We have recently been busy with many of our network getting in contact with us for advice and assistance as they grapple with the changes in NSW arts funding and the outcomes of the 4-year funding round. The outcome of this round is still under embargo, but recent conversations set me thinking about why some good organisations have missed out in this recent round and are now having to apply into the 2-year round. It seems that the underlying problem isn’t just who is performing well or not. Nor is it necessarily Create NSW’s new funding system. It seems that there just isn’t enough money in the NSW government’s funding system to support the arts ecology as it currently works.

Over the coming months we will certainly be spending more time looking at how arts organisations can investigate and implement some alternative approaches to staying afloat, but before we get to that, I think it is worth trying to understand more about where the government places its priorities and why the arts just doesn’t figure prominently. Those of us that work in the sector are deeply committed to the value of the arts, but we need to be honest about the fact that to the average punter – or politician – the arts is not seen as a necessity. It is an optional extra in many people’s eyes. Right now the NSW Government is more concerned about how to pay doctors than keeping arts organisations solvent and it’s difficult to argue against that. But it is time to stop seeing the arts as the least justifiable of areas needing funding support, the area that is the go-to for funding cuts and austerity.

We have the arguments about how the arts contributes to the cultural, social and economic wellbeing of the community, yet we are losing this battle to position the arts to be respected and supported. Nor have we recovered from the effect that Covid had on our sector. So here a few points to get started:

  • The contribution of cultural and creative industries was over $122bn (pre-Covid figure) and yet receives less government support than other comparable sectors.
  • Most Australians (84% pre-Covid) acknowledge the significant positive impact of arts and creativity.
  • While the arts is recognised for its positive impacts, understanding the negative impacts of not having the arts is one of the strongest reasons for ensuring support.
  • Measuring the arts in terms of how many people attend events is a poor measure of effectiveness. It does not measure the depth of impact. It does not recognise that an event in a small regional village that garners an attendance of 100 people might have just achieved an attendance rate of 50% of the population. A project with only 6 participants may have just completely changed those people’s lives in far-reaching and meaningful ways.
  • The arts help our communities to be cohesive, to recover from loss, to find their way back to wellbeing.
  • As well as the significant economic benefits within the cultural and creative sector, the arts and creativity makes an important contribution to helping other sectors thrive.
  • The arts help us to articulate our identity. They educate us, move us, soothe us and challenge us.
  • Australian creativity can act as a ‘soft power’ engagement tool with the rest of the world.

Regional NSW is a better place because of the arts. Current times are presenting funding challenges, so we need to build our body of evidence that can assist us in advocacy. At RANSW we will be doing more work on creating a comprehensive picture of how the arts is funded and why it presents value, at the same time exploring what a diversified income can look like for us all.

– Tracey Callinan, Regional Arts NSW CEO