The end of Canberra Arts Marketing...

I joined Canberra Arts Marketing THREE times over the years – using their official forms – and never received one single communication from them of any description.

MOst artist make minimal incomes, and most arts afficianados pay quite a lot to go to the theatre, symphonies etc.

Road users pay a pretty high amount of tax out of every dollar. Whilst this money isn’t directly put into roads, the users of roads pay more than their own way. The NRMA often quotes figures showing petrol excise is greater than road funding. And drivers pay stamp duty on vehicle purchasers, plus car rego, motor bike rego etc.

Last time I checked the arts community didn’t cop a penalty for every artwork or performance. Nor do they all get a torrent of subsidies, but a certain small select bunch do get subsidies. It is an industry where grant favouritism runs amok and it pays to suck up and abide by the tribal rules of the industry (eg: don’t criticise leading artists or dealers or conducters etc).

If roads are so good why don’t they pay for themselves?

The most pampered community of all – the “arts’

Kiddies with a hobby for which they expect the taxpayers to fund.

If it’s so good why aren’t the art luvvies falling over themselves to throw cash at it?

That’s it basically. Funded to get going, and for as many years as the govt feels like it, and then suddenly cut off when they decide to give the money to something else.

It’s a pity this time, cos CAM assisted lots of little groups with getting a bit of publicity for their events. And there is noone to take on that role I don’t think.

Government funding for arts is not managed like the bus service – at a continual loss.

Arts funding is provided to allow for a group to get up in the world, and then fly on their own, in what is (perceptively) a ruthless market.

Obviously they couldn’t fly, and the teat ran dry. I don’t see why the Government needs to continue to support lost or losing causes and I support their decision – if only they made such sensible decisions in everything else they did I doubt I’d have a problem.