Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton are out of touch, argues Ben Eltham. From their state-sponsored ivory tower they can’t see where Sydney’s real cultural beats are played.
Arts funding
My Cup Of Tea: Taxpayer dollars head to Hollywood
In screen policy, an open-ended and uncapped tax subsidy is considered a good thing. The bigger the film, the larger the tax-payer contribution, writes Ben Eltham.
My Cup Of Tea: The plan to provoke a profound shake-up to the arts
A new report from the Australia Council has big implications for Australian cultural policy, says Ben Eltham. Its conclusions imply a profound shake-up in the current status quo.
The cultural revolution was online in 2010
The most important arts and “cultural” events of 2010 happened online, writes Ben Eltham, in his final My Cup of Tea column for the year.
Pomeranz: Don’t mix business with art
While wannabe sports stars gets thousands in government support and sponsorship, young Australian film makers struggle to make a living in Australia and that talent heads overseas, writes film critic Margaret Pomeranz.
graph pr0n Where does Australia’s arts funding go?
Last year Opera Australia received more funding than all the 781 other arts boards and projects combined. Marcus Westbury breaks down the Australia Council arts funding fiasco.
Theatre needs a true governing body to drive funding
Governments play a vital role in theatre funding, particularly in regional areas and for smaller theatre organisations. But how can the private sector be more involved? asks Troy Dodds.
Former arts minister: Artists are poor because they’re crap
Most artists don’t make a sufficient living from their art? Well derr, there are millions of Australians who consider themselves artists, but not millions of jobs. It’s called the free market, writes former federal arts minister Barry Cohen.
Cate Blanchett: Arts is far more than just an industry
There is a growing demand for the arts industry to ‘prove’ itself, with KPIs and profitability charts. We’ve proved ourselves. Now let’s stop thinkings of arts as a business, when its power is far beyond that, writes actress Cate Blanchett.
Arty farts in uproar: culture isn’t just in the eye of the benefactor
Art gallery directors are begging, pleading and quitting over the lack of funding being made by state governments to their state cultural institutions. With funds drying up and art seen as charity, we’re becoming a second-rate culture, writes John McDonald.
Guy Rundle: Windschuttle screams blue murder over Quadrant funding cut
Quadrant has had its Australia Council Grant cut by $15,000 and is screaming blue murder and about the fix being in, because every left wing magazine –- Overland, Meanjin(!), Australian Book Review (!!) — has seen its funding maintained or bumped up.
graph pr0n Where Australia’s arts funding goes
Following up from his great piece on the Australia Council’s failure to adapt to the digital era, Marcus Westbury charts exactly where our country’s arts funding is — and isn’t — going. In a word: orchestras.
Edmund Capon to leave the Art Gallery of NSW
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, who has steered the Art Gallery of NSW to national and international pre-eminence, is at the point of departure, writes Alex Mitchell.
Australia Council changes bathwater, loses babies
The Australia Council, an organisation in almost constant flux, has again spun the bingo barrel and pulled out a new round of surprises in its funding announcements, writes Ben Eltham.
Never mind the zealots: smoking has a role in film
Should movies be part of some ideological state apparatus for promoting health, wonders Simon Chapman?
Why Michael Duffy’s wrong about arts in Australia
Sydney Morning Herald columnist Michael Duffy needs to get out more. In Saturday’s op-ed pages Duffy wrote one of the more generalised and least researched pieces I have read from him in quite a while, writes Nick Pickard.
Our old-school film school is a waste of $20m
We should rethink Australian feature films and how we make them. For example, some easy money for arts education in schools can be found at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
