Arts Minister Steven Marshall has failed to seize the opportunity for change in the arts sector with his underwhelming response to the long awaited Arts Plan.
After consultation with more than 2500 people, the five year strategy proposed 45 changes to the sector – but none are funded and few are endorsed.
While claiming to accept all the recommendations, Steven Marshall uses weasel words to avoid taking bold action or investing in the arts.
No funding is allocated to the Arts Plan, and the threat of further public funding cuts now looms in 2021, with vague funding model changes flagged.
Ideas needing funding are met with only a promise to ‘consider’, ‘review’ or ‘investigate’, rather than act, including:
A new concert hall
A new black box theatre
Investment in regional and remote art centres
Greater funding for Country Arts SA
Creating a new semi-commercial digitisation business
Creating a Digital Cultures Fund and Matched Fund
Creating a dedicated Performing Arts High School
Offering TAFE learning modules for creatives and arts administrators.
The disappointing Arts Plan response comes after Steven Marshall slashed $31.9 million from the arts budget and demolished the peak arts agency ArtsSA to just 13 arts policy workers.
Quotes attributed to Shadow Minister for Arts Jayne Stinson
You’ve got to wonder why the Government’s invested so much time and money in an Arts Plan if it won’t fund it or commit to its ideas.
The lack of funding and action by the Government betrays the trust of arts leaders who invested their time, money and hopes in the Arts Plan.
The Arts Plan proposes ideas totalling hundreds of millions of dollars to fully realise – but will be nothing more than a wish list without government action and funding.
What’s worse than delivering no money – is the threat that already limited funding for our artists will be further reduced.
The Plan talks about wanting artist and organisations to become more financially ‘independent’ and ‘entrepreneurial’ – that’s code for less public funding for the arts.
Worryingly, the guillotine now hangs over the arts sector with a decision on a new funding structure kicked down the road to 2021.