Having had the headache of talking to the local council, thought I'd just rant here among friends. I feel that the art budget at local government level (no matter the country you are in) isn't high enough. Not every kid is going to be playing football or whatever sport, some have interests that are outside the athletic. It would be great to see art programs that targeted at risk youth, or activities that got kids on the verge of dropping out of school - staying in it. (I confess to wanting to see the local culture of my home town - Wyndham - shine. We have a tonne of talent, just not the targeted initiatives to see them through.) It seems to me, that ART from a local government perspective, has to be a sculpture to attract any form of spending. But spending a random amount each year on sculpture alone is not really doing anything for the arts community, or the community in general. All it does is get locals get ticked off and only a handful of people (the material suppliers) see anything of value. Communities as a whole need culture centres, and a range of arts - to brings the community together, something residents look at in pride (they may not "get it" but they get its home grown). And just because its an arts budget, does not mean it should be in a silo. Working hand in hand with other things, it can be used to address serious social and economic issues. The arts, in general, provide an outlet for the soul. In some cases it can express something that needs to come out, but for the artist - could not be expressed in any other way. Sorry guys, but am I wrong?
Anything Goes : Local Government (or City Council) Art Spending... by Tony Hooper
Local Government (or City Council) Art Spending...
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Agreed on all points mate but maybe it's about cutting out local govt altogether? Perhaps creating an initiative that is community driven and then maybe dragging them into the picture at a later date. Food for thought.
I've discovered from personal experience that grants given out for putting on plays for example, don't encourage groups to make a profit. If you make a profit you have to refund the grant. It's like getting punished for being successful. Somehow we have to make art in a commercial way that earns money to keep going, like any other business. I did attend a seminar back in 2004 thrown by Australia Business Arts Foundation which was very interesting but I wasn't ready for that then. Maybe that should happen yearly. It was about big business giving something back to the Arts Community, even if it's only advice. Did you ever get something like that in Sydney?
I do think we need to be business savvy. And Laurence, couldn't agree more. It just seems to me that unless your building a sculpture, you won't see a penny of support. This is not to say that money should be shoved out the door, just that a solid business case of how the sculpture/painting/installation/film/performance is best suited to meeting the needs of the community.
And a yearly event as Clorine described by the Australia Business Arts Foundation would be fab .
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I still have all the paperwork from ABAF so might try to get in touch with them sometime soon.