Page 3512 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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ArtSound also operates a parallel private internet radio network service in 12 retirement villages. The government has also placed restrictions against the threat of defunding if the ArtSound board is not comprised of people independent of artistic involvement in the station or people in any way contracted to or remunerated by the station. That is an infringement of human rights as well as the rights of the members of the organisation to serve on the board. The board has conflict of interest policies in place to deal with any such instances.
ArtSound’s constitution and the licence conditions set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority are such that board compositions should be drawn from the membership and include a diverse range of appropriate skills. Under its broadcasting licence, ArtSound cannot open itself to a situation where the ACT government could be seen to be in a position to dictate, either directly or indirectly, the way it constitutes its board or the nature of its programming.
This is the sort of regime this minister runs. The problem, of course, is that we do not know where we are going, and you can see that from the failure to commit to stage 2 of the Belconnen Arts Centre—something I know you are very much in favour of, Madam Speaker—or, indeed, to deliver on its own arts policy framework.
It was interesting, in discussion with many arts groups over the last couple of months, and indeed through the estimates process, how many people were unaware of how this is to be delivered. There is no strategy and there is no funding. There are no targets and there are no time lines. What we have are some principles, and then they say, “This is being done by some programs.” But where is it taking us and what does it do?
It is interesting that, for instance, in another publication, Art Cities of the Future—and wouldn’t we all aspire to Canberra being an arts city of the future?—there is a fabulous quotation from Jane Neal about Cluj. “Where is Cluj?” you may ask. Cluj is in Romania and it has a population of 309,000. It is a bit smaller than the ACT. It has almost 50,000 students, so it is quite a lot like the ACT. And it has the same problems that we have. It is seen often as a small regional city and not up to the big boys like Sydney or Melbourne. I quote:
As the current generation of Cluj artists were growing up, they knew—even at a subconscious level—that it would be much more difficult for them to achieve national recognition and success than their Bucharest counterparts. They felt they would always battle with the ‘provincial’ label.
And who has not, as an artist in Canberra, battled with that? It continues:
They saw the necessity of fostering a thriving community of artists in Cluj, and this was coupled with the understanding that to achieve fame and recognition they would first have to break into the international market and receive validation that Bucharest’s art taste-makers could not ignore. These twin goals combined together to provide a fertile environment for artistic exchange and development.
Are we that brave that we want to see Canberra in the next edition of Art Cities of the Future published by Phaidon Press? You do not see that sort of aspiration in the arts
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