Just when we thought it was safe, it’s protest season. So let’s have a look at some of what’s going wrong in the art world.
The ‘Gloom Festival’ is the catchy title of an event which a disaffected group of artists attempted to organise recently. Through the email networks, a rumble of protest came from ‘Bill+George’, an artist run space operated by a group of independent creators who have the mission to secure affordable studio and living space for artists. Their view was that the current much touted ‘Vivid’ winter festival celebrating the city of Sydney, was all hype and hypocrisy – a marketing exercise by Events NSW. Their protest was about the millions of dollars being spent on the festival by the NSW government while support for local talent in the small to medium independent arts sector is contracting.
However, less than a week after the first Gloom Festival invitation and manifesto came through the digital ether, there was a cancellation and explanation. The organiser/s met with Opera House staff responsible for emergency planning and response, who were said to be polite and amenable and respectful of the right to free speech and protest. However, these staff pointed out that such activity was prohibited in the Opera House foyer because of public safety and OH&S issues, in particular because of the current renovations, but also because of the perceived threat of terrorism and the premier position held by the Opera House in the national landscape. The artists also said they had contacted local police command who required the event to be registered under Schedule 1 of the Summary Offences Act 1998. This would have required the organiser to take personal responsibility for the actions of all people engaged in the event. Without the required document being signed, the activities in the Gloom Festival would be rendered illegal.
Nevertheless, Bill+George did get to formally have their say by being invited to be part of the ‘Space Race’ forum, and making a satirical point by bringing an elephant prop into the room. So in the end we saw a fun idea and a gentle poke at government hype finding a sanctioned outlet.
In Victoria another protest is being mounted by the art community, this time aimed at a metropolitan government – Melbourne City Council. Tai Snaith, an artist who is a member of the City of Melbourne’s Arts Advisory Board, has made public her concerns over the prospective changes to the arts and culture budget. She reveals that there will be 20% cuts to all of the arts grant category pools (except for housing the arts and triennial funding) and believes this is very unlikely to be re-instated in future budgets.
According to Snaith, this means around $300,000 less to individual artists, festivals, projects and arts organisations in Melbourne each year and would work out to be around 25 or so less jobs/projects/positions funded each year.
Evidently the council takes comments from practicing artists and residents very seriously, and a complaint or comment on the impact this is likely to have on you and your community can be made by going to:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=23&pg=3454#form
Then there is the problem with the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), renowned in Australia for its high quality courses and illustrious graduates. Now its integrity as a discrete entity is under threat. Similar challenges were posed last year to the Australian National Academy of Music before public protest deferred the decision. Part of the VCA’s vulnerability seems to lie in its occupation of high value real estate, on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD.
The background to the proposed changes lies in the 2003 Federal Government’s reforms to higher education. This saw the VCA excluded from the new model of ‘consistent’ funding for academic clusters because of its relatively small student intake. Therefore it aligned itself with the University of Melbourne, which in return promised to preserve the integrity and structure of the college.
Instead, as part of the University of Melbourne’s 2010 Business Plan, the VCA’s Schools of Dance, Drama and Production are to be merged into a School of Performing Arts while the School of Film and Television has been downgraded to "a series of programs" with its future as yet undecided by the University. The School of Music has already been amalgamated with the University's music department while the Schools of Theatre and Puppetry have seen their courses suspended from future student intake.
There is a fear that the remaining VCA schools eventually will be dissolved into a narrower, academically-conventional undergraduate Fine Arts degree. Limited specialisation will exist only for post-graduate students, in much larger numbers and in expensive courses of reduced quality and length. The University of Melbourne has begun the cutbacks by retrenching many of the VCA’s sessional, technical and administrative staff. These staffing cuts, in combination with the re-allocation of resources, will greatly increase the workload of remaining staff.
A ‘Save The Victorian College of the Arts Petition’ to the Federal and State Governments has been created by students, alumni, staff and friends of the Victorian College of the Arts. To read and/or sign, click here
