In an increasingly globalised world, Australian creative talent has been playing a leading international role for decades. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the Australian presence in the global film-making machine of Hollywood. One of Australia’s leading national cultural institutions has captured that phenomenon in a new exhibition about the role of Australians in Hollywood, celebrating iconic moments in contemporary Australian film and the people and stories that brought them to life.
Despite the wallowing by some Australians in insular inward-looking nostalgia and a backwards-looking yearning for a non-existent self-reliant Aussie past, for many decades Australian talent has been playing a central role in the global creative economy.
 |
| The front entrance to the National Film and Sound Archive |
Because the creative economy is based on content, it draws on, intersect with and contributes to Australia’s national and local culture and is a central part of projecting Australia’s story to ourselves and to the world – it help channel those who write the stories, paint the pictures and dance the dances that tell our story. As part of Australia's culture sector and the cultural economy that derives from it, it shares the critical function of managing the meaning of Australia and what being Australian means. It is closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.
Flight of the wild geeseIn my recent article, ‘Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent’, I outlined how in an era of global pandemic, many Australians seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians are travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs require it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future.
'Because the creative economy is based on content, it draws on, intersect with and contributes to Australia’s national and local culture and is a central part of projecting Australia’s story to ourselves and to the world – it help channel those who write the stories, paint the pictures and dance the dances that tell our story.’
A current exhibition at the most contemporary Australian national cultural institution of all, the National Film and Sound Archive, looks at the role of Australian acting, writing and directing talent in the Hollywood screen sector at a crucial stage in Australia’s growing engagement with the rest of the world. ‘Australians and Hollywood – a tale of craft, talent and ambition’ is on only until 17 July 2022.
Iconic Australia films
The exhibition is only on display in Canberra and celebrates ‘iconic moments in contemporary Australian film and the people and stories that brought them to life.’ The National Film and Sound Archive website notes that the exhibition features ‘beloved cinema moments, rare behind-the-scenes footage and costumes and props from the NFSA collection on display for the first time.’ It includes personal items liked to some of Australia’s most celebrated creatives in cinema, including Eric Bana, Paul Hogan, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, David Michôd, George Miller, Norma Moriceau, Mia Wasikowska, and more.
The exhibition outlines the creativity and craft that goes into making classic films. As the Film and Sound Archive explains ‘highlights include the customised steering wheels from Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015), spectacular costumes from Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) and The Sapphires (Wayne Blair, 2012) plus Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin’s art concept books for Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) and the clapperboard from the 2021 sci-fi epic, Dune (Denis Villeneuve 2021).’
 |
| Costumes from 'The Sapphires'. |
Telling Australian stories and Australians telling stories
Sadly
the Film and Sound Archive is looking somewhat down at heel in this new
world of declining cultural budgets – is this what almost nine years of
Coalition Government leads to? Yet, despite this, the Archive is still
closest to the central components of the engine room of our times – the
digital transformation of society and economy and the rise of content as
a defining feature of our era.
‘The
exhibition underlines once again the importance of our cultural
institutions in telling the story of our nation and of the diverse
peoples and cultures that make it up.’
The exhibition underlines once again the importance of our cultural institutions in telling the story of our nation and of the diverse peoples and cultures that make it up. Above all it highlights the way that in a world that – for both good and bad - is increasingly globalised, Australian talent and Australian training institutions make major contributions internationally. The global stage also offers crucial avenues for Australian talent to develop and shine, standing Australia in good stead when other aspects of our once-lauded international profile have become increasingly shabby and second-rate over recent years.
© Stephen Cassidy 2022
See also
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Cut to the bone – the accelerating decline of our major cultural
institutions and its impact on Australia’s national heritage and economy
‘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 accelerating decline of our major cultural institutions and its impact on Australia’s national heritage and economy.
‘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 accelerating decline of our major cultural institutions and its impact on Australia’s national heritage and economy.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet
‘The
recent exhibition 'Piinpi', about contemporary Indigenous fashion, has a
significance for Australian culture that is yet to be fully revealed.
The themes covered by the exhibition are important because they
demonstrate the intersection of the culture of First Nations communities
with creative industries and the cultural economy. In attempting to
address the major issue of Indigenous disadvantage, for example, it is
critical to recognise that one of the most important economic resources
possessed by First Nations communities is their culture. Through the
intellectual property that translates it into a form that can generate
income in a contemporary economy, that culture is pivotal to jobs and to
income. It may not be mining but it mines a far richer seam – authentic
and rich content that has already been recognised internationally for
its high value, just like our iron and coal. At a time when First
Nations communities are talking increasingly about gaining greater
control over their economic life, this is highly relevant’, Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet.
Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
‘When
we start to think about the economy of the future – and the clean and
clever jobs that make it up – we encounter a confusing array of ideas
and terms. Innovation, the knowledge economy, the creative economy,
creative industries and the cultural economy are all used, often
interchangeably. Over the years my own thinking about them has changed
and I thought it would be useful to try to clarify how they are all
related’, Understanding
the economy of the future – innovation and its place in the knowledge
economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy. Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘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. 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. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
No comments:
Post a Comment