As the world continues to spin increasingly out of control in recent weeks, there is little solace to found nearer to home and the state of the NSW arts ecology. I am by nature an optimist and often jokingly refer to myself as a Pollyanna, but I am having to work hard at the moment to hold on to by usual hopeful outlook. Our sector is unwell and it seems to be more than a winter sniffle.

However I would first like to comment on the new Creative Workplaces website by Creative Australia. Full of useful information and links to connect us all to the resources and assistance we need in keeping our workplaces in the arts healthy, legal and supportive, this website will certainly prove useful for us at RANSW where we are frequently helping people to find the right approach to dealing with a myriad of workplace issues, from paying artists superannuation to protecting intellectual property. While I applaud the way in which this website has pulled together this much needed information, there remains however a sense that the arts sector is unable to look after our workplace well enough because we are all working in positions that are underpaid. We are overworked and prepared to weather these challenges because of passion and commitment. I don’t think we are even close to solving this perennial problem of overwork and under-valuing in our sector, but it’s time that we take an honest look at the way it is contributing to a lack of wellbeing for arts workers. Nevertheless, I do recommend checking out the site: creativeworkplaces.gov.au

Meanwhile, I am still scratching my head at how the 4-year funding decision at Create NSW have left so much of our sector demoralised, disappointed, and in some case in existential danger. I recently heard it described as dehydrated. Rather than just feeling that we are having this done to us, I am trying to think of how we can contribute to solutions. How do we keep this complex ecology functioning through tough times? How do we make the case to convince the architects of this to recognise that they are letting down so many people through the under-funding of the Arts and Culture Funding Program (ACFP)? How do we get the current Minister to see beyond the creative industries to see the whole sector and the parts that have been neglected?

In the small to medium arts sector we are specialists in running on the smell of an oily rag, but that might not be enough in the current climate. As hard as I try to seek out innovative ways of keeping our arts organisations surviving through hard times, I feel we are running out of options. Will we refer in the future to the way the mid-2020s brought the demise of the arts in NSW? But what I do know is that we are stronger if we support each other, call out the problems that need to be addressed and remember to be kind to the people who have had to apply difficult decisions in a sector that they would prefer to be nurturing. Together, through resourceful leadership, we have to find ways to keep this complex arts ecology growing.