Arts Advocacy Workshops
Concept
Late last year we saw the Arts Department abolished and arts lumped into a new category where "art" is not mentioned in the department title "Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications". During the pandemic we saw many arts institutions unable to see meet funding needs with the recent cuts to Australia Council organisational funds leaving nearly 1/3 of major arts institutions across the country unable to survive with their main source of government income abolished. A few months ago it was announced that fees for humanities courses nationally would skyrocket to double or tripple the previous fees, plunging art education student debt into insane levels and pushing arts education as something for a higher class bracket, not art education for all. As we head into a post pandemic economy, the strengthening of the sector becomes crucial, our industry is seen as one of the most unnecessary in the eyes of many political leaders and it's important to show the importance of the arts in the future, so we can work together to stay funded. These workshops are a follow on and hopefully inclusive of the brilliant NAVA online arts advocate workshops this year, and work to develop community mutual aid in the sector.
Our sector IS culture, is a key part of our life, DOES employ many people in various roles, and working to review it in the eyes of politicians and the public as something beyond indulgence and beyond a frivolous afterthought. On the importance of the arts, the public need to ask themselves, how would they survive through the pandemic without the arts? without shows? without film? without music? how would we get through this without the arts?
Installation
Heavy Participation
Roaming
Light Participation
Workshops
International
Previously Exhibited In
Wandering Arts Biennial
AI
Political Therapy
Fluxus
Dance Workshops
Political Therapy
Take Over
Arts Advocacy
Unlearning School
Fluxus
Wandering Biennial
Politics of Listening
AI
Fluxus
Political Therapy
Wandering Biennial
Take Over
Fluxus
Fluxus
Political Therapy
Unlearning School
Arts Advocacy
Wandering Arts Biennial
Politics of Listening
Dance Workshops
AI Workshops
Fluxus (USA)
Political Therapy (EU)
Unlearning (INDO, GER, FRA UK)
Wandering Biennial (BEL)
Dance (FRA, GER, SING)
AI (USA, INDIA)
Take Over (UK)
Take Over - For Sale version in Tate
Fluxus - Many major international galleries
Political Therapy - Manifesta,
Unlearning - Next Documenta with ZKU, Gudskul
AI - Venice Biennale
Audience
Artsworkers and supporters of the arts, benefactors etc.
Space
Workshop space, anywhere a group of people can chat. RSVP count to determine size of space needed.
Development
NAVA have put out a number of arts advocacy talks, interviews, workshops and other online events this year to teach artworkers how to develop and strengthen their skills as arts advocates. As such, NAVA and Ester (former Director of NAVA pre September this year).
Sarah Dahlinger from Flux Factory in New York runs "phonebank" sessions where she gathers people together to spend a few hours in the session making important calls to address and plead with politicians and various institutions to reconsider damaging policies. This kind of artivism can have direct impact and make a difference. It would be great to see a more conservative audience such as Perth become more involved in these kinds of activities.
Benefits
- Community arts support.
- Community arts solidarity.
- Community arts understanding from sociopolitical and economic perspectives.
- Chance for AGWA to share the new funding ethics model, obtaining funding outside of riotinto etc.
- Chance to regroup after the worst of the pandemic so far in Perth and have a thinktank discussion about a way forward from here as an arts community.
Challenges
- Getting artists to think outside of themselves, to think more in terms of their practice within a community of mutual aid beyond competition and beyond solitary individuals practicing art in a vacuum.
- Getting arts organisations to think more about their contribution within a community of mutual aid beyond competition and beyond solitary existence in a vacuum.
Accomodations for Covid
- Workshops can also happen via zoom easily as well as in person.