Cut to the bone – the accelerating decline of our major cultural institutions and its impact on Australia’s national heritage and economy

This is the first in a series of three articles over the next few weeks that will link several topics – the critical nature of our declining cultural institutions, the importance of their international engagement and the power and fascination of China. This first one, ‘Cut to the bone – the accelerating decline of our cultural institutions and its impact on Australia's national heritage’, is an outline of the cumulative negative consequences for our national heritage of the ongoing and accelerating laceration of our major cultural institutions. The second, ‘Whatever the question, China is the answer’, is a preview of the important new exhibition about China at the National Library of Australia, ‘Celestial Empire: Life in China, 1644-1911’, and the third, ‘The Middle Kingdom’ is about the power and fascination of China in the contemporary world.

‘I always thought that long after all else has gone, after government has pruned and prioritised and slashed and bashed arts and cultural support, the national cultural institutions would still remain. They are one of the largest single items of Australian Government cultural funding and one of the longest supported and they would be likely to be the last to go, even with the most miserly and mean-spirited and short sighted of governments. However, in a finale to a series of cumulative cuts over recent years, they have seen their capabilities to carry out their essential core roles eroded beyond repair. The long term impact of these cumulative changes will be major and unexpected, magnifying over time as each small change reinforces the others. The likelihood is that this will lead to irreversible damage to the contemporary culture and cultural heritage of the nation at a crucial crossroads in its history’.

Cut to the bone – the last cut is the deepest
Only a week ago, I was previewing the new exhibition about China at the National Library of Australia, ‘Celestial Empire: Life in China, 1644-1911’. In this particular case I was writing about the involvement of just one of our national cultural institutions in something significant, closely linked to our future as a nation inextricably connected to Asia.

Opposite the National Museum of Australia - the major cultural institutions are central to saving our heritage and important for our economy but may need saving themselves.

I wrote at the time that I have often said that long after all else has gone, after government has pruned and prioritised and slashed and bashed arts and cultural support, the national cultural institutions will still remain. They may be leaner and badly damaged but they will still be there. They are one of the largest single items of Australian Government cultural funding and one of the longest supported and they would be likely to be the last to go, even with the most miserly and mean-spirited and short sighted of governments.

'Once again, the national cultural institutions have seen their capabilities to carry out their essential core roles eroded beyond repair – this time far more severely than ever before'

That was before the shameful excuse for strategic economic management called the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook was announced and, once again, the national cultural institutions have seen their capabilities to carry out their essential core roles eroded beyond repair – this time far more severely than ever before.

When universes collide – ‘Encounters’ exhibition at National Museum of Australia

‘The Encounters exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, a once in a lifetime event, makes you realise that astoundingly all this earth-shattering history happened only a few generations ago, so much so that descendants of the Gweagal, those first people Cook encountered, still talk about that encounter in 1770 as though it was yesterday. Despite the continuing concerns about the vast holdings of mostly looted cultural artefacts, the return of these objects, however briefly, will serve to emphasise how recently the British came to Australia, how much more we need to do to be fully at home in this country and how much part of a living, contemporary tradition Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are’.

I think the 'Encounters' exhibition at the National Museum of Australia is shaping up to be a once in a lifetime event. The first I heard of it was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Julie Power subtitled ‘Our Elgin Marbles Come Home’. The excellent article is well worth reading as it gives a sense of the significance of the exhibition and reading it really brought home what we have here.

Sydney Harbour with later additions in the background and in foreground original landscape from time of British arrival, with many rocks still bearing incisions and carvings by the original inhabitants.

The article mentioned that the exhibition would include two of the surviving spears stolen by Captain Cook’s crew from Gweagal inhabitants of what was one day to become Kurnell in Sydney. Together with 150 other objects from the British Museum they represent the oldest artefacts collected from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The article notes that the exhibition also includes more than 138 contemporary Indigenous objects, mostly from the National Museum of Australian own collection. Included are some that are quite new, adding a contemporary component to the exhibition and underlining how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are still very much ongoing and evolving activities.

Few generations ago
Astoundingly this exhibition makes you realise that all this earth-shattering history happened only a few generations ago, so much so that Gweagal descendants still talk about that first eight day encounter in 1770 as though it was yesterday.

Design for policy innovation – from the world of design to design of the world

‘Design and the language of design is very broad – much broader than architecture or industrial or graphic design – the forms we are most conscious of. Design is also very much about processes and the development of concepts across almost all areas of human activity. This means it also has a high relevance to the development of policy to solve pressing social challenges, moving beyond the world of design to embrace the design of the world. In a highlight of DESIGN Canberra this year, respected Dutch presenter Ingrid Van der Wacht led discussion about the relevance of design to innovative policy – from local, highly specific policy to grand strategic policy designed to change whole regions and even nations’.

Design and the language of design is very broad. In some ways it is only its inherent practicality that saves it from veering into the nebulous. It is no accident that the crafty New Zealanders, who seem to understand creative industries and innovation far better than we, have long grasped its importance.

Design is much broader than architecture or industrial or graphic design – the forms we are most conscious of – and these are broad enough areas themselves. Design is also very much about processes and the development of concepts across almost all areas of human activity.
This means it also has a high relevance to the development of policy to solve pressing social challenges. In this area the discussion has moved beyond the world of design to embrace the design of the world.

Hotel Hotel foyer dazzles but design extends to another Canberra industry sector - public policy

These were just some of the many ideas grappled with in the nine days of DESIGN Canberra this year – only the second one to date after the inaugural event last year. Suddenly it has become like an inflatable mattress. Once you get it out of its bag you find you can’t deflate it enough to put it away again.

One highlight of the program this year was an invitation-only roundtable on design for policy innovation with Dutch presenter Ingrid Van der Wacht from the company FACTOR-I. The presentation covered some of the many ways in which design is relevant to policy – from local, highly specific policy to grand strategic policy designed to change whole regions and even nations. It was tailored for a range of policy-makers, including those from both the Australian and the ACT Governments.

From the start the organisers of DESIGN Canberra have been conscious of a unique strength of the event due to it being formulated and based in Canberra. This is the easy relationship with international design initiatives due to the presence of the many embassies in the national capital and the way this smooths the process of international collaboration and exchange. Ingrid Van der Wacht was present for the roundtable – and for a series of other talks and presentations – thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.