Footscray-based Western Edge Youth Arts and Snuff Puppets are among many established western suburbs arts groups that have failed to secure four-year funding through the Australia Council for the Arts.
Arts groups are being forced to slash programs and projects after missing out on vital federal funds, with Footscray Community Arts Centre the only group in Melbourne’s west to gain from the current round.
The former arts minister George Brandis’s decision last year to rip $105 million out of the annual pool distributed through his controversial Catalyst program forced the arts council to slash funding to small-to-medium companies and groups.
Western Edge Youth Arts general manager Sally Farr said there had already been a dramatic drop in the number of federally funded youth arts companies across Australia because of Senator Brandis’s focus on established companies, such as The Australian Ballet.
Ms Farr said it would be four years before Western Edge could re-apply for ongoing funding, leaving it in a vulnerable position.
“I’ve been a general manager in the arts for 20 years and I have never witnessed a change at the federal level that has had such an impact,” she said.
“The undermining of the Australia Council in this way is appalling and shows the whole reason they have been at arm’s length.”
Ms Farr said the cuts to youth arts failed to recognise the positive social impacts of groups such as Western Edge through their engagement with vulnerable youth.
“We have helped a number of young people who were feeling disconnected and have helped them choose a different path.”
Election pledge
Labor last week announced a new arts policy, promising an extra $80 million over four years for the Australia Council – and an end to the Catalyst fund.
Opposition Leader and Maribyrnong MP Bill Shorten said arts funding “should never be a political plaything of the government”.
The Greens last week promised to reverse the cuts to the Australia Council and invest an additional $270.2 million in the Australian arts sector.
Greens arts spokesman Adam Bandt said a vibrant, well-resourced and independent arts community was core to any thriving society.
