Recent times in the arts and in the world have started feeling a little too interesting, and not in a good way. Rather than dwell on all that is wrong in the world, I’m thinking today about what each of us can do in our own way to make a positive difference. For us at Regional Arts NSW it’s all about knowing that the work we do supports people in the arts and connects them. It’s about knowing that at RANSW we do our best to keep positioning the arts within a public discourse that recognises the value that our sector brings to regional communities.
Because we administer the Federal Government’s Regional Arts Fund through Regional Arts Australia, we get to talk with artists and arts-workers from all artforms about the work they are doing and what they are trying to achieve. Being a funding body is a privilege that we take seriously and we get great pleasure from seeing the work that comes out of both the project grants that we award annually and from the monthly small grants that happen each month reserved for those activities that arise at short notice. But funding is also a tricky area. The biggest downside as a funder is seeing the ideas and proposals that don’t get funded, especially when we recognise the merit and potential in those applications.
It is vital that, as a funding administrator, we comply with all the regulations attached to the public money that we are responsible for. We are proud to be able to contribute to our sector in regional NSW through managing these funds. Our project grants go through a rigorous process with a peer assessment panel. The independence of peer assessment panels and commitment to the decisions they make is an issue that has been widely discussed in Australia over the past month. At RANSW, we know that if we have a peer assessment panel in place we must be absolutely firm in our resolve to completely respect and uphold the process of their decision making. This has been the case to date and we are committed to ensuring that it will continue to be the case.
If I am honest, I am not convinced that peer assessment is always the best way to make certain funding decisions. There are times when a nuanced understanding of our arts ecology may demand other approaches to ensure a balance in meeting sector needs. However peer assessment has proven itself to be a robust and highly effective method of project assessment and Regional Arts NSW will always ensure that the decisions of our peer assessments panels will not be in any danger of being altered.
– Regional Arts NSW CEO Tracey Callinan