4 August 2010

Time to have your say on arts in the ACT.

| johnboy
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[First filed: Aug 3, 2010 @ 11:09]

report cover

Jon Stanhope has announced the release of the Loxton review of arts in the ACT (with an intriguingly low-key cover for an arts report).

It’s a whopper at 189 pages and lacks bullet points to simply summarise, even the Executive Summary and Recommendations sections run to many pages.

The report recommends major restructuring of that way arts works in the ACT, so anyone with an interest is advised to get their heads around it and comment.

Submissions close 29 October 2010. Details are available online.

UPDATE:The Canberra Times has had a chance to dig through the detail and summarises thusly:

The Cultural Facilities Corporation would be dismantled, the Canberra Theatre Centre would operate as an independent entity and the shrinking Multicultural Festival would be restored as a professionally curated event.

These are among 114 recommendations made in the Loxton Arts Report issued for public comment yesterday.

The review by Sydney consulting company Peter Loxton and Associates, which was commissioned in September last year, also calls on the ACT Government to provide ”clear policy direction on the arts” and recommends cutting red tape and streamlining funding processes.

It suggests that despite some public concerns the Public Art Program be continued with a ”clearer policy on selection and placement”.

CFC Chair Don Aitkin has described the report as “disappointing”.

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Maybe the big tobacco companies should start funding the arts?

“Tonight’s presentation of Othello is brought to you by Winfield Red – look for the plain white box locked in a lead lined safe at your local supermarket”.

justin heywood7:37 pm 04 Aug 10

NeedHelp said :

just checked out the Peter Loxton website.

http://www.peterloxton.com.au/index.php

And boy, does that website need an editor!

Pommy bastard said :

Jim, if would they cease to exist, would it not be because they are not valued enough for people to support them?

Or would new models of supporting them not be found?

Art forms such as opera, classical music, ballet and arts festivals are extremely expensive to produce. Without government assistance, they would cease to exist. Are you saying that these sorts of art forms deserve to disappear from Australia because they don’t make a lot of money?

Is money the only form of value you acknowledge?

just checked out the Peter Loxton website.

This guy has had more short-term jobs than Frank Spencer.

http://www.peterloxton.com.au/index.php

Am I seeing things? 6.1.3 is used more than once, as is 6.1.4, but I could be drunk.

Numbering in this report is highly confusing. For example, where they have put 6.1.3, the sub-paragraphs should be lettered, eg (a) and (b), not numbered with 1. and 2. all over again.

Loxton are no experts in producing reports. It’s an utter mess.

How much did they pay this mob to collect a bunch of data that any perusal of this forum, BMA etc was already out there and to come up with the same conclusions that the local luminaries of the arts scene have been saying for years? Superb example of consultancy capitialism. You give them a couple of hundred grand and your watch. Then they tell you the time.

Pommy bastard4:52 pm 04 Aug 10

Jim Jones said :

Ballet, opera, classical music, national galleries and state galleries or arts festivals, writers festivals, are all dependent upon government funding. Without it, they would cease to exist.

I don’t *think* so. I *know* so.

The figures of arts funding in Australia are all available from the ARC, or you could see the policy work written by Jennifer Craik – freely available here: http://epress.anu.edu.au/revisioning_citation.html – which not only details how these are all dependent upon government funding, but also gives a good introduction to the jostling for funding.

Jim, if would they cease to exist, would it not be because they are not valued enough for people to support them?

Or would new models of supporting them not be found?

If your “Dio” tribute night was not financially viable, would it have got arts grants?

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Presumably the thorough debunking I provided, showing that ‘Indigenous specific’ isn’t ‘Indigenous extra’, wasn’t your concern either.

How simple life must be when you can plod along with blinkers on, and when something that might upset your narrow world view gets right in front of your face, you can just close your eyes and pretend you never saw it.

Your “debunking” consisted of the racist assumption that all aboriginal people would need to take up the aboriginal specific funding available, (thus assuming that no aboriginal person earns enough to do without or is self sufficient enough to do without extra government support) and therefore it would be spread thinly.
smoke and mirrors financial juggling to try and score points rather than address the issue of why so many young aboriginal men end up in the justice system.

You also ignored the more forthright views on aboriginals put forward by others, but homed in on my questions, is that another example of your racism, are you anti English as well?

In fact yo have offered nothing but unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, anecdotal views, and none of them have been on the topic at hand.

Can we now return this topic to arts funding, or do yo want to ruin this thread?

Ballet? Is that the bear in the little car?

Actually it makes perfect sense that someone with such a Black and White view of the world would see now need for art and culture.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Pommy bastard said :

As well as the fact that I have never stated that “positive discrimination (that) causes Aboriginals to commit more crimes,”, your inability to read what evidence I have already given (total spending on Indigenous-specific programs was $3.3 billion) isn’t really my concern, so why should I be bothered?

Try and keep your lies invective to the relevant thread, you may get more lucky there.

Easy Tiger, I am just after the facts.

You’re just asking simple questions, as a way of opening up debate, right?

Woody Mann-Caruso2:47 pm 04 Aug 10

your inability to read what evidence I have already given (total spending on Indigenous-specific programs was $3.3 billion) isn’t really my concern

Presumably the thorough debunking I provided, showing that ‘Indigenous specific’ isn’t ‘Indigenous extra’, wasn’t your concern either.

How simple life must be when you can plod along with blinkers on, and when something that might upset your narrow world view gets right in front of your face, you can just close your eyes and pretend you never saw it.

Pommy bastard said :

your inability to read what evidence I have already given (total spending on Indigenous-specific programs was $3.3 billion)

What’s that ‘evidence’ of?

Your views on what tax should pay for are pretty freakin’ weird: It shouldn’t go towards supporting the arts, it shouldn’t go towards attempting to assist indigenous people. Genghis Khan had a more enlightened view of the role of the state than this.

Pommy bastard said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Sick of bashing Aboriginals and need someone else to move on to?

Sick of coming up with unsubstantiated lies slurs, and need to spread the lies disharmony into unrelated discussions?

Jim Jones said :

So, what? No more ballet, opera, classical music, National Galleries or State Galleries, arts festivals, writers festivals, etc.

There will still be plenty of television for everyone to watch I suppose.

Do you really think they would cease to exist Jim? I don’t.

Ballet, opera, classical music, national galleries and state galleries or arts festivals, writers festivals, are all dependent upon government funding. Without it, they would cease to exist.

I don’t *think* so. I *know* so.

The figures of arts funding in Australia are all available from the ARC, or you could see the policy work written by Jennifer Craik – freely available here: http://epress.anu.edu.au/revisioning_citation.html – which not only details how these are all dependent upon government funding, but also gives a good introduction to the jostling for funding.

colourful sydney racing identity2:35 pm 04 Aug 10

Pommy bastard said :

As well as the fact that I have never stated that “positive discrimination (that) causes Aboriginals to commit more crimes,”, your inability to read what evidence I have already given (total spending on Indigenous-specific programs was $3.3 billion) isn’t really my concern, so why should I be bothered?

Try and keep your lies invective to the relevant thread, you may get more lucky there.

Easy Tiger, I am just after the facts.

Pommy bastard2:29 pm 04 Aug 10

As well as the fact that I have never stated that “positive discrimination (that) causes Aboriginals to commit more crimes,”, your inability to read what evidence I have already given (total spending on Indigenous-specific programs was $3.3 billion) isn’t really my concern, so why should I be bothered?

Try and keep your lies invective to the relevant thread, you may get more lucky there.

colourful sydney racing identity2:13 pm 04 Aug 10

Pommy bastard said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Sick of bashing Aboriginals and need someone else to move on to?

Sick of coming up with unsubstantiated lies slurs, and need to spread the lies disharmony into unrelated discussions?
quote]

Not at all – just got sick of waiting on the other thread for you to tell me about all the positive discrimination that causes Aboriginals to commit more crimes.

Pommy bastard1:35 pm 04 Aug 10

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Sick of bashing Aboriginals and need someone else to move on to?

Sick of coming up with unsubstantiated lies slurs, and need to spread the lies disharmony into unrelated discussions?

Jim Jones said :

So, what? No more ballet, opera, classical music, National Galleries or State Galleries, arts festivals, writers festivals, etc.

There will still be plenty of television for everyone to watch I suppose.

Do you really think they would cease to exist Jim? I don’t.

georgesgenitals1:17 pm 04 Aug 10

Jim Jones said :

Pommy bastard said :

The arts scene should be treated like any other minority hobby, and be self funding…

So, what? No more ballet, opera, classical music, National Galleries or State Galleries, arts festivals, writers festivals, etc.

There will still be plenty of television for everyone to watch I suppose.

TV can sell advertising space far more effectively than those other silly things you listed.

Pommy bastard said :

The arts scene should be treated like any other minority hobby, and be self funding…

So, what? No more ballet, opera, classical music, National Galleries or State Galleries, arts festivals, writers festivals, etc.

There will still be plenty of television for everyone to watch I suppose.

colourful sydney racing identity12:24 pm 04 Aug 10

Pommy bastard said :

The arts scene should be treated like any other minority hobby, and be self funding…

Sick of bashing Aboriginals and need someone else to move on to?

Pommy bastard12:17 pm 04 Aug 10

The arts scene should be treated like any other minority hobby, and be self funding…

I encourage everyone to submit a comment on the report and the importance of art in the ACT. Canberra should be a great place for artistic endeavour but as with the demise of the fringe festival, stanhope will keep dishing out sanitised static art at the expense of anything risque or out there! Come on people, lets get creative!

@kgit,

Head here, and click the link under stage two.

And why have “Indigenous arts” as a category sharing a header and topic with “disability” – as though being Indigenous is a disability?

Inconsiderate, uncaring and incompetent – where is the HTML version?

Does anyone have a working link to this online?

The one I’m following http://www.arts.act.gov.au/pages/images/Final%20Report%20by%20Peter%20Loxton.pdf is not….

JessicaNumber, the ACT Arts scene is neglected, but that’s not why the experts were imported. Having someone from outside depletes the risk of self-interested parties hijacking the research for their own interests, which is a higher risk here than it is in most of Australia because of our small population.

JessicaNumber11:58 am 03 Aug 10

Why does it take Sydney consultants to report on arts in the ACT? Have we been neglecting arts for so long that we don’t have any experts left?

Typographically, this document is the worst.

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