The dust has settled on the wreckage left by the Australia Council’s May funding round. Plenty has been written already, as artists, critics and arts workers around the country lament the disastrous decisions.

Regional Arts Victoria’s Esther Anatolitis called it a “dark outcome”. For the Emerging Writers Festival’s Michaela McGuire, it was “devastating”. Next Wave’s Georgie Meagher described it as “heartbreaking”. The Australian Design Centre’s Lisa Cahill was “stunned”. Red Stitch’s Ella Caldwell echoed her comments. “It's a difficult environment to be creatively brave and visionary in," Caldwell lamented.