Ireland has just announced it will be providing 2000 of its nation’s most promising artists a weekly income of €325 (A$500) to help them produce exciting content for not just Ireland but the whole world.
This decision stands in stark contrast to the parsimony of the 12th richest nation in the world, Australia. Instead of supporting our arts sector, the government has just brought down a horror budget where $190 million (or 19%) was stripped.
This comes on top of a decade of cuts and neglect that has seen per capita investment drop 18.9%, artists’ incomes fall by 19%, the ABC having its annual budgets eviscerated by $783m, free arts education in schools hollowed out, and a mere 2% of Australian content on streaming services. (For the full catalogue of horrors, check out the Creativity in Crisis report written by Dr Ben Eltham and Alison Pennington.)
What the Irish government has recognised and successive Australian governments have failed to understand — or perhaps don’t care about — is that without Australian artists producing, we don’t get Australian art and culture.
Have a look around your living room. It is replete with art. On your screens, through your speakers, on your bookshelves, on your walls. The question is: in 10, 20, 50 years’ time, how much of that will be Australian?
Right now, there is 0-4% Australian film and TV content on global streaming services, which most Australians now consume their shows through. On free-to-air, Australian-scripted content is essentially hidden — given no promotion and left to die. Broadcasters aren’t being asked by the government to pay their licence fees, which would generate a billion dollars a year to pump back into the arts. Nice for some.
In the world of literature, established authors in Australia average $4000 a year while the writers’ fund in the budget has been slashed from $8.9 million per annum to $4.9 million, a budget pool less than it was three decades ago!
In the visual arts, as a result of COVID and floods, 75% of art galleries have closed.
Australia’s performance artists, from musicians to actors, have not been able to perform for two years, and many have not had access to JobKeeper.
A national culture cannot survive on the scraps this government throws to it. It cannot compete against a glut of cheap American cultural product that is often dumped in this country like cheap navel oranges. Australia actually has anti-dumping laws that protect agriculture. They allow us to use “countervailing measures” against them to help that industry to survive. Does this government — or any other political candidate for that matter — want the Australian creative sector to survive?
Some “countervailing measures” the government could introduce to help the arts include applying Australian content quotas to global streaming giants like Netflix who provide 2% Australian content. That would require them to dedicate 20% of their annual $1 billion revenue generated here to finance Australian productions. A stroke of the pen; zero cost to the taxpayer. If this sounds pie in the sky, it’s not. They’re doing it in Canada, Italy, France and other parts of Europe.
Another would be to put into motion the recommendations of the cultural export strategy group, whose role it is to find markets for our cultural products. If that sounds fanciful, it’s not. They do it in the UK and Canada. If nations like Korea and the Scandinavians can carve out a global reputation, so can wealthy Australia.
We can follow the Irish lead and provide 300 creative fellowships. Recipients would be granted $85,000 per year for three years so they can hone their craft and projects.
We can extend the RISE program by $150 million to help the arts recover. Yep, Germany provided €50 billion to help its arts sector survive.
And of course we can grow the total arts budget. Whether it’s film, literature, music, shows, or visual arts, it’s very hard for the Australia Council, or producers, or literary agents to take a chance on new and bold work when the funding pool is so shallow. Every post has to count, and it leads to risk aversion not just from the gatekeepers but the artists themselves.
We can bring about another golden age of Australian culture like we saw 50 years ago when both Liberal and Labor governments supported arts funding. We just need the political will.
I did a visual arts degree back in the late 80’s with a view to work in the oz film industry but soon realised that I’d be better off changing profession if I wanted to eat and pay bills. Australia does not value art or culture and views it with suspicion unless overseas success ‘validates’ its worth. Nothing changes.
I did two degrees, one in science and I left both industries because they dont pay compared to others. All the more reason to link uni funding to demand.
The explosion in Australian film and other art forms came at a time when it was a lot easier to obtain the dole, and a lot easier to do work paid under the counter at the same time. Or even over the counter. We have given the world many wonderful artists in many different disciplines. A lot of those artists come from the creative times in the 70s and 80s when both funding and income support was a lot easier to obtain. Sure, if you give funding and income support to a select group of people, some are going to never make the grade and some are going to take advantage of it. So what? Like we don’t see that happening all the time with sports and businesses.
Talking about sports, we have just seen any Australian athlete who did something in the Winter Olympics, no matter how mundane, applauded. Quick, tell me which Australian theatre recently won a prestigious international prize? That’s ok, I know you don’t know because it went pretty much unrecognised. Back to Back Theatre in Geelong won a prestigious award which has been described as the Nobel Prize of Theatre. Back To Back stages productions which are acted and staffed by people living with a disability. It is absolutely brilliant. If a comparable sports team had won a similar award it would be all over the news. I saw one article about this. That is disgraceful. And that is why we should all work to lift the profile of arts in Australia. We have world class artists and world class art companies. But no-one in Australia would know about that. https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/back-to-back-theatre-wins-international-theatre-award-2538367/
Fantastic comment and so true, unfortunately.
The bunch of corrupt boofheads who currently form the government would not recognise the ‘arts’ if it bit them in the arse. All they know about the arts is that the great majority of artists don’t vote for them. So why would support the arts?
Also – paintings make a good background when they deliver sound bites about what a great job they’re doing and how we can’t afford anything but their own generous salaries and perks, tax cuts for the wealthy and financial assistance to their donors.
In Japan they find masters of Bonsai, of Kabuki of various *established* arts so as to help the expertise get passed from generation to generation. I think it’s an awesome idea. It benefits all of society.
But funding selected artists in Australia is going to degenerate into a culture war before you can blink. We cant seem to help ourselves. There will be those who demand the selection criteria is not based on popularity and hence we are going to get a bunch of left wing arts industry types pushing for scholarships to go to those who cover topics that match their own politics.
That’s why you need the Australia Council to distribute the funds, not a minister. There should also be funds going to smaller to medium sized arts groups.
You’re suggestion seems to amount to do nothing in case there’s a ‘culture war’. Lol. What do you think shitting on the arts and cutting it’s budget for 10 years is? We’re in a culture war. You don’t raise the white flag, you fight if you’ve got any get up and go in you. If you GENUINELY support the arts.
First thing I’ll say is its all about balance. Anyone here got any hard statics of “arts spending per capita” across the OECD? Not forgetting the hundreds of millions of dollars that have gone into fine arts degrees over the years.
Using the sports analogy, I’d rather see little Jane and Johnny running around the local park playing social sports, than spending enormous sums on professional and semi professional athletes and their facilities. I could not care less if Australia wins all the gold at the Olympics. I’d rather see people exercising and socializing themselves than living life thru others.
Same goes for funding the arts. If Jane and Johnny get real fulfillment from dabbling in the fine arts that’s great, but I’m so keen on pouring money into the elite of the fine arts community.
…but I’m NOT so keen…
….just as the right wing corrupts other processes to ensure like minded supporters get free handouts from the taxpayer.
I would however support options to help artists monetize their efforts. Things like Patreon, more art galleries and concerts in the park or on the suburban train. Providing insurance cover. Subsidized recording studios. Then let the cream rise to the top.
Maybe pay artists to teach others as per the Japanese model rather than pay them to …. actually I’m not sure what we would be paying them to do.
What are their performance metrics? Who is to say that the finger painting an artist might do in the last week of scholarship (after sitting in their lounge room mentally preparing for 51 weeks) isnt the most profound piece of art in Australia?
“we are going to get a bunch of left wing arts industry types pushing for scholarships to go to those who cover topics that match their own politics.”
this is such a nonsensical assumption, I don’t know where to even start…
Can you clarify how the average Australian gets to determine who gets THEIR money?
I hope you’re equally concerned about that money when it’s used for pork barrelling or to enrich our politicians and their donors and others who are already doing more than fine.
Damn right I am, more so.
I recall listening to someone in the Australia film industry being interviewed (3RRR?), and they were lamenting how hard it is to get government funding…unless of course you want to make a movie about domestic violence, feminists etc. Maybe the ballet industry industry is less politised than the film industry.
I think the analogy to anti dumping laws is incorrect. These laws exist to stop other nations exporting goods below their true value. Telling Australians they have to consume Australian goods whether the prefer them or not is wrong headed and only leads to the market distortion like that which happened in the car industry in USA and the Australian Wool Reserve Price Scheme. Failing to cater to market forces usually ends in expensive tears and corresponding lost opportunities elsewhere.
In my opinion the answer is to align the goods with demand, remove all inefficiencies, do robust RoI assessments and if the investment stacks up then fund the industry but the individual artists need to sink or swim on the appeal of their product, not what aficionados tell us is ‘good art’.