Arts Educators Warn of Collapse
Arts educators have warned the industry needs urgent new funding, or risks facing collapse from the twin pressures of COVID-19 and funding cuts.
The warning follows the announcement on April 3 that dozens of arts organisations have missed out on four-year funding from the Australia Council.
The National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) is calling for a significant increase of the Australia Council’s budget as part of a larger set of stimulus measures.
NAAE Chair, John Nicholas Saunders, said: “The arts funding cuts represent a grave loss to the cultural lives of young Australians in metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. Arts organisations play a significant role in the education sector, through the vast range of exceptional education and community programs they offer, as well as professional development opportunities for teachers.”
“Many of Australia’s small to medium arts organisations will no longer be federally funded. Youth arts investment has been decimated, damaging career pathways. NAAE has great concerns about the impact on arts education and young people who are seeking to work in the arts industry.”
NAAE is the the Australian network of peak national professional arts and arts education associations across the five art forms of dance, drama, media, music and the visual arts.
Saunders continued: “Beyond the classroom, small organisations such as youth theatre, music and dance companies, visual arts, craft, design, media and community arts organisations, provide young people with creative pathways and opportunities similar to the role of community sporting clubs. This loss is especially damaging in regional and remote communities.
“It is not a matter of some companies being more or less deserving of funding; the fact is that there is simply not enough money to adequately support the essential infrastructure of small to medium arts organisations. The current COVID-19 pandemic has seriously exacerbated the situation.”
NAAE calls for urgent action by the Federal Government to provide an arts-industry specific package that includes a significant increase in the Australia Council’s funding, now and in future budgets, to ensure the survival of Australia’s rich arts ecology.
Organisations which have missed out on four-year funding and instead granted transitional funding for 12 months include the following:
Australian Script Centre
Australian Theatre for Young People
Barking Gecko Theatre Company
HotHouse Theatre Limited
La Mama Inc (Pictured above)
Performing Arts Centre Society
PlayWriting Australia
Polyglot Theatre
Restless Dance Theatre Inc
Salamanca Arts Centre Inc
Shopfront Arts Co-op Ltd
Somebody s Daughter Theatre Company Inc
St Martins Youth Arts Centre
Sydney Writers Festival Ltd
Tasdance Ltd
The Song Company Pty Ltd
Urban Theatre Projects Ltd