International/National News

ART, POLITICS, MONEY: Revisiting Australia’s Cultural policy

By David Throsby, published in May 2018, Currency Press, Platform Paper #55
In his Introduction Throsby says, ‘In this paper I … re-visit the notion of a cultural policy, looking at the ways in which this concept has evolved in contemporary times. In particular, from my vantage point as an economist, I can reflect on the implications of what has been termed the ‘economisation’ of cultural policy that has been observed in the world at large over the last couple of decades. I then go on to consider the events and policy changes in Australia since 2006 that have affected the arts and culture under successive federal administrations. In a third section, I look in more detail at some major issues still unresolved, including the role of Indigenous arts, and the situation of the individual artist. Finally I draw some conclusions and make some recommendations on where we might go from here.’

Current issues include: ‘Indigenous art and culture; the role of the individual artist; International engagement; Cultural heritage; and also the Monitoring and evaluation of progress in tracking any policy.’