Ben Eltham
Freelance arts journalist
Ben Eltham is a freelance arts journalist.
The Commonwealth Bank’s Ian Narev may not be too popular with regulators or investors, writes Ben Eltham. But Narev retains the confidence of one key group: board members of the Sydney Theatre Company.
A new arts lobby group will crunch cultural spending by federal electorate, and use focus groups to hone a pro-culture message, reports Ben Eltham. But will it work?
Most artists earn below the minimum wage for their art. So how are they going to be able to afford a $700 Melbourne Festival ticket?
Literary journal ABR advertised for a ‘gender fellowship’. But when the applications came in, none were deemed good enough.
The government has taken another $9.2 million from the Australia Council, without any notice. The council decided at a board meeting to draw down $10 million from its own reserves.
The problem with the "uni students are failing to graduate!" narrative is that it is a massive beat-up.
An underground conference and a new think tank announcement from the top end of town show that Australian culture is starting to mobilise.
The government wants to bail out Australia's large opera companies. But small-to-medium companies suffering under funding cuts are not happy.
Senator James Paterson says the Australian government should sell Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles. But it would mean selling more than a canvas.
Why did George Brandis conduct the 2015 Excellence Raid? There is one very simple reason.