Sparked by the Australia Council's apparently unilateral decision to "defund Craft Australia" it seems to be timely to attempt to bring to bear a more inclusive discourse relevant to the public funding of the contemporary craft and design sector within the broad church of Australian cultural production.
The Australia Council's act of 'defunding' seems to be careless about the cultural knowledge and cultural capital invested in the practices of cultural producers in this sector. Many cultural commentators would argue that 'craft and design' practices are of fundamental importance to 'Australian' cultural identity.
An alternative view has not been articulated in the Australia Council's decision and given the Council's role in nurturing and facilitating cultural production in all manifestations of Australian cultural realities, well it bears all the hallmarks of an arrogant disconnect in its extreme form.
1 comment:
The VAB decision and the way it went about it is extraordinary coming as it does out of the blue. In the light of recent events at QANTAS the extreme unilateralism raises a whole range of questions.
You would think wouldn't you that the Australia Council would be sensitive to people's employment security and prospects given that they have been operating in good faith.
It may be unreasonable to expect life long employment but a reasonable time to wind up a 40 year long operation would seem to be in order.
BUT there is more to this situation than that and there is much at stake that's being glossed over it would seem.
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