Brilliant, thank you John! So many international exhibitions and biennales, yet $1.7million spent on one artis, one event…and all with big question marks attached to it.
I really used to look forward to regular emails from CA (and AustCo before that) inviting submissions for grants. Having been rejected three or four times, my enthusiasm has waned. Even more so now that I am excluded from applying on the grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, colour and being ‘a good bloke’. Oh CA, you’ve lost me.
If the same standards that apply to business and politics were brought to bear on the arts, there'd be mass prosecutions. As it is, because it's "only the arts" all apparent misdeeds are ignored. These things should be investigated as financial crimes.
Yes, it's interesting. There is so much art that presents as being a political statement these days (a lot of preaching to the converted if you ask me) about all the wrongs in
society and the world, but no one ever gets pulled up for all the self-dealing that seems
It's one of things that distinguishes an earlier generation of activists who had real grass-roots issues to deal with, and lived poor. Today's political progressives are all eager to grab cash & power while mouthing platitudes about decolonisation, etc.
That earlier generation were formed ,before the current government arts funding system came fully into being.
That generation were neither created by or shaped by the culture of the ‘ official’ alternative arts academy .
But
The generations that have succeeded those early generations might still dress in humble patched jackets but their coats are all lined with the finest ermine.
Brilliant, thank you John! So many international exhibitions and biennales, yet $1.7million spent on one artis, one event…and all with big question marks attached to it.
Well said, John.
It must be a total coincidence that both the ‘Bankstown Poetry Slam’ and ‘Guest House Publishing’, are both based in Tony Burke’s seat of Watson.
“The fish rots from the head down”, as the saying goes.
I don't think it's mandatory to live in Tony's electorate, but it wouldn't harm your chances.
Indeed. You are far more diplomatic than me, John!
It sounds like CA is not accountable to anybody at all.
Only to God
I really used to look forward to regular emails from CA (and AustCo before that) inviting submissions for grants. Having been rejected three or four times, my enthusiasm has waned. Even more so now that I am excluded from applying on the grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, colour and being ‘a good bloke’. Oh CA, you’ve lost me.
There's always room to be a bad bloke, Guy. 'They rejected too many of his grant applications, and now he's mad as hell...'
So, 30% of visual arts committee members received grants. Sounds like a new take on insider trading.
If the same standards that apply to business and politics were brought to bear on the arts, there'd be mass prosecutions. As it is, because it's "only the arts" all apparent misdeeds are ignored. These things should be investigated as financial crimes.
Yes, it's interesting. There is so much art that presents as being a political statement these days (a lot of preaching to the converted if you ask me) about all the wrongs in
society and the world, but no one ever gets pulled up for all the self-dealing that seems
to go on with taxpayer money in the arts world.
It's one of things that distinguishes an earlier generation of activists who had real grass-roots issues to deal with, and lived poor. Today's political progressives are all eager to grab cash & power while mouthing platitudes about decolonisation, etc.
That earlier generation were formed ,before the current government arts funding system came fully into being.
That generation were neither created by or shaped by the culture of the ‘ official’ alternative arts academy .
But
The generations that have succeeded those early generations might still dress in humble patched jackets but their coats are all lined with the finest ermine.
“The percentage of members of visual arts committees who also received grants was 30.3 percent..”
Interested in three things
how many committee members were there in total ?
Total number of individuals who received a grant?
And what was the total number of individual applicants for grants ?
My understanding is that the vast majority of applications for a grant are unsuccessful.
I’d also hazard that the total number of committee members is fairly small -perhaps a few hundred at most
Ie
30 percent does seem a very large skewing
The temptation for ‘ I got you this , you get me that …’ is obvious
Only joking John. Thanks for another very disturbing update.
Don’t forget the Brethren, they would be most suitable for an allocation of funds.
Or Hillsong. They're great fundraisers
Known now as "takers" as much as "givers"...
I’ll take that onboard John, hopefully it won’t sink me! 🤭
I'm still thinking of the Anglicans, with John Howard as commissioner
There’d be good scones and egg sandwiches
😊 or perhaps we could give the Primitive Bible Chapel a go ( they were a real splinter sub group of the Methodists )
I can see this thread of discussion could go on for a long time
😊personally I’d go for Byzantine Orthodox-it would be so “beautiful” and full with singing and no prose no “ statements “