My submission to Australia's National Cultural Policy consultation
Added 2022-08-22 07:25:33 +0000 UTCHi everyone,
I spent the bulk of this afternoon writing a submission to Australia's new National Cultural Policy.
Australia has effectively had no national arts/cultural policy since the last days of the Keating prime ministership in 1996(!) The reason for this? A series of conservative/neoliberal governments.
However, the newly-elected Albanese Labor government seems interested in implementing something that broadly fits the wishes of the arts industry. They have been consulting widely for the last couple of months, seeking input from artists and arts workers.
With the new arts minister seeming genuine about seeking input, I decided to make a submission about my views on being an artist, and the value of the arts to Australia. The three-page letter is attached with this post.
So it's a rather 'behind the curtains' statement about the finances of being an independent artist, but I thought I'd share with you, my Patreon supporters. After all, you are a huge part of the force that keeps me afloat as an artist.
Cheers,
Stuart
PS: my work continues on The Town Without Television. I will make a news announcement about that project in the near future, as well as two other projects that I have been quietly working on. Thanks for your patience!
PPS: if you are on one of my 'postcard' rewards tiers, I am very close to sending out my next batch of cards in the mail. Actually, I have already printed out the address labels for this mailout, so please message me if you need to update your postal address(!)
