-appear-to-be-the-big-losers-in-this-budget-180127">Why arts and culture appear to be the big losers in this budget</a>
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<p>The arts portfolio budget line will contract by 19%, or around A$190 million, this year. A number of funding programs and cultural institutions also have their funding cut in the budget’s forward projections. There are cuts to programs for regional arts, community broadcasting, contemporary music, Screen Australia and the National Library of Australia. </p>
<h2>No love for literature</h2>
<p>In such an austere environment, it should be no surprise there was no love for publishing or literature in the budget. There were no new announcements to support writing. Funding is slightly increasing for the Australia Council for the Arts and the crucial <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/lending-rights">public lending right subsidy</a>, which supports authors and publishers whose work is borrowed in libraries and schools. However, these small increases are well below inflation, forecast to run at 4.25% this year, so they amount to cuts in real terms. </p>
<p>The cuts to the National Library of Australia in the 2022 budget are quite significant. The Library goes from $61 million funding this year to just $47 million in 2025-26. The National Library is a critical foundation stone of Australia’s public sphere. It holds priceless artefacts, letters and records. It is required by law to collect every book published in Australia. It also supports valuable research infrastructure, such as its award-winning <a href="https://theconversation.com/treasure-trove-why-defunding-trove-leaves-australia-poorer-55217">Trove</a> database, which served 18 million browsers in 2021. These cuts will inevitably erode the Library’s capacity, and will probably result in job losses for librarians in future years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A light projection across the National Library walls at night, with people looking on" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455689/original/file-20220331-12-17497o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">National Library of Australia at Enlighten, 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Graemec/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the treatment of the National Library is consistent with a history of ongoing neglect for written culture in Australia. When it comes to public funding, literature has long been the poor cousin of the arts. </p>
<p>Unlike the performing arts, which benefit from a dedicated funding stream inside the Australia Council, literature enjoys very little federal support. In 2020-21, the Australia Council gave out <a href="https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/australia-council/reporting-year/2020-21-9">just $4.7 million</a> in grant funding to literature – 2.4% of the total funding pool last year. In contrast, the major performing arts organisations received $120 million. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-libraries-can-and-must-change-83496">Friday essay: why libraries can and must change</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>Declining funds for writing and publishing</h2>
<p>Funding for writing and publishing is not just low: it’s also declining. In 2014, Australia Council funding for literature was $8.9 million, nearly double what it is this year. In that year, <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/news/media-releases/more-reasons-to-get-reading-in-2010/">Get Reading!</a>, a $1.6 million program (originally named Books Alive!) dedicated to promoting reading, especially among children, was abandoned. Industry observers point to the demise of the artform boards of the Australia Council after Gillard government reforms in 2013, which saw the agency’s specialist Literature Board wound up. There was no dedicated funding program for literature to replace it. </p>
<p>The federal lending rights schemes are important. They will distribute $23 million this year, a valuable subsidy for authors and publishers. But the program is slowly losing relevance as – astonishingly – it doesn’t cover electronic lending or e-book borrowing. The Australian Society of Authors and publishers <a href="https://www.asauthors.org/news/why-we-need-digital-lending-rights-now">want the scheme expanded</a> to digital lending. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455718/original/file-20220401-23-h591a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While federal lending rights subsidies are important, astonishingly, they don’t cover electronic lending or e-book borrowing. Pictured: State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Gawthrop/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Policy neglect like this is a long-running problem for the literature sector. During the Coalition’s first term of government, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised to set up a special body to support and fund Australian publishing, to be called the <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/ozco-cuts-will-fund-book-council-246752-2345635/">Book Council of Australia</a> and given an initial budget of $6 million annually. </p>
<p>But the new agency was never created. With the Book Council killed off in proposal stage, the promised funding for publishing never eventuated either, vanishing in a puff of smoke in the 2015 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.</p>
<p>In 2018, as part of the Turnbull government’s media reforms, Senate cross-benchers struck a deal to secure $60 million funding for regional publishers and media organisations. Of this, $16 million went to small regional media organisations under the <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/regional-and-small-publishers-innovation-fund">Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund</a>. Just like Get Reading, that fund has also finished up, and there has been no analogous program for Australian literary and non-fiction publishers.</p>
<h2>Writers in dire difficulty</h2>
<p>Arts Minister Paul Fletcher’s RISE fund has provided some assistance. There was some funding to publishers and booksellers, such as an innovative voucher scheme for Australian books. But RISE too will be wound up at the end of this financial year. </p>
<p>The result is a writing sector that faces grinding austerity. A recent <a href="https://www.asauthors.org/news/asa-survey-results-author-earnings-in-australia">survey of authors</a> by the Australian Society of Authors found understandable pessimism among its members, which include some of Australia’s best known novelists, poets and non-fiction writers. “Our members feel very flat about funding,” ASA’s Olivia Lanchester told me in a message. “We are the lowest funded of the major art forms through the Australia Council despite high participation rates in reading.”</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455709/original/file-20220401-22-v0sa4b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Christos Tsiolkas says writers face ‘real life desperate situations’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: John Tsiavis</span></span>
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<p>The penurious circumstances of Australian writers was graphically highlighted in late 2020, in testimony to the House of Representatives from prominent Australian novelists Charlotte Wood and Christos Tsiolkas. </p>
<p>Wood told a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications/Arts">House of Representatives inquiry</a> into Australia’s cultural sector that “writers themselves are in absolutely dire economic difficulty”. She cited figures that literary writers’ annual income from their books was just $4,000 a year. “That work is piecemeal, freelance, poorly paid and very unstable.” Wood pointed out that “COVID is destroying the livelihoods of writers in many ways” and explained that the pandemic was “eviscerating three major income streams for writers outside their books, which are public speaking, university teaching and freelance writing.”</p>
<p>Tsiolkas told the inquiry that younger writers he had recently spent time with faced “real life desperate situations – how they’ll pay their rent and how they’re going to look after their young children”.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gail-jones-australian-literature-is-chronically-underfunded-heres-how-to-help-it-flourish-148906">Gail Jones: Australian literature is chronically underfunded — here's how to help it flourish</a>
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</p>
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<p>Australia doesn’t need to treat its readers and writers like this. We are a rich nation with a half-trillion dollar federal budget. Even a dramatic increase in funding, for all aspects of Australian culture, would be a rounding error in the context of other budget priorities, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-nuclear-powered-submarines-work-a-nuclear-scientist-explains-168067">nuclear submarines</a> or the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stages-1-and-2-of-the-tax-cuts-should-pass-stage-3-would-return-us-to-the-1950s-119637">“stage 3” income tax cuts</a> coming in 2024. </p>
<p>Australian writing is tremendously popular. Australian stories are central to the way we understand ourselves as citizens and a nation. Books by Australian authors sell well, as anyone who has been to a Trent Dalton bookstore event can attest. Australia Council data tells us that <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/advocacy-and-research/creating-our-future/">72% of the population reads regularly for pleasure</a>. More than four million Australians visited a writers festival or literary event in 2019. </p>
<p>Like other artforms in this country, literature has struggled to make itself heard among the cacophony of special interests in Canberra. But literature is not a special interest: it is a constituent component of our national identity, and a deep source of enjoyment for millions of citizens. Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. If anyone should be able to understand that, it is our politicians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Eltham has previously received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. He is affiliated with the Centre for Future Work at The Australia Institute, where he has previously co-written a report about federal cultural policy. He is a member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), a union that represents workers in the cultural sector. </span></em></p>Funding for writing and publishing is not just low: it’s also declining. Ben Eltham looks at a grim federal budget for literature, in the context of ongoing neglect for written culture in Australia.Ben Eltham, Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1801272022-03-31T02:56:08Z2022-03-31T02:56:08ZWhy arts and culture appear to be the big losers in this budget<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455164/original/file-20220330-13-1yp44l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5129%2C3453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jean Wimmerlin on Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While one more <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/fletcher/media-release/rise-comes-back-20-million-encore">A$20 million round</a> of the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund was announced as part of the 2022-23 budget to support reactivating the arts and entertainment sector post-Covid-19 lockdowns, this scheme is coming to an end. </p>
<p>With funding cuts forecast out to as far as 2025-26, the arts and culture appear to be big losers in this budget. </p>
<p>In addition to the $20.0 million in 2022-23 to phase down the RISE Fund, <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022-23_infra_pbs_00_itrdc.pdf">the budget includes</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>$9.3 million over two years for the National Museum of Australia to support its services impacted by COVID 19</p></li>
<li><p>$9 million in 2021-22 for a second round of the Supporting Cinemas’ Retention Endurance and Enhancement of Neighbourhoods (SCREEN) Fund to support independent cinemas affected by COVID 19</p></li>
<li><p>an extension of the <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-support/covid-19-support/temporary-interruption-fund">Temporary Interruption Fund</a>, which provides insurance to screen projects shut down due to COVID-related issues, for a further six months to 30 June 2022, and</p></li>
<li><p>$316.5 million over five years to build an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/news-centre/indigenous-affairs/ngurra-national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-cultural-precinct">cultural precinct, Ngurra</a>, on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in the Parliamentary Triangle, on Ngunnawal country (Canberra).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With the loss of COVID stimulus measures, the big losers under arts and culture in the budget are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the end of the RISE fund, represented in the cut to “arts and cultural development”, receiving $2.4 million in 2023-24, down from $159 million in 2021-22 </p></li>
<li><p>the loss of $6.4 million in contemporary music related COVID measures, and</p></li>
<li><p>Screen Australia: its funding will be reduced from a high of $39.5 million in 2021-22 to $11.6 million in 2023-24, reducing funding to <a href="https://twitter.com/ScreenAustralia/status/1509026946579337220">the pre-COVID baseline</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The decline in arts funding fits Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s big picture narrative that the time for “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/17/josh-frydenberg-announces-targeted-cost-of-living-measures-ahead-of-federal-budget">crisis level</a>” spending is now over, and the budget forecasts such as those for arts and culture only “appear” to be bleak due to the tapering down from the crisis level funding. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455112/original/file-20220329-19-1hbib9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Portfolio Budget Statements 2022–23 Budget Related Paper No. 1.10</span></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-cost-of-living-budget-cuts-spends-and-everything-you-need-to-know-at-a-glance-180124">A cost-of-living budget: cuts, spends, and everything you need to know at a glance</a>
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<h2>The end of RISE funding</h2>
<p>The government’s biggest arts and culture investment during the pandemic was the RISE fund, which saw <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mckenzie/media-release/connecting-communities-stronger-future">$200 million</a> go towards 541 projects.</p>
<p>The RISE fund represented a move away from the “arms-length” independent funding decisions made by the Australia Council <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/investment-and-development/peer-assessment/">peer assessors</a>. Instead, the arts minister had the ultimate authority regarding RISE. </p>
<p>This aspect of RISE was reminiscent of George Brandis’ 2015 <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-brandis-plans-to-insulate-the-arts-sector-from-the-artists-42305">shock annexation</a> of Australia Council funding to the then National Programme for Excellence in the Arts (which then became Catalyst). But the baseline Australia Council funding has remained steady in this year’s budget, rising only in line with inflation.</p>
<p>While RISE was a short-term crisis level funding initiative using the arts as an instrument to stimulate the economy, support for the Australia Council in the budget is for the support of “excellent art” for “audiences in Australia and abroad”. </p>
<p>The difference in these programs meant RISE funding went not only to not-for-profit arts organisations and individual artists, as the Australia Council primarily supports, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/nov/23/victorias-performing-arts-win-20m-funding-as-melbourne-readies-for-re-opening">also</a> to commercial creative activity.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/latest-arts-windfalls-show-money-isnt-enough-we-need-transparency-154725">Latest arts windfalls show money isn't enough. We need transparency</a>
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<h2>A loss of over-all funding</h2>
<p>According to the government, the expected decrease in overall cultural funding from 2021-22 to 2022-23 is predominantly driven by the loss of temporary arts funding for economic stimulus. </p>
<p>Expenses under the arts and cultural heritage are estimated to decrease by 10.6% in real terms from 2021-22 to 2022-23, and decrease by 13.1% in real terms from 2022-23 to 2025-26. </p>
<p>It is not clear why this scaling down of crisis level funding appears to be uneven. </p>
<p>In particular, many of Australia’s cultural institutions – who are already <a href="https://theconversation.com/historic-collections-could-be-lost-to-digital-dinosaurs-31524">under pressure</a> when it comes to preserving cultural heritage – are facing significant cuts.</p>
<p>The National Museum of Australia is projected to receive $51 million in 2023-24, losing its $9.3 million in COVID support. The National Gallery of Australia’s funding will drop from $49.6 million in 2021-22 to $45.7 million in 2022-23. Funding for the National Library Australia will fall from $61 million in 2022-23 to $47.1 million in the following year. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/staff-cuts-will-hurt-the-national-gallery-of-australia-but-its-not-spending-less-on-art-its-just-spending-it-differently-141314">Staff cuts will hurt the National Gallery of Australia, but it’s not spending less on art. It’s just spending it differently</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>A commercially driven future?</h2>
<p>Over the last two years, the arts were valued by the federal government to the extent that they were able to be used to stimulate the economy. </p>
<p>The assumption appears to be that, now that the creative and cultural industries have received a $200 million shot in the arm, they will now be able to stand back up and walk on their own two feet – and help those businesses around them do likewise. </p>
<p>It doesn’t appear the RISE Fund, and its ultimate decision making power by the minister, is a template for the future of arts funding in any literal sense because it is due to disappear. </p>
<p>But it may have changed the culture of arts funding in this country, explicitly focusing funding on cultural activities and initiatives informed by an overtly commercial mindset. </p>
<p>With many artists and organisations still struggling in this “COVID normal” landscape, this budgetary pendulum swing away from funding artistic projects and events paints a bleak picture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guy Morrow consults to Science Gallery International and the Association of Artist Managers in Australia. He receives funding from organisations for contract research projects. </span></em></p>With the tapering down of COVID stimulus measures, many of Australia’s cultural institutions are facing cuts – but Australia Council funding remains steady.Guy Morrow, Senior Lecturer in Arts & Cultural Management, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1800262022-03-27T23:20:46Z2022-03-27T23:20:46ZIt is time for Australia to establish a national Ministry for Culture<p>The pandemic has been a wake-up call. Now, more than ever, the arts are a part of our daily lives. They are not something only “the elite” enjoy; they are an expression of the human condition. </p>
<p>As part of an interconnected system of collective well-being, it is vital to ensure arts practices continue across our entire community, and that everyone has access to them. </p>
<p>The arts reflect our whole culture, and our cultures are what make us who we are. When our culture is at the heart of our collective life, appropriate funding and support will naturally follow.</p>
<p>To move away from reductive concepts we need to think about what we understand by “the arts” and what they mean to us. What do we understand by “culture” and how does it manifest in our lives? </p>
<p>If we start by asking these questions, we can make more sense of the debate and find a way forward that works in our own unique cultural, social and political context.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-year-everything-got-cancelled-how-the-arts-in-australia-suffered-but-survived-in-2020-152180">The year everything got cancelled: how the arts in Australia suffered (but survived) in 2020</a>
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<p>There is abundant evidence to show the government’s financial support for the arts and culture has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-arts-funding-in-australia-is-falling-and-local-governments-are-picking-up-the-slack-124160">significantly reduced</a> over many years. Today the arts don’t even <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/departments-slashed-but-even-more-public-service-changes-coming-20191205-p53h7v">rate a mention</a> in the title of the government department responsible for them.</p>
<p>Even worse, grants have been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/nsw-ministers-accused-of-favouritism-in-arts-spending/12271392">routinely awarded</a> to communities in marginal electorates for party political purposes. Yet we know the arts are a public good and Australia is a wealthy country that can afford to provide adequate funding for them. So what needs to change?</p>
<p>For the past 20 years arts advocates have asked for a national cultural policy or a national arts plan. This has been reinforced by recommendations from two <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/State_of_the_arts_in_2020_and_beyond">parliamentary</a> <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Arts_Funding">committees</a> within the past seven years. </p>
<p>Yet, aside from Labor’s short-lived <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2013/April/Creative_Australia__National_Cultural_Policy_2013">Creative Australia</a> in 2013, there has been no attempt <a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keatings-creative-nation-a-policy-document-that-changed-us-33537">since 1994</a> to address the needs of the sector or create a comprehensive plan for the future at a national level.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keatings-creative-nation-a-policy-document-that-changed-us-33537">Paul Keating’s Creative Nation: a policy document that changed us</a>
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<p>Relying on the political goodwill of governments to bring about change does not seem to be effective. Policy developed by one side of politics can be quickly undone when the opposition comes to power, and little bipartisan progress is made.</p>
<h2>Establishing an Australian Ministry for Culture</h2>
<p>Many countries resolve this problem with a Ministry for Culture. </p>
<p>An Australian Ministry of Culture might include the arts, First Nations arts and heritage, public broadcasting, film and cultural heritage in its ambit. All these areas are interconnected through their association with “culture”. Placing them together in an integrated and central location would help bring “culture” into the political mainstream.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hiker views an australian Indigenous art in a cave" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454314/original/file-20220325-29-9hhwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An Australian Ministry of Culture might include the arts, First Nations arts and heritage, public broadcasting, film and cultural heritage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there might be concerns a Ministry of Culture could extend government control over arts practice, this could be prevented by use of the arm’s length principle of funding and peer review. Political intervention in grant decisions is in no one’s interest and reduces the credibility of the government and the minister concerned. </p>
<p>As part of a national cultural heritage framework, all major cultural organisations could then be funded directly by the government from within this department.</p>
<p>The list would include our major galleries, libraries, museums, archives and other national entities that are already direct-line funded, such as Screen Australia and the Australia Council. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4928%2C3253&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An art gallery filled with red poppies" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4928%2C3253&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454312/original/file-20220325-17-1mujmr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The ministry would include all our major art galleries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>It could also include the major performing arts organisations, as they also represent aspects of our cultural heritage. That is, the state orchestras, the national opera company and perhaps a national theatre company. </p>
<p>Having a ministry that took responsibility for everything within the ambit of culture would ensure national protocols were put in place to protect the national interest against the commercial interests of private enterprise. </p>
<p>All public broadcasting would be part of this ministry to prevent private market forces from dominating the discourse. Entities such as the ABC, SBS and NITV enjoy public trust and are critical to the national public debate, freedom of expression and the right of citizens to hold politicians and their governments to account. </p>
<p>They have also played a significant role in presenting Australian stories and commissioning work from Australian writers, filmmakers and performers. </p>
<p>SBS has challenged the homogeneous norms of Australian culture and ethnicity and ensured the inclusion of a range of voices in the public space. NITV has provided a voice for our First Nations people and raised awareness and understanding of the culture within the wider population.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cTT76MSoO-o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Middle-size and smaller arts organisations and individual artists would continue to be funded by the Australia Council; and film would continue to be funded through Screen Australia. </p>
<p>It might also be helpful to establish a new statutory authority, similar to the Australian Foundation for Culture and Humanities that was lost in a change of government <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/bn/2008-09/artspolicy.pdf">23 years ago</a>. This entity could address the gap between community cultural heritage, local history and community arts, and ensure grants were awarded at arm’s length from political interests.</p>
<p>Obviously, the new entity would not be a cure-all, but it would allow the development of a critical mass of shared interests and knowledge that would benefit the country. </p>
<h2>A wealthy country</h2>
<p>A plan for future development of the arts and culture is also essential. A plan would allow goals to be set and ensure the decisions of government were proactive rather than reactive. </p>
<p>The pandemic experience has demonstrated that if we don’t develop clear policies, then sectors that are excluded from the political framework, such as the arts, could be sent to the wall. </p>
<p>Australia needs to mature as a nation by taking its arts and culture seriously, and a Ministry of Culture would provide a central platform for the nation’s identity.</p>
<p>We must all take responsibility for caring for our country and our culture. This means placing the arts at the centre of our thinking. We can do this – and we need to do this – to ensure our nation has a positive and creative future. </p>
<p>We are a wealthy country both materially and culturally. We need to acknowledge this and then act upon it, to ensure all future generations can enjoy their culture and practise their arts. </p>
<p>As our First Nations’ people have told us, arts, culture and country are all one.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is an edited extract of New Platform Paper 2: Arts, Culture and Country, republished with permission from Currency House. The full paper is now available for free on <a href="http://www.currrencyhouse.org.au">www.currrencyhouse.org.au</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180026/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Caust has previously received from the Australia Council.
She is a member of NAVA and the Arts Industry Council (SA).</span></em></p>The pandemic has been a wake-up call: we need to properly acknowledge and support Australia’s cultural wealth.Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1761852022-02-21T16:45:01Z2022-02-21T16:45:01ZThe pandemic nearly killed theatre – the creative way it fought back could leave it stronger<p>When the UK went into lockdown in 2020, its <a href="https://www.playsthethingtheatrecompany.co.uk/newsandblog/2020/06/21/just-how-much-do-the-arts-contribute-to-the-uk-economy-youll-be-surprised">multibillion-pound theatre industry</a> could have ceased to exist. However, the vacuum caused by this physical shutdown served in many cases as a spurring force for increased creativity and resourcefulness. Productions did not stop completely, but instead went online, showcasing the potential of modern technology to bring theatre to wider audiences despite a lack of traditional performance spaces or funding. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://join.creativeindustriesfederation.com/">Creative Industries Federation</a> projected a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jun/17/les-mis-hamilton-shut-until-2021-london-cameron-mackintosh">£74 billion</a> drop in revenue with a loss of 400,000 jobs because of the pandemic. Even theatre impresarios <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-phantom-of-the-opera-to-close-permanently-in-the-west-end-12038058">Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh</a> were forced to close their productions, resulting in many permanent job losses and hundreds of self employed actors and technicians taking an unwanted “rest”. </p>
<p>The government’s “Rethink. Reskill. Reboot” campaign appeared to encourage people in the arts to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-government-advert-ballet-dancer-retrain-it-cyber-oliver-dowden-b987403.html">retrain</a> and find other jobs, inspiring an outcry from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/08/the-arts-rishi-sunak-job-chancellor-hope">industry</a>. But in order to survive at all during this period, theatre did need to adapt, and notable examples of genius materialised, reimagining the genre entirely. The survival of theatre has depended on the creation of these new formats, and its future depends on further innovation.</p>
<p>Immediately after lockdown closures, it became clear that the face of theatre would change, most evidently in the ability to gather together and create new material. “Back catalogue streaming” – the showing of old recordings of plays – dominated. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.insider.com/andrew-lloyd-webber-releases-biggest-hit-musicals-online-free-youtube-2020-4">Lloyd Webber</a> encouraged us to watch his early musicals, with <a href="https://www.broadwayhd.com/">Broadway</a> soon following suit offering a “pay as you view” streaming service. Even publicly funded organisations like the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/theater/national-theatre-uk-streaming-service.html">National Theatre</a> joined in with <a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/sites/default/files/national-theatre-at-home-one-man-two-guvnors-resource-pack.pdf">One Man, Two Guvnors</a>. </p>
<p>While these streaming served as a suitable stopgap, audiences arguably thrive on live entertainment, relishing the <a href="https://www.londontheatrereviews.co.uk/post.cfm?p=2757">excitement</a> and proximity offered by it. Theatre and Netflix are not interchangeable. Back catalogue streaming is an excellent accompaniment to our thirst for theatre, but not a substitute. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/the-best-theatre-shows-to-stream-online-right-now">Pre-recorded</a> theatre productions, created in controlled conditions during the pandemic (initially free but now mainly <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55135132">pay per view</a>) became the next streaming development, achieving some elements of “live” that back catalogue pieces lacked. These performances delivered a shared feeling of togetherness and provocation, the pieces uniquely filmed under similar circumstances to the viewers’ own caged existences. </p>
<p>This was an expensive process that did little to develop the genre in most cases. Indeed, the <a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/content/national-theatre-streaming">National Theatre</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/sep/21/future-of-live-theatre-online-drama-coronavirus-lockdown">demonstrated</a> production costs outweighed streaming income. </p>
<p>But, importantly, it did bring the world of theatre to a new locked down audience, with <a href="https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/coronavirus-online-theatre-audiences-booming-during-lockdown">one in five seeing a digital production for the first time</a>. If the legacy of lockdown theatre is engaging new audiences and minimising exclusivity, it is a good one. </p>
<h2>True innovation</h2>
<p>Tackling the lack of intimacy and dynamism of online theatre became the next challenge, a problem that had to be overcome without box-office funding and full audience support. </p>
<p>The company <a href="https://originaltheatreonline.com/about">Original Theatre</a> refused to let isolation beat it, becoming a connoisseur of virtual theatre. The production <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD0-h8dnl-g&list=PLM5i3PCvtIZ4_C7R7VVMhcH3rHqa7giHP&index=8">Apollo 13</a> demonstrated a new form of theatre that intertwined actor-focused storytelling with green-screen technology, original film footage, and computer graphics. But the effects were not the focus, and audience imagination was encouraged throughout. </p>
<p>The digital concept was further developed into a live broadcast by Original Theatre through its production of <a href="https://www.thereviewshub.com/into-the-night-original-theatre/">Into the Night</a>, which uses the digital effects with a live performance. This was a welcome experimentation, giving us an insight into the possibilities of this methodology, which may find its place as a future mainstream genre. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UD0-h8dnl-g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Individuals, too, have demonstrated innovation in addressing the live problem. Rather than shying from new online environments, actor and author Robert Myles created <a href="https://robmyles.co.uk/theshowmustgoonline/">The Show Must Go Online</a>, a company that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/apr/02/virtual-shakespeare-lockdown">reimagined</a> the complete plays of Shakespeare for Zoom. Myles featured actors from all over the world, live streaming weekly to an audience of <a href="https://www.timeout.com/london/news/a-live-streaming-reading-group-is-performing-all-of-shakespeares-plays-in-order-031920">over 200,000</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://www.rtflockdown.com/about">Lockdown Theatre</a> explored comedic table readings and exclusive chats with notable luminaries such as Emma Thompson and Emilia Clarke. Its productions, including <a href="https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Review-THE-REAL-INSPECTOR-HOUND-Lockdown-Theatre-on-Zoom-20201026">The Real Inspector Hound</a> and <a href="https://www.atthetheatre.co.uk/lockdown-theatre-announces-live-virtual-table-read-of-a-bit-of-waiting-for-godot-in-aid-of-the-royal-theatrical-fund/">Waiting for Godot</a>, became popular Zoom experiences and <a href="http://www.rtflockdown.com/about">raised over £500,000</a> for <a href="https://www.trtf.com/">the Royal Theatrical Fund</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ofjXODyE6ME?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Robert Myles of “The Show Must Go Online” created a global project to bring the Bard back to the fore, staging Shakespeare through the screens of Zoom.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.contactshow.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR20UMz80c2g0FvU1CEOSmoiVdBPg9uksBxymk0RCtfY0yYcWEgldhGcpbs">Contact</a> was an outdoor experience. No recordings, no onstage performances, just actors outside on the streets. The audience, plugged into an app with headphones and followed the actors. The soundtrack connected the audience to the actor’s inner feelings, blocking out real life sound interference. This enterprising use of technology enhancing creativity is equalled by <a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/all-kinds-of-limbo">All Kinds of Limbo</a>, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzOA6ylwhNk">National’s</a> virtual reality experience.</p>
<p>As the UK moves into its “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2022/feb/15/what-will-living-with-covid-actually-mean">living with COVID</a>” strategy and theatre comes back to full fore, it is important that the industry does not forget the creativeness spurred by lockdown, and instead uses the newly created techniques it has at its disposal. Such efforts are not an alternative, but an addition to future theatre performance. </p>
<p>Importantly, the need to take theatre online has resulted in global collaborations, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/oct/10/50-of-uk-theatres-streaming-shows-online-during-covid-revert-to-in-person-only">accessible productions</a>, and the incorporation of modern techniques to bring theatrical culture to anyone with a taste for it. For theatre to keep building, this momentum should be taken advantage of to ensure that the inclusivity and innovation of lockdown is not left behind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Langston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Theatre was one of the worst-hit industries during the height of the pandemic, but the need to adapt may have set an exciting groundwork for the future.Stephen Langston, Programme Leader for Performance, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1774432022-02-21T05:30:48Z2022-02-21T05:30:48ZNo, the federal government didn’t spend $4 billion on COVID support for culture and the arts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447429/original/file-20220221-18-1lgyv2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3788%2C2776&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canberra thinktank <a href="https://newapproach.org.au/">A New Approach</a> put out an interesting paper last week on the state of public funding for Australian arts and culture. </p>
<p>The report made some bold statements about the level of support given to the arts and culture during the pandemic. </p>
<p>Most notably, A New Approach claims “arts and culture organisations and businesses accessed <a href="https://newapproach.org.au/insight-reports/the-big-picture-2/">more than $4 billion of COVID support</a> in the last four months of the 2019–20 financial year.”</p>
<p>The big number would have surprised many in the cultural sector who struggled through the pandemic with little or no government support. </p>
<p>Sure enough, the figure was picked up in an article for the Nine newspapers, which led with the headline “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/billions-in-crisis-payments-paid-to-the-arts-new-report-shows-20220215-p59wpx.html">Billions in crisis payments paid to the arts</a>”. </p>
<p>With prominent contemporary music venues in both Sydney and Melbourne <a href="https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/legendary-sydney-pub-lansdowne-closing">announcing their closure last week</a>, you could be forgiven for asking where all those billions went. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-john-curtin-hotel-is-a-home-for-melbournes-musicians-activists-and-unionists-shutting-it-down-is-a-loss-for-our-cultural-heritage-177313">The John Curtin Hotel is a home for Melbourne's musicians, activists and unionists. Shutting it down is a loss for our cultural heritage</a>
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<p>Unfortunately for the cultural sector, if you drill down into the statistics the $4 billion number is indeed too good to be true. A New Approach has misinterpreted some fuzzy data from the federal government, dramatically over-estimating the amount of support given to Australian culture in 2020. </p>
<h2>Measuring the “creative sector”</h2>
<p>A New Approach’s figures come from the federal government, specifically a set of reports from the <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/cultural-data-online/government-cultural-funding-and-participation/cultural-funding-and-participation-national-overview">Meeting of Cultural Ministers</a> on funding and participation by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments. </p>
<p>If you check the <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/documents/cultural-funding-government-2019-20-australian-government">report for the Commonwealth for 2019–20</a>, there is indeed a statement on COVID support. The report says the federal government “spent $4,272 million in COVID support funding for eligible organisations, businesses, and individuals in creative and cultural industries”. </p>
<p>This figure was made up of: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>$3,065.3 million in JobKeeper</p></li>
<li><p>$1,168.4 million from Boosting Cash Flow for Employers, and</p></li>
<li><p>$38.4 million in arts portfolio grants.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Even so, $4 billion of federal stimulus in just four months seems like an awful lot. Was there really this much money sloshing around the sector? </p>
<p>As always when it comes to statistics, the answer comes down to how you define “the sector”. The reason the JobKeeper figure looks so big is the federal government’s definition for the cultural and creative industries is very broad. </p>
<p>Drawing on an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) <a href="https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/EFFE2547EC51F5AACA257C78000C1B53/$File/52710_2008-09.pdf">definition of the cultural and creative sector from 2008–09</a>, this definition includes not just the core arts and cultural activities, but vast swathes of the rest of the economy as well. </p>
<p>Industries in the dragnet include significant parts of the manufacturing and retail sectors, such as clothing, footwear and jewellery manufacturing and retail; software publishing and computer system design; zoos and parks; advertising; and architecture.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Queen Victoria Building, Sydney" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447461/original/file-20220221-17-80qzpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Large parts of the clothing retail industry are also included in figures about Australia’s ‘creative sector’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Digby Cheung/Unsplash</span></span>
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<p>This same expansive approach was adopted by the government’s Bureau of Communications and Arts Research in 2018 to give a total figure for the size of the cultural and creative sector of <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/publications/visual-summary-cultural-and-creative-activity-australia-2009-10-2018-19">$111.7 billion in 2016-17</a>. But again, the devil is in the detail. </p>
<p>Of this $111.7 billion, the single biggest component was the technology-rich design industry, valued at roughly $43 billion. Fashion was second, valued at around $14 billion. Compare that to the performing arts, with a gross value add in 2016-17 of just $1.7 billion. </p>
<p>The reasons for including these sectors go back to <a href="https://wakeinalarm.blog/2020/06/20/art-as-industry/">old debates about the size and shape of the “creative” sector</a>. When the stats were being drawn up, there was an earnest attempt by the ABS to capture associated activity that fed into creative supply chains. </p>
<p>But the arts ministry doesn’t break their JobKeeper figures down by industry, and so we don’t actually know how much funding went to core arts and cultural sectors like the performing arts, galleries and museums, or independent artists and creators. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-a-world-of-pain-australian-theatre-in-crisis-168663">Friday essay: a world of pain – Australian theatre in crisis</a>
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<h2>Exaggerated figures</h2>
<p>In reality, it is likely the majority of this money did not flow to closed music venues or shuttered theatres. The inclusion of the entire clothing and footwear sector in these figures is a big hint as to where the bulk of the stimulus was likely spent. </p>
<p>As we know from their annual reports, big retail outlets collectively <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7542184/latest-asic-data-reveals-the-amount-of-jobkeeper-taken-by-public-companies/?cs=14264">banked billions in JobKeeper support</a> during the pandemic (even though <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-21/jobkeeper-subsidy-turnover-small-business-covid-pandemic-pbo/100477492">some of them still made profits</a>). </p>
<p>JobKeeper was great for workers at businesses like Best & Less and Just Jeans. But this funding was not actually support for culture or artists and including these sectors in the data shows how misleading the $4 billion figure is. </p>
<p>By highlighting an exaggerated figure for cultural stimulus, A New Approach’s report glosses over some very real problems in the federal response to the pandemic crisis. </p>
<p>Tens of thousands of artists and cultural workers were ineligible for JobKeeper, because they were <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/acumen/regular-and-systematic-casual-employment">casual employees with insecure work patterns</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-says-artists-should-be-able-to-access-jobkeeper-payments-its-not-that-simple-138530">The government says artists should be able to access JobKeeper payments. It's not that simple</a>
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<p>Other parts of the sector, including art galleries and museums run by local and state governments and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/04/australian-universities-angry-at-final-twist-of-the-knife-excluding-them-from-jobkeeper">public universities</a>, were excluded from JobKeeper because of the way the program was designed. </p>
<p>The most recent <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release">detailed ABS labour force</a> data shows employment in the arts and culture has not recovered to 2019 levels. </p>
<p>In the three years since it was set up by prominent philanthropists, A New Approach has published a number of thoughtful reports. The organisation describes itself as “<a href="https://newapproach.org.au/about/">Australia’s lading arts and culture think tank</a>” and claims it is “objective” and “led by evidence”. </p>
<p>Given this, it’s disappointing that A New Approach decided to package up exaggerated government data and spin it as cultural funding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Eltham has peviously received arts funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. He is affiliated with Fund the Arts, a campaign to increase arts funding. </span></em></p>Thinktank A New Approach claims the federal government spent more than $4 billion supporting the arts and culture in 2020 alone. Sadly for the arts, the figure is too good to be true.Ben Eltham, Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.