December 2008
Keynes's vision for investment in culture and creativity for tough times
It is a remarkable reflection on the profound effect of the economic crisis that the name of John Maynard Keynes is once again being heard in the corridors of power. more >
Consultation on draft Indigenous art code of conduct
A draft commercial code of conduct for the Indigenous art industry is available for public comment. more >
Australia Council releases children in art protocols
The Australia Council for the Arts has released its protocols for artists working with children. more >
Censorship debate fires up arts in 2008
The story around Bill Henson and his controversial nude photographs of pre-pubescent children was undoubtedly the arts story of the year. more >
Cultural think tank to advise Garrett
Australia Council chairman James Strong, film school head Sandra Levy and gallery director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor are members of a new cultural think tank that will advise the federal Government on cultural policy. more >
Future support for literary infrastructure
The Australia Council for the Arts is improving its support for Australia’s literary infrastructure. more >
November 2008
Support for arts leaders of the future
Young people in the arts are the winners in the latest round of State Government funding grants. Culture and Arts Minister John Day said more than $90,000 had been given out in grants to fund activity for, with and by young people aged 26 years and younger working in a variety of artforms. more >
Contracts outlining conditions for artists working with kids
Visual artists who want to work with children and who apply for government funding for their projects will have to sign a contract agreeing to a raft of conditions, according to the Australia Council's draft protocols for working with children. more >
Henson works could be culled as old laws surface
Bill Henson has broken the law. So has every artist in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia who in the past few years painted or photographed a naked child. more >
Draft children in art protocols released
The Australia Council for the Arts today made a consultation draft of its protocol for working with children in art available for public comment. more >
October 2008
Garrett hits bung note on funding
One of Australia's leading classical music schools is threatened with closure, following notice from federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett that its funding will cease. The Australian National Academy of Music has been told that funding of $2.6 million will stop this year. more >
Australia Council reaffirms commitment to arts in education
The governing body of the Australia Council for the Arts has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the creative arts in the national education curriculum. more >
Arts and disability strategy for comment
A discussion paper on developing a National Arts and Disability Strategy was released by Cultural Ministers Council. Submissions are open until 3 November 2008. more >
Australia Council is partner in $4.7m boost to new arts research
The Australia Council for the Arts will be an industry partner in three prestigious arts-related research projects funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). more >
National arts and disability strategy
The Council Minister’s Council (CMC) has agreed to develop a National Arts and Disabililty Strategy which is about giving people with a disability a greater voice in the develoment of arts policy and practices. more >
We're being resold down the river: artists
Australian artists have waited years for a resale royalty scheme, but many were left disappointed by the model unveiled by the Federal Government. more >
Artists to benefit from Resale Royalty Right
A resale right for Australia's visual artists is expected to be in place by 1 July 2009, Arts Minister Peter Garrett said today. more >
Arts marketing resources for research hub
A range of arts marketing resources are now available from the Australia Council's research hub. more >
September 2008
The royalty treatment
Tough legislation will guarantee artists a fair dividend when their work is resold. more >
Code on child depiction in art moving closer
The Australia Council is grappling with the shape of protocols for the depiction of children in artworks. more >
Archer slams 'profit-driven' policies
The concept of 'cultural industries' is threatening to engulf the arts and diminish their importance. more >
August 2008
Creativity, policy and practice discourses
UNESCO Observatory on Multi-Disciplinary Research in the Arts has released a call for papers for volume 1 issue 3 of its E-Journal on ‘Creativity, policy and practice discourses: productive tensions in the new millenium’. more >
Funding cut hurts arts, institutions
Federal Government budget cuts are hurting smaller public bodies, including arts and cultural institutions. more >
Australia Council invites public comment on children in art protocols
The Australia Council for the Arts invites submissions from individuals and organisations who wish to comment on issues surrounding the depiction of children in art. more >
Arts management journal becomes free and goes international
The Asia Pacific Journal of Arts and Cultural Management is now available online for free and is accepting articles from outside the Asia-Pacific region. View the journal at http://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/ARTMJ more >
Literacy, numeracy and now 'visuacy' for schools
School students should study Picasso alongside pictures of Elle Macpherson's underwear as part of a recasting of visual arts education away from traditional forms to include images of all kinds. more >
Garrett announces $37.5m in Indigenous arts funding
Nearly 250 Indigenous organisations will get a share of $37.5 million in federal arts funding. more >
$37.5 million in Indigenous Arts and Cultural Support
Arts Minister, Peter Garrett and Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin today announced more than $37 million in funding for Indigenous arts, cultural, languages and broadcasting programs across Australia in 2008–09. more >
National review of visual education released
A new report, First We See: The National Review of Visual Education, provides a vision for the visual education of Australian students into the future. more >
Govt's got arts funding wrong: Kosky
Famed theatre director Barrie Kosky believes Australian politicians are ignorant when it comes to arts funding. more >
Ethics code on Aboriginal art to deter fraud
The Rudd Government yesterday took its first step to clean up the Aboriginal art sector by supporting a national ethics code that aims to deter carpetbaggers and fraudsters. more >
Australian Government responds to Senate Indigenous Arts Inquiry
Arts Minister Peter Garrett has today tabled the Australian Government’s response to the 29 broad recommendations outlined in the Senate Inquiry Report Indigenous Art: Securing the future. more >
Australia increases spending on culture
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show total government spending on cultural activities has increased. more >
July 2008
Books Alive opens new chapter for Aussie readers
The nation’s largest annual promotion of books and reading promises Australians an experience they won’t be able to put down. more >
Artists to develop child-art protocols
Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett, has written to the Australia Council and Screen Australia, asking them "to develop a setof protocols to address the depiction of children in works, exhibitions and publications that are recipients of government funding". more >
Buyer beware
The law protecting cultural heritage is no longer serving the interests of Aboriginal artists, the international promotion of Aboriginal art, or the market. more >
Nude girl magazine gets M classification
The Classification Board has given an unrestricted M rating to an art magazine featuring a nude six-year-old girl on the cover. more >
Australian arts 'asphyxiated'
Soprano Lisa Gasteen says the arts are being asphyxiated in Australia and she is not surprised by Adelaide's failure to restage the Ring Cycle. more >
Launch of Dance Plan 2012
The Australia Council for the Arts and Ausdance today launched the Dance Plan 2012 - a four-year action plan for the Australian dance sector. more >
Silvertails not only ones with whole lot of art
The art galleries and museums of NSW are luring diverse crowds, particularly low-income earners, a study by Museums and Galleries NSW has found. more >
Guidelines plan in nude child row
The Rudd Government will ask the Australia Council to develop a set of protocols to cover the representation of children in art, after a taxpayer-funded magazine put a picture of a nude six-year-old girl on its cover to protest at the Bill Henson dispute. more >
Magazine uses nude photo as protest
A taxpayer-funded magazine has used a picture of a naked six-year-old girl on the cover of its July edition in protest against the treatment of artist Bill Henson. more >
Let's aim for the cultural omnivore
Rather than competing against one another to sell subscriptions and single tickets, perhaps arts organisations could work together to increase cultural participation. more >
June 2008
Report predicts social change for major performing arts sector
A new report from the Australia Council for the Arts predicts that major performing arts companies need to keep pace with economic and social trends. more >
National instrument bank launched today
The Music Council of Australia today launched the inaugural National Instrument Bank. more >
Local playwrights consigned to the small end of town
About 100 new Australian scripts or texts are being professionally produced on stages nationally a year, but smaller theatre companies are "taking the brunt of that new work", according to new research. more >
Evaluation of Orchestras Review: Request for tender
The Australia Council for the Arts invites tenders for an evaluation of the Orchestras Review 2005 funding package. more >
May 2008
Old funds for new worlds
Virtual worlds and computer games are not everyone's idea of art, but these technologies come into their own when you take into account it's not just what you see and hear but what you do and how you interact with them that creates the art. more >
Cate Blanchett calls on Prime Minister to soften Bill Henson art remarks
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's handpicked arts mentor Cate Blanchett yesterday co-signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to rethink his public comments about artist Bill Henson's work. more >
Performance hubs puts artists on the map
A groundbreaking new performing arts initiative will bring more independent theatre and dance works to the stage. more >
Creativity bides its time
This week's federal budget will do little to satisfy an arts sector looking for big-picture cultural policy and spending, despite a $103 million allocation for a new film body, Screen Australia, and $11.8 million for connecting young people with the arts. more >
Business hands out a cool $171m in gifts
Arts companies have attracted $171.1million in sponsorship and donations in the past financial year, according to the Australia Business Arts Foundation, in what it calls the first reliable tally of non-government funds. more >
Arts world delights in budget's great script
The Federal Government's first budget has been welcomed by the arts sector as a good start with its focus on education, emerging artists and on delivering on its election promises. more >
Resale Royalty Rights for Australia's Visual Artists
The Rudd Labor Government has announced $1.5 million over three years in the 2008-09 Budget to support the establishment of a resale royalty scheme for visual artists, Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett, said today. more >
New Initiatives for a Creative Australia
Creating opportunities for young and emerging Australian artists and an ‘artists in residence’ program for schools and universities are new arts measures in the 2008-09 Budget. more >
No one's too young for a play
Listen to the practitioners of theatre for children and you may be inspired to believe that theatre is not just a force for good, but that it can change the world. more >
April 2008
New website for Accessible Arts
Accessible Arts has launched its new website, with a wealth of information on arts and disability. more >
A truce in the culture wars
The government has an opportunity to heal some wounds and invigorate Australia's cultural outlook, writes cultural economist David Throsby. more >
Action plan could see jazz jumping
Sydney promoter Peter Rechniewski has developed a proposal for a national jazz plan after coming across the dance plan, which resulted in increased government funding for both the traditional and independent dance sectors. more >
Australia Council launches next wave virtual world arts initiative
The Australia Council for the Arts today announced its latest virtual world initiative – MMUVE it! – offering up to $30,000 for a collaborative arts project in any massive multi-user virtual environment (MMUVE). more >
Arts body poised for cuts
Staff cuts and a streamlined grant applications for artists are part of the Australia Council's $2million budget saving plan for 2008-09. more >
Culture Ministry idea floated at summit
Increasing access to the arts, boosting Australian TV content, and establishing a ministry of culture were the key policy ideas that emerged from the creative stream of the Australia 2020 summit. more >
When suits tread the boards
Arts companies are under increasing pressure to take care of business. more >
The importance of being creative
Actor Cate Blanchett, co-chair of the creative Australia stream at the government's upcoming national planning summit, sets out her views on the importance of creativity. more >
Economics and arts are tarred with the one brush
In the relationship between public policy and the arts: how does one legislate for creativity? We know our society is poorer without the arts, but what they provide is not always quantifiable. more >
Disabled dancers playing it safe
Restless Dance, South Australia's pioneering disability dance group, has set up a professional arm, where disabled dancers will be paid professionally for the first time in Australia. more >
Australia Council and ABC TV help artists go digital
A new strategic partnership between the Australia Council for the Arts and ABC TV will give Australians greater access to more of the Australian arts across ABC TV’s expanding digital delivery platforms. more >
Keith Khan's 'Leading Voices' presentation - audio now available
Keith Khan's Leading Voices talk on cultural diversity and the art of making creative cities is now available in MP3 audio format. more >
Peter Garrett’s arts policy
After eleven years in deep freeze, Australia’s cultural policy debate appears to be slowly thawing out. more >
Five things you should know: Federal arts policy
After eleven years in deep freeze, Australia’s cultural policy debate appears to be slowly thawing out. Ben Eltham examines the new agenda. more >
Arts sector plays new tune
Arts leaders have been attempting to change their tune in recent years, from subsidy-seekers to drivers of creativity and innovation. more >
Business-like arts a failure, says entrepreneur
Filling the boards of arts companies with business appointees has been a dismal failure that has stifled creativity. more >
Arts boost from public-private deal
Under the scheme, the State Government will match money that businesses donate to an arts organisation or individual artist over the next three years. more >
'We All Play a Part' Campaign Launched in Sydney
A coalition of national arts organisations and leading Australian artists today pledged to promote the part played by all Australians in making the performing arts industry a national and international success. more >
Campaign aims to boost performing arts
A coalition of performing arts groups has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at dramatically boosting community support for the sector. more >
March 2008
Professor explores innovative angles for funding
It's time to challenge 'long-held and cherished views about what it is to be an artist and what art is', Brad Haseman says, but that does not mean it is no longer worth pursuing art for art's sake. more >
Review of the Australia Business Arts Foundation
“This review is a critical component of the Government’s election commitment to investigate ways to
increase corporate support for artistic practice,” Minister Garrett said.
more >
Australia Council to consult further about Indigenous key organisations
The Australia Council's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts board chair Dr Chris Sarra today announced the board would extend to September 2008 its consultation with the Indigenous arts sector about proposed changes to the Indigenous key organisations funding program. more >
Arts promises looking shaky
While one sympathises with Garrett's lack of ministerial experience and the imperative of keeping inflation in check, it would be ironic indeed if Labor was to prove just as economically rationalist in its approach to the arts as the much criticised Liberals. more >
Pub music may dry up after copyright rise
THE variety of music played in pubs and nightclubs could be drastically reduced, or replaced by live music, as the Australian Hotels Association looks at ways to sidestep a 1400 per cent increase in the copyright payment for recorded music in venues. more >
Major performing arts sector consolidates steady growth
Australia’s 29 major performing arts companies continue to show steady growth across key financial and artistic indicators, according to the latest report from the Australia Council for the Arts. more >
Garrett keen to nurture creativity
Federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett has declared a 'brand new day for arts and culture'. more >
Burning Midnight Oil For Australian Art
Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett admitted that arts funding would face a budgetary reduction, but told Cultural Ministers Council members that the arts would have a strong voice in the government. more >
The state of the arts
We in the arts have always argued that they are "good" for people. They add to humanity, create the conditions for a civil society, encourage tolerance and ways to deal with new ideas, encourage empathy and analysis. The economic rationalists said bah humbug, show us your tangibles. And so we have. more >
February 2008
Guides to help do the right thing with Indigenous culture
The Australia Council for the Arts has released a fully revised second edition of its protocol guides to help Australians better understand the use of Indigenous cultural material. more >
Australia: a nation at risk
Why is culture important? Is it because the cement of social cohesion, like friendship, is the bond of common experiences? more >
Blanchett to chair culture forum
Actress Cate Blanchett will chair a discussion group on the theme 'Towards a Creative Australia' at the 2020 national summit planned for April. more >
Culture vultures: Rudd razor gang targets capital's top institutions
The government's 2 per cent efficiency dividend has slashed the budgets of national cultural institutions. more >
Turning creative in a digital world
Arts grants and prizes contribute to promoting and supporting new media arts, though they remain scarce. more >
Code bolsters Indigenous artist protection
Aboriginal artists will have more commercial protection with the finalisation of a National Code of Conduct on Indigenous Art. more >
Fable of the cultural elite
In an international survey for a research project, Oxford sociologists John Goldthorpe and Tak Wing Chan have found that the fabled cultural elite is just that: a fable. more >
Creative Local Communities: Cultural Vitality and Human Rights
The UNESCO Observatory on Multi-disciplinary Research in the Arts has released a call for papers for Vol 1, Issue 2 of its e-journal. more >
Arts governance: survey shows report is off beam
Governance of arts boards has been somewhat overlooked in recent studies of organisation and board governance. more >
Song and dance about the arts
THE economic potential of Australia's artists, performers, filmmakers, designers and architects will never be realised until the wider community appreciates its culture, according to the chief executive of the Australia Council for the Arts. more >
January 2008
Visual arts denied role on world stage
Our sporting and screen stars might be widely known, but how do Australian artists rate internationally and what is being done to promote them? more >
Sustainable future will come only from new sources of finance
A call for an endowment for the arts in Australia: a future fund financed through a special tax incentive linked to corporate and individual investment. more >
Arts Alive celebrates its 550th episode!
Celebrating its five hundred and fiftieth episode, Arts Alive is an integral fixture in the Australian community broadcast milieu. more >
Scrapping funding for culture 'beyond belief'
Just as other countries, those in our region included, are ramping up programs designed to project soft power, the Rudd Government has decided to scrap Australia's. more >
Theatre company rejects grant that's 'not worth it'
A national theatre company has rejected a $750,000 grant from the Australia Council, saying it does not make business sense to accept the money. more >
December 2007
Theatre companies join forces to go the distance
Changes in funding policy now strongly encourage partnerships, be they co-productions or co-presentations. more >
Time to let the cultural desert bloom
The new government starts its term with a relatively blank canvas on the arts and it is not yet clear how, or even if, it will be filled in. more >
A global perspective on communities and memories
A global selection of speakers are confirmed for Memory of the World 2008, the policy analysis and strategic review meeting that aims to set the agenda for the management of cultural resources. more >
Garrett gives back to the arts
Has the arts community got ahead of itself? Excited by this week's announcement of the $300,000 annual Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Australia's cultural community wondered, what next? more >
Ain't no sunshine when the grants are gone
Tensions between the arts-as-business model and the arts-as-welfare model are impacting on the arts sector. more >
I'll take the recycled, light-green one please
This fuel4arts special report explores global retail trends for artists and designers. more >
Australia Council's music board now on MySpace
The music board of the Australia Council for the Arts has launched its own MySpace page. more >
Waiting for Labor to fill in the background
The incoming arts minister says Labor supports the arts, but artists are yet to see just how much. more >
November 2007
New Minister For Environment, Heritage and Arts
Former rock band front-man, now politician, Peter Garrett, was today given responsibility for Environment, Heritage and Arts in the newly elected Australian Labor government. more >
Multiculturalism
Aboriginal history has become part of the Australian story. But the histories that immigrants bring to this country remain largely excluded from that story. more >
Look to creative industries: economist
Richard Florida: Australia should look to creative industries if it wants to develop into an Asian economic powerhouse. more >
Top author warns of arts neglect
Bryce Courtenay says whichever party wins the upcoming federal election, they are likely to neglect the arts. more >
Arts industry applauds Labor funding pledge
The Australia Council has welcomed a promise by the Federal Opposition to provide more funding for the arts in areas outside major cities. more >
Nation 'too parochial' to engage
The director of last year's Sydney Biennale, Charles Merewether, has departed for a plum job in the United Arab Emirates, using the occasion to launch a scathing attack on the visual arts in Australia. more >
The arts of being a doctor
There is an increasing awareness that doctors also need to know about medicine's place in arts and literature. more >
October 2007
Arts funding
Podcast: In this podcast, presented by Amanda Smith, Marcus Westbury argues that new art in Australia isn't getting enough funding, and old art is getting too much. Begins at 10 minute mark. more >
Annual Report 2006-07
The annual report is a report on the operations of the Australia Council for the 2006-07 financial year. more >
Australia Council welcomes more Ozlit in NSW schools
The Australia Council for the Arts today welcomed moves by the New South Wales Government to strengthen the study of Australian literature in primary and secondary schools. more >
Mozart cover bands rake in the moolah
An overwhelming amount of arts funding in Australia goes to organisations that either exclusively or primarily play 'high culture' covers. more >
The art of imagining a greener future
Promoting sustainability is more than just facts and figures for one educator. more >
Council develops platform to lead
PETER Garrett's comments about the Australia Council in The Australian last Thursday ("Refresh creativity at the wellspring") are made in the context of an imminent election campaign, but they are a stimulant to the discussion about the importance of the arts as a vital part of contemporary Australian society. more >
Refresh creativity at the wellspring
THE Australia Council is the right vehicle, but it needs a serious tune-up, argues Peter Garrett. more >
Smaller arts companies benefit from big funding boost
More than 113 small to medium performing arts companies will benefit from an extra $4.8 million in Australian Government Budget funding. more >
Coming soon: Culture Wars II
As the federal election approaches, the arts will mark a point of difference between the two big parties. more >
September 2007
No room for no-hopers
IN A recent Saturday column in The Courier-Mail, Des Houghton revealed a curious fact about the Australia Council for the Arts. more >
Winds of change at funding groups
NEW leaders are rethinking the arts and business. more >
Request for submissions: UNESCO Observatory E-Journal
The Observatory is calling for articles in the field of Popular Art, Architecture and Design for the second issue of the refereed e-journal due to be published late 2007/early2008. more >
Labor arts policy slated
The opposition's plan to introduce a 'paint-for-the-dole' scheme for artists living off welfare has received a 'shellacking' from the Treasurer. more >
New program provides platform for green design
One hundred small environmental design companies will have the opportunity to build their business through the Australian Design Platform. more >
PM neglected art from the start: Garrett
truggling artists without regular paid work would be given improved access to social security support under a Labor government. more >
Arts council must be held accountable
A missile fired by Kathy Keele, chief executive of the Australia Council for the Arts, showed just how much of a secret state we have become. more >
The art of giving
Donations worth $15 million to three competing galleries were announced last week. more >
August 2007
Osama, where art thou hanging?
Priscilla Bracks -- whose work has Jesus Christ morphing into Osama bin Laden -- is another artist to show "courage" by mocking the one faith too nice to hit back, Andrew Bolt writes. more >
Equipping Artists for Business
The two peak organisations will be collaborating to develop a website to assist visual artists with professional and business skills. more >
Tough critic has choice words for all
Norman Lebrecht wonders why the arts in Australia are treated like a child with disabilities. more >
Cultural Tourism Taking the Driver's Seat
Cultural tourism is taking on a new dimension, particularly for those who live in regional areas. Increasingly, audiences are looking for ‘something extra’ in their cultural experience – not content to sit back and travel the passive road of arts and culture, visitors are taking a right hand turn and are now keen to actively engage. more >
Art in Australia: asking for a chance
Peter Garrett believes we are on the cusp of a cultural renaissance in Australia. more >
Multicultural Arts Symposium
The Australia Council has hosted a one-day symposium on multicultural arts. more >
Money for nothing is artistic fiction
Some might say almost $300 million per year in State Government money for the arts is a waste of your money. more >
The respectable word that fell in with the wrong crowd
"Culture" used to be the word used to describe activities such as listening to Bach or going to the theatre and art galleries. more >
Time for the arts to go boom
We are constantly hearing that the economy is booming. more >
MULTIMEDIA - Lion Pig Lion
30 Sec TVC for the production of Lion Pig Lion showing at the State Theatre Company, South Australia. Produced by Fusion. more >
Australia Council introduces 'The Story of the Future'
The Story of the Future is a strategic initiative that aims to develop Australian writing and narratives for digital media. more >
Australian Literature in Education Roundtable
The Australia Council hosted a roundtable on the study of Australian literature in schools and universities. more >
Bishop creates Aust literature position
The Federal Government has announced funding for a new chair in Australian literature at an Australian university. more >
So-called artful dodgers most likely just a tardy lot
The Australia Council has rejected newspaper reports that $20 million in grants was squandered on projects that were never completed, stating the figure was "false and certainly gave false impressions. more >
July 2007
A right of resale? Indigenous art under the hammer
In light of Sotheby's auction of Indigenous art, it is surely time to re-open the policy debate in Australia as to whether Australian artists - especially Indigenous artists and their families - deserve a right of resale. more >
Book promotion spreads the word on reading
Australia’s largest promotion of books and reading, Books Alive 2007, will encourage more Australians to discover the joys of reading over the coming month. more >
Publishing seminar examines digital future
Over 100 publishing representatives attended the Australia Council's Publishing the Story of the Future seminar. more >
Australia Council for the Arts to co-host virtual artists' forum
The Australia Council for the Arts, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), will host its first ever artist forum in Second Life. more >
June 2007
Aboriginal Artists are conned into selling their works
An official inquiry may recommend increased powers for authorities to crack down on the shady dealers who prey on Aboriginal artists. more >
Less 'kultcha', more creativity
The international presence and profile of Australian culture has been allowed to fade with a huge cost to the nation, writes Steve Dow. more >
Australia Council forms National Indigenous Arts Reference Group
The Australia Council for the Arts has formed a National Indigenous Arts Reference Group to provide cultural insight and expert advice for the development and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts programs. more >
Expressions of interest for arts and health demonstration project
The Australia Council for the Arts is seeking expressions of interest from artists, arts organisations and health organisations to develop an arts and health demonstration project. more >
May 2007
Australia Council Announces Online Residency
The Australia Council for the Arts is to fund a collaborative artist residency in the 3D online virtual world of Second Life. more >
NEW ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM TO FAN INNOVATION AND RENEWAL
The Beattie Government has announced a new funding program for small to medium arts organisations to further strengthen and develop this vibrant component of the arts industry. more >
Australia Council affirms commitment to reconciliation
Australia Council CEO Kathy Keele has affirmed the Council’s commitment to the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan by 30 December 2007. more >
Building Bridges to the Arts, Culture and Community
Multicultural audience development expert, Donna Walker-Kuhne, will visit Australia in June to present a series of lectures and workshops. more >
Theatre Funding Consultations Continue
The Australia Council for the Arts has released a follow-up to its 2006 discussion paper on theatre funding, ‘Make it New’. more >
Australia Council hails big wins for the arts in Budget
The CEO of the Australia Council, Kathy Keele, has hailed some “very positive outcomes for the arts†in the annual Federal Budget. more >
April 2007
Business urged to help arts
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake says business should start directing its generosity to the arts instead of sport. more >
Young artists embark on epic career development opportunities
The Australia Council is getting set to provide five young and emerging producers with professional development opportunities in dance or new media art. more >
High-tech battle against fakes
Can a new labelling system stop fraud in Aboriginal art? more >
Proposal for an indigenous art database
The federal government should adopt a national online database system to crack down on indigenous art fraud, a Senate committee has heard. more >
Shake-up behind closed doors
Two months into her new job as Australia Council chief executive, Kathy Keele needs no convincing of the importance of small to medium arts companies in Australia more >
New market development director to join Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts has recruited a Canadian, Ms Sandra Bender, to the new position of Director, Market Development. more >
March 2007
Australia Council Releases Report on Arts and Education
The Australia Council’s new partnership with the Queensland University of Technology's ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) has borne its first fruit. more >
Australia Council Says MMM
The Australia Council’s Maker to Manufacturer to Market (MMM) initiative is entering its third year. more >
More SCOPE to life after dance
A world-first Australia Council program will assist Australian dancers to better plan and manage their professional careers. more >
February 2007
Australia Council Mentoring Program On Again
Young Australian artists looking to set fire to their career have until 6 April to apply for the Australia Council's annual national mentoring program for 18-26 year-olds. more >
Australia Council Mentoring Program On Again
Young Australian artists looking to set fire to their career have until 6 April to apply for the Australia Council’s annual national mentoring program for 18-26 year-olds. more >
January 2007
Hopes for Brandis as breath of fresh air
Calling one's prime minister a "lying rodent" shows considerable courage and flair - two qualities admired by the arts community. more >
Australia Council Hosts Writing Workshops
The Australia Council will host a series of seminars and workshops over the course of 2007 designed to help develop Australian writing and narratives for digital media. more >
Australia Council Welcomes New Arts Minister
The Australia Council for the Arts has welcomed the new Arts Minister, Senator George Brandis SC, to the post. more >
Australia Council Base Funding Renewed
The Australia Council has had its triennial base funding renewed by the federal government. more >
Teaching English bardly
The Bard may soon return to Queensland schools as the Federal Government considers making Shakespeare compulsory for English students. more >
Australia Council Looks to Help Dancers
Together with the Australian Sports Commission, the Australia Council for the Arts has launched a unique program designed to provide professional development services for Australia’s dance artists and choreographers. more >
December 2006
Queensland museum worker off to Washington
Queensland museum worker Bernadette McCormack is off to Washington DC. The Visitor Experience Manager at The Workshops Rail Museum was this week declared the winner of the prestigious Queensland – Smithsonian Fellowship. more >
The face of the national cultural scene is changing
Faces are changing rapidly in the arts, with the formal announcement yesterday of key appointments at the ABC and the Australia Council. more >
New CEO for the Australia Council
The Executive Director of the Australia Business Arts Foundation, Ms Kathy Keele, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Council for the next three years. more >
New CEO for the Australia Council
The Executive Director of the Australia Business Arts Foundation, Ms Kathy Keele, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Council for the next three years. more >
Venezuela's Magnum Opus
For 31 years, an ambitious state program aimed at instilling a love of classical music in children - particularly poor children - has drawn the admiration of conductors from as far away as Berlin and Boston. more >
November 2006
Program to Boost Regional Theatre
The Australia Council for the Arts has launched a $600,000 initiative to encourage theatre production in regional South Australia. more >
Program to Boost Regional Theatre
The Australia Council for the Arts has launched a $600,000 initiative to encourage theatre production in regional South Australia. more >