ArtsPay has launched a major new report on the state of arts funding in Australia, and the role that the ArtsPay Foundation can play in helping build a sustainable arts ecosystem in the future.
Much has already been written about the impact of the pandemic on Australia’s arts and cultural sectors and the factors that led to the current crisis. Turning Point? Arts funding in Australia today and tomorrow seeks to add to the already extensive body of work by drawing on the expertise and lived experiences of artists, arts administrators and arts funders interviewed over a period of six months for this project, which was generously funded by the Australia Council for the Arts.
In total, more than 35 individuals were interviewed. This includes First Nations artists, artists of colour and artists with disability. Interviewees who took part in this project were posed a number of broad questions:
1. What are the major issues with arts funding in Australia today?
2. What are the barriers to accessing that funding?
3. What role could The ArtsPay Foundation play in filling these gaps and breaking down these barriers?
Overwhelmingly, three key themes emerged. They are:
1. It is near impossible to make a living as an artist in Australia.
This was unanimously agreed amongst all of the individuals interviewed for this project, and is considered true no matter what stage of your career, or your art form. Comments from interviewees included:
“Without a doubt, the biggest problem in the arts is secure work.”
“In the arts in Australia, precarious employment, unpaid work and short-lived careers are the norm.”
“Artists in this country are used to living one paycheck away from poverty.”
“As artists get older, it becomes a choice about whether to keep making art, or making a proper living.”
A 2017 Australia Council survey of more than 1,000 artists found only 19% of professional artists in Australia work in secure, salaried employment. This is consistent across all artforms. Without a living wage, many artists are forced to leave the arts and seek alternate employment.
2. Small arts organisations constantly struggle to survive.
Many interviewees raised the insufficient quantity of funding for small arts organisations as a major structural issue in arts funding in Australia, and the impact this lack of funding has on the artists they support, and their staff, many of whom are artists themselves. Comments included:
“The way we fund the small to medium sector simply doesn’t pay for the work we produce.”
“There is not enough funding for core expenses - just keeping the lights on.”
“Philanthropy wants to only pay for projects too - not core operational funding.”
“Project funding is so short term - just a year - and you spend more time administering the grant rather than doing the work.”
3. Some groups are excluded from arts funding entirely.
Overwhelmingly, interviewees made clear their view that grant funding, from both public and private sources, is inaccessible to many groups for a range of different reasons. According to the Australia Council, there is,
“No doubt that we have not achieved equity in our arts. Australia’s arts and culture do not yet reflect the diversity of our people.”
“Why do only white people get to be artists while people of colour are Uber drivers and delivery drivers?”
“Communities of colour are always working in scarcity and struggling.”
Over time, The ArtsPay Foundation has the potential to become a major new source of support for artists and small arts organisations, helping to mitigate some of the issues outlined in this paper, make COVID a turning point in the way we fund arts in Australia, and help ensure we have a vibrant, thriving arts sector for generations to come.
To read the full report please visit: www.artspayfoundation.org