Protect the Arts Now

Posted on 23 August 2015

I am still finding people who are unaware of what is being done to the arts in this country and why. The arts are being seriously crippled by our current federal government not only by cutting $105 million, but by exerting a tight grip on who gets funding. That funding is going to large arts groups who are unlikely to produce work that will question those in power.

What is being done to the arts is being done to you—even if you are in comedy, even if you don’t perform art. The arts give people voice, identity, and provide self reflection for a society. Shutting down arts is done to shut down dissent and to ensure only the voice of power is heard.

The below article by Ben Eltham is an important read:

By removing the money in the way that he removed it, the Arts Minister has effectively imposed a 28 per cent funding cut on the discretionary funds of the Australia Council. On top of significant cuts in last year’s budget, the austerity is painful and immediate…Now the entire small-to-medium sector – several hundred arts organisations across the country – has been thrown into chaos. There is palpable fear in the sector. Similar cuts to small-to-medium funding in Queensland in the Newman government led to the insolvency of at least two small arts companies.

The Art Of Being George Brandis: How To Destroy A Sector Without Even Really Trying

Peace and kindness,

Katherine


1 Response to Protect the Arts Now

  • […] budget does not include any new cuts to the arts council funding, though that damage was done in 2015 when A$105 million dollars was removed from the already small arts granting budget and the remaining budget was earmarked primarily for […]

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