Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst – the looming failure of arts support

With arts support continuing to shrink cultural groups need to hope for the best but plan for the worst – and build broad alliances – what’s happening in the arts and culture realm is just a symptom of what’s happening far more broadly.

In the slowly unravelling universe of arts and culture support, organisations – whether they be small arts organisations or the largest of national cultural institutions – need to think seriously about their future. They need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. This means developing strategies to survive the combination of drastic cuts and slow erosion already occurring and likely to continue into the foreseeable future.

Australia is not one country but two separate ones heading in opposite directions. One of these countries is heading into a future which is only slowly emerging from the mists created by deliberately ignoring or distorting science and the evidence it relies upon.

Strategic leadership in everything
This means strategic leadership like never before – something sadly lacking across the sector, particularly at the top end where this should be expected and demanded. The relatively limited and mixed response of large cultural organisations to the last few years of budget cuts is a clear sign of this. It should be a moment for them to drastically rethink what they do and how they do it, not tidy the edges.

Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities

Increasingly two critical things will help shape our economic future. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters, a development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications.

It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart.

Creative clusters connect disparate small business and creative individuals to mutual advantage - the way bridges bring separate parts of a city into contact.

In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. A recent important article by Anne Davies in ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ outlines this development and some of its profound implications.

Lies, damned lies and lies about statistics

I’ve said that the traditional saying about ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’, should instead refer to ‘lies, damned lies and lies about statistics’. Cuts to national arts and cultural funding, while relatively small each year, have a cumulative effect far greater than at first appears and, in the long run, will undermine the effectiveness of national arts and culture support. Where the real disastrous impact of these cuts will hit home is when we also factor in the impact of population growth. If anything, there needs to be an expansion of arts and cultural funding to service the growth

I’ve said before when writing about negative gearing and public policy, that the traditional saying about 'lies, damned lies and statistics’, should instead refer to ‘lies, damned lies and lies about statistics’. The sad truth is that statistics don't lie, only the people who use them - often to dazzle someone who doesn’t understand what the statistics are measuring and how. This means the lies, damned lies and lies about statistics are usually coming from the mouth of some politician or lobby group or spin doctor for the well-off. This is particularly the case during elections. In contrast to lies, damned lies and lies about statistics, there's analysis based on research that is actually related to reality.

Australia's population is growing rapidly - it adds another person every one minute and thirty seconds. The implications for public services, including arts and culture, are profound. 

'The sad truth is that statistics don't lie, only the people who use them - often to dazzle someone who doesn’t understand what the statistics are measuring and how'

In my article about cuts in national arts and cultural funding, ‘Smoking gun – the invisible cuts to national arts and culture funding’, I noted that the cuts, while relatively small each year, have a cumulative effect far greater than at first appears and, in the long run, will undermine the effectiveness of national arts and culture support. In my earlier article, ‘Cut to the bone – the accelerating decline of our major cultural institutionsand its impact on Australia’s national heritage and economy’, I looked at how this had affected our national cultural institutions.