Petition: Australians for Artistic Freedom
We the undersigned are shocked to see that the Abbott Government plans to target the creative sector once again in its 2015–16 Budget by massively defunding the Australia Council for the Arts, the national peer-reviewed funding body, and severely reducing the budgets of other cultural organisations.
Federal Arts Minister George Brandis has announced that he plans to remove $104.8 million from the Australia Council’s budget over the next four years and redirect it to a newly created fund, the ‘National Centre for Excellence in the Arts’. Grants from this new fund will seemingly be decided at the discretion of the Arts Minister of the day.
It is deeply disturbing for any Minister to attempt to directly control the kinds of culture produced in a democracy that values freedom of expression. We want to continue the Australian tradition of arts funding being independent of any political influence. The Minister himself has previously argued that art will always provoke debate, ‘that’s why we have an arms-length and peer-reviewed structure for the allocation for the funding’. What he now proposes is precisely the opposite.
In addition to the reallocation of crucial Australia Council funds, the Abbott Government is proposing to cut an additional $3.7 million from the underfunded Screen Australia, and almost $4 million from various national galleries and museums. The Budget will also take $5.2 million from the Australia Council for Creative Partnerships Australia, and $7.3 million in ‘efficiency dividends’. Such ‘savings’ will be met through reduced funding to ArtStart, Capacity Building and Artists-in-Residence programs: three core programs that directly contribute to the development of future arts leaders and provide crucial opportunities for arts practitioners to gain real industry skills: an investment in the ongoing vibrancy and vitality of the arts sector, helping to shape arts leaders such as Fiona Menzies (Creative Partnerships Australia), Sandra Willis (Opera Australia), Beverley Growden (Canberra Glassworks) and Loiu Oppenhiem (Circus Oz). For small-to-medium organisations and independent artists, whose work is absolutely critical to building diversity and encouraging innovation in the sector, this loss of financial support and investment will be devastating.
Australia does not need a second national arts funding organisation: the Australia Council’s mission is to ‘invest in artistic excellence’ and make art ‘accessible to all Australians’. Indeed, the Council already cultivates a national approach to arts participation, for both audiences and creators. Over its 42-year history, the Australia Council has helped to build and support the careers of artists as diverse as Richard Bell, Fiona Hall, Sonya Hartnett, Alex Miller, Les Murray, Margaret Olley, Archie Roach and Judy Watson. The Council funds a broad range of cultural projects across the country, fostering companies such as the Australian Ballet, Back to Back Theatre, Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Ironwood Chamber Ensemble, Kulcha Multicultural Arts, La Boite Theatre Company and Wodonga’s Hothouse Theatre, as well as programs such as the Creative Indigenous Leaders program, site-specific international development of major operas, regional tours and publications such as Griffith Review.
Independence is essential to diversity in Australian arts. Indeed, the reason Australian arts are as healthy as they are today is because of our ability to create freely, without intervention by any political party.
Minister Brandis seems to be under the impression that Australian culture is monolithic – that there is only one way to be a proper Australian artist. The vibrancy and diversity of Australian arts indicate that nothing could be further from the truth. The many small arts organisations across the country – galleries, libraries, theatre groups, performers and publications that are most at risk from funding cuts – are the primary cultivators of Australian culture, fostering the early work of those artists we now celebrate, such as Christos Tsiolkas and Margaret Olley. But small arts organisations are also a merit in and of themselves. They allow millions of diverse individuals to imagine, collaborate and participate in culture-making. Democracy is founded upon reflection, civic participation, and hope. Art provides space for all of this and more.
This Budget is an enormous blow to the arts community in Australia. It will impoverish Australian culture and society. It will mean loss of livelihood for many arts workers. It will mean many important artworks – works that would inform national debate, expanding the possibilities of this country and its citizens – will simply never be made. In 2011, the arts sector directly employed 531,000 people, and indirectly created another 3.7 million jobs. In 2008–9, the arts contributed $86 billion (7%) to the Australian GDP. Artists are workers and taxpayers, and a vital part of the economy. They are also consumers and lovers of art and culture. They should not be penalised for contributing so passionately to Australia’s cultural ecosystem.
We call on the Federal Government and Minister for the Arts George Brandis to reverse all proposed cuts to the arts sector, and to cease political interference in the works of creative Australia.
We ask that you oppose defunding the art sector, particularly smaller organisations and practitioners – that is, a whole generation of artists, writers, publishers, editors, theatre makers, actors, dancers and thinkers across Australia. We ask that you help us to continue building a world where culture and art is possible for everyone.
Jacinda Woodhead, Overland magazine
David Ryding
Van Badham, writer
Lisa Dempster, festival director and CEO, Melbourne Writers Festival
Thomas Keneally, author
Alexis Wright, writer
Prof Dennis Altman AM
Christos Tsiolkas, writer
Kim Scott, writer
Robert Manne
Joanna Murray-Smith, playwright
Alex Miller, writer
Frank Moorhouse, author
Anna Funder, writer
JM Coetzee, writer
Neil Armfield AO, director
Kate Larsen, Writers Victoria
Peter Carey, writer
Tim Winton, writer
Emily Sexton
Sam Cooney, publisher and editor, The Lifted Brow
Richard Watts, writer and broadcaster
Michael Webster Adjunct Professor, RMIT University School of Media & Communication, Chair, Melbourne Writers Festival and Small Press Network
Rodney Hall, writer, former chair of the Australia Council
Marion Halligan AM, writer; former chair of the Literature Board
David Blumenstein, cartoonist
Alison Croggon, writer
Daniel Keene, playwright
Kate Eltham, writer
Sam Twyford Moore, writer
Stuart Glover, senior lecturer, UQ; founding chair, Queensland Literary Awards
Nick Feik, The Monthly
Shaun Tan, artist, writer, filmmaker
Jeff Sparrow, writer and broadcaster; honorary fellow, Vic Uni
Sophie Cunningham, writer
Michell de Kretser, writer
Jason Steger
Tony Birch, writer
R D Wood, poet
Alex Skutenko, Overland
Hannah Kent, writer
Rebecca Starford, Text Publishing and Kill Your Darlings
André Dao, writer
Alice Grundy, Seizure
Margo Lanagan, writer
Benjamin Law, writer
Ramona Koval, writer
David Williamson, playwright
Aviva Tuffield, publisher and co-founder of the Stella Prize
Julian Burnside AO QC, chair, fortyfivedownstairs; chair, Chamber Music Australia
Mary Lou Jelbart, artistic director, fortyfivedownstairs
Nathan Hollier, director of Monash University Publishing; chair of the OL Society Ltd, publishers of Overland
William Yang, artist
James Tierney, critic
Susan Hornbeck, associate publisher, Griffith Review
Kent MacCarter, Cordite Press Inc
Jennifer Mills, author
Justin Clemens, writer
John van Tiggelen, writer
Andrea Goldsmith, writer
Malcolm Knox, writer and journalist
Robert Skinner, Canary Press
David Carlin, writer
Roselina Press, Right Now magazine
Geordie Williamson, fiction editor, Island magazine
Kirsten Tranter, writer
Linda Jaivin, writer
Kate Callingham, Emerging Writers’ Festival
Jessica Wilkinson, RMIT University; Rabbit
Stephanie Convery, Overland
Jill Jones, poet, senior lecturer, University of Adelaide
Maria Tumarkin, writer and historian
Bec Zajac, Overland
Anwen Crawford, writer
Geoff Lemon, Going Down Swinging
Erica Sontheimer, editor
Catherine Mcinnis, writer and editor
Marcus Westbury, writer, broadcaster and founder of Renew Australia
Pippa Bainbridge, Express Media
David Stavanger, poet and co-director Queensland Poetry Festival
Anne-Marie Te Whiu, co-director Queensland Poetry Festival
Clare Wright, historian, author, screenwriter
Fiona Capp, writer
Steven Carroll, writer
Louise Swinn, publisher, Sleepers
Di Morrissey, author
Matthew Lamb, editor, Island and Review of Australian Fiction
Chad Parkhill, writer
Tom Cho, writer
Professor John Kinsella
Mel Campbell, writer and critic
Luke Davies, writer
Hilary McPhee, writer, editor, publisher, former chair of the Australia Council
Maria Takolander, writer and academic
Foong Ling Kong, managing editor, Anne Summers Reports; editor
Clare Renner, writer and editor, RMIT University
Brynn O’Brien, lawyer
Clare Strahan, writer and editor
Francesca Rendle-Short, writer and associate professor, co-director, nonfictionLab, RMIT University
Catherine Noske, editor, Westerly magazine
Chris Graham, New Matilda
Georgia Blain, author
Sandra Thibodeaux, poet
Donna Abela, playwright
Lally Katz, writer
Paddy O’Reilly, writer
Noëlle Janaczewska, writer
Hilary Bell, playwright
Hannah Fink, writer and editor
Martine Murray, writer
Kate Howarth, writer
Lachlan Philpott playwright
Jane Gleeson White, writer and editor
Aaron Orzech, theatre-maker
Chris Womersley, writer
Rachel Roberts, Applespiel
Nakkiah Lui, writer and actor
Angela Meyer, writer
Declan Greene, theatremaker
Rjurik Davidson, writer
Katherine Lyall-Watson, playwright and editor
Emma Maye Gibson (aka Betty Grumble)
Cameron Ellis
Julia Tsailis
Nicholas Higgins
Simon Clarke
Alex Desebrock
Libby Klysz
Terri-Ann White
Lefa Singleton-Norton
Simon Mitchell, author
Melissa Keil, writer
Marieke Hardy, writer
Anna Krien, writer
Paul Katsieris, architect
Patricia Cornelius, playwright
Cate Kennedy, writer
Ned Manning, writer, actor
Trudy White, artist and writer
Angela Conquet, Dancehouse
Zoe Dattner, publisher
7-ON Playwrights
Sian Prior, writer and broadcaster
Dr Dominic Redfern, School of Art, RMIT University
Omar Musa, writer and musician
Chris Connelly, actor
Nick Place, writer
Nina Bonacci, producer
Eugenia Fragos, actor
Suzie Miller, playwright
Hannie Rayson, playwright
Harry Nankin, photomedia artist
Tommy Murphy, playwright and screenwriter
Zoe Atkinson, theatre designer
Melissa Fagan, writer
Anna Taylor, artist
Dee Read
Sarah Tomasetti, artist
Maxine Beneba Clarke, writer
Adena Jacobs, theatre director
Samantha Bews, playwright
Di Websdale-Morrissey, writer
Katie Sfetkidis, lighting designer
Suzy Zail, writer
Campbell Bews
Gretchen Miller, writer and radio broadcaster
Nick Meredith, guitarist
Tiffany Raae, producer and director
Catherine Ryan, writer
Alice Pung, writer
Liz Jones AO, La Mama
Sam Cheshire, teacher
Simmone Howell, writer
Simon Wilmot, filmmaker and head of Film and Television, Deakin University
Chantal Jackson, poet, artist
Judy Watson, artist
Ros Abercrombie, festival director
Martin King, artist
Stephanie Holt, Professional Writing and Editing, RMIT
Elizabeth Day, visual artist, Creative Collaborations
Libby Angel, writer
Judith Denby, artist
Fiona Dorrell, NT Writers’ Centre
Paul O’Connor, veterinarian
Malcolm McKinnon, artist and filmmaker
Catherine Clover, artist
Noreen Grahame, director grahame galleries + editions
Melanie Lazarow, artist
Tim Bass, artist
Geoff Kleem, artist
Lindy Allen, producer; former CEO of Regional Victoria and Regional Arts Australia
Julie Ewington, critic, curator and broadcaster
Ivor Indyk, Giramondo Publishing
Iola Mathews, writer
Angelo Loukakis, writer
Rebecca Hilton, choreographer
Dee Martin
Nicole Newton, AHPRA and National Boards
Caroline Lee, performer
Michele Helmrich, curator
Georgina Russell, Melbourne Writers Festival
Anthony Pelchen, artist
Cameron Robbins, visual art and sound
Karen Casey, artist
Lisa Barmby, artist
Tom Alberts, artist
Julie Beveridge, director and CEO, Brisbane Writers Festival
Gina Schien, playwright
Lyn Hovey, artist
Mandy Martin, artist, writer adjunct professor Australian National University
Rachael Maza, artistic director, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company
Alison Clouston, artist
Maryanne Lynch, theatre and audio artist
Simon Wilmont, editor
Michael Simon
Nicole Ellis, visual artist and educator
Cr Don Chapman, City of Onkaparinga
John Romeril, playwright
Gideon Obarzanek, director and choreographer
Adam Rish, artist
Wayne Macauley, writer
Susie Dee, theatre director
Louise Martin-Chew, freelance writer
Jared Thomas, author
Simon Binns, performer
Joseph Parro, performer
Elisa Argenzio, film and TV producer
Phillip Johnston, composer
Esther Barneveld
Danny Furlong, writer
Kate Mulvany, actor and writer
Eleanor Jackson, editor-in-chief, Peril
Lia Incognita
Nikki Lam
Raina Peterson
Hoa Pham
Sam Low
Nerissa Lea, artist
Melissa Reeves, playwright
Erik Jensen, The Saturday Paper
Judith Rodriguez, poet
Nick Earls, writer
Tara Wynne, literary agent
Koraly Dimitriadis, writer
Pippa Masson, literary agent
Stephanie Guest, literary agent
Reg Cribb, writer
Philip Neilsen, former member of the Literature Board of the Australia Council
Emeritus Professor John McLaren AM, Victoria University; Overland patron
Anne Layton-Bennett
Angela Gardner, artist
Dr Rae Luckie, writer and editor
Emma Rooksby, artist and poet
Karina Quinn, writer and editor, La Trobe University
Kim Hellard
Paloma Concierta
John Leonard, poet and publisher
Martin Kinnane, Lighting Designer
Meredith Curnow, publisher, Knopf, Vintage
John Leonard, poet and publisher
Zane Trow sound artist, director, animateur
Tim Richards, writer
Toby Fitch, poet
Nathan Curnow, writer
Nicki Bloom, writer
Caroline Fry, painting conservator
Evelyn Juers, writer and publisher
Sarah Armstrong, writer
Ailsa Piper, writer
Benjamin Solah, director of Melbourne Spoken Word
Lian Low, writer, spoken word artist; and editor-at-large Peril
Jonathan Jones, Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist and curator
Daniel Twomey, teacher and musician
Sue Pedley, artist
Alice Evans, violinist
Michael Smetanin, composer
Emma McManus, theatre-maker, Applespiel
Delia Falconer, writer
Irma Gold, writer and editor
Solway Sager-Nutting, musician
Briony Pemberton, paper conservator
Tessa Lunney, Southerly
Alexandra Roginski, writer
Peter Mitchelson, paper conservator
Van T Rudd, artist and campus coordinator for VCA Student Association
Vanessa Kowalski, artist
Irine Vela, composer and director
Libby Gleeson, children’s author
Garth Nix, writer
Charles Parkinson, director
Jane McCredie, writer
Damian Moss
Artist/sessional academic UNSW Art&Design
Clayton Tremlett Artist and Arts Educator
Ruark Lewis, artist, writer & curator
Tristan Coelho, Sydney-based composer and teacher
Hayley Stockall, Stilts
Gideon Haigh, writer
Edwina Wren, actor
Linda Funnell, editor
Daniel Schlusser, theatre director
Jon Butt, Director c3 Contemporary Art Space
Anne-Louise Sarks, director, Belvoir Theatre
Rosalind Price, Jump Leads Productions
Claire Edwardes, musician
David Kolieb, lover of the Arts
Ben Laycock, writer, Trouble Magazine
Carrie McGrath, artist
Sandy Evans OAM, composer
Peter McNamara, composer
Andy Griffiths, writer
Sally Rippin, writer and illustrator
Erica Wagner, publisher
Mike Ladd, writer
Margaret Snowdon, visual artist, art and design book buyer
Peggy Frew, writer
Carl Vine AO, composer
Dr Ursula Caporali, composer
Jessica White, writer
Geoff Goodfellow, writer
Scott Westerfeld, author
Zoe Amor, Sculptor
Eve Sullivan, writer and editor of Artlink Magazine
James Bradley, writer
Clayton Tremlett, artist and arts educator
Jacinta Le Plastrier, writer and publisher
If you are an artist or arts organisation and would like to add your name to this list of signatories, please email overland@vu.edu.au.
If you would to like to sign the general petition, you can do so at the Australians for Artistic Freedom page.
