Hey y’all,
Well, we’re in the midst of one of the longest election cycles in Australian political history. I don’t want/intend for this blog to be too overtly political or concerned with politics because it gets away from its initial purpose… but I wanted to talk a little about the changes to arts funding that was revealed in the recent budget.
In the interest of providing full disclosure: this post is most likely going to be biased. While I could highlight the difficulty in managing a $400 billion economy, and the requirement that all of its parts must share the burdens and benefits, that might dilute my point here. So, I’ll just leave that there…
Arts funding is a hugely important contribution to emerging artists and organisations. Over my career as an independent songwriter and musician, projects under my name have received comparatively little funding assistance (shout out to the Helpmann Academy for their financial assistance for Two Cities back in 2012). But I have been incredibly fortunate to have benefitted from arts funding with other projects over the past five to six years.
Funding provides the ability for artists and organisations to develop and refine their skills without fear of financial destitution. It also allows for experimentation – new concepts, sounds, styles, etc. can be fully explored and presented to audiences. Furthermore, it helps to showcase the wonderful collection of Australian artists to audiences at home and abroad.
As mentioned, I’ve been fortunate to have been part of festivals, concerts, recordings and tours which have received grants to make it all possible. It doesn’t mean that I’ve left those experiences with my pockets full of tax-payer assistance – there have been plenty of occasions where I have not personally received any money. The experience that the festival, concert, recording or tour has provided has been invaluable to my development. But, the ‘working for exposure’ model does have a limited run. People need money to survive – artists are no different. I personally guarantee musicians in my band a fee (paltry as it may be) to help make playing with me a little more viable. More than that, though, I offer it is a show of gratitude and respect for their talents and hard work. The money sometimes comes straight from my pocket but I’m happy to pay it.
The funding cuts to many organisations in this year’s budget will have a huge impact on their ability to showcase Australian artists and their work. It will have a flow on effect to audiences not being exposed to it. That will, in turn, flow on to our cities being less culturally vibrant – nightlife will be impacted, cafes and restaurants won’t have the buzz and excitement of those who have just attended a new exhibition around the corner, people will stop dancing and, according to writer Kali Hughes, their minds may be stunted. *cue apocalyptic sound*
So, without funding, we need you, Australia. We need people to support live music, theatre, dance, literature and new exhibitions of visual art, sculpture, design. There is so much going on in the Australian art-space and you can help to keep it thriving. But you can also impact the public funding of artwork by writing to your local member (local, state and federal) and letting them know how important Australian art and artists are to you.
I have no doubt that despite cuts to funding, artists will continue to write, create and present their work. The impetus for many of us is not financial gain but instead to contribute something individual and innovative and to share it with people. We sometimes just need a little help to live along the way.
I love the thought of my children one day, when they’re old enough, discovering the music that I’ve been a part of creating and (hopefully) being proud and amazed by it. Perhaps that’s a selfish enough reason to continue to work hard and create things.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you want to join in with what I’m doing, join the mailing list. I’d love to have you on board!
Brenton
