Australia’s Arts industries are experiencing the largest changes since the establishment of Arts funding.  While South Australia anticipates an $8.4million cut in State funding over the coming four years Victoria has pledged to increase funding by $115million over the same period. In August 2014 the City of Sydney launched a ‘Cultural Policy and Action Plan’ accompanied by a pledge of $34 million annually to support the ‘arts, culture and creative activity’ in Sydney while on Friday the 13th May this year the Australia Council for the Arts revealed that roughly 30% less small-to-medium companies will receive operational funding in 2017 than did in 2014.

It has become an increasingly turbulent and uncertain environment for artists and arts organisations. Many artists and companies are asking: How are the arts valued by society? How do we ensure some stability and sustainability in our relationships with Governments at local, state and Federal levels?

This seminar will discuss the role of Arts Policy in Government and its implications for the day-to-day lives of individual artists and our arts companies. It will look at the decision making processes of Government and the ways individuals and organisations influence change. With different Governments reflecting wildly different policies for the Arts, how do we navigate a path forward at this time?