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BAD NEWS FROM THE RIALTO
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BAD NEWS FROM THE RIALTO

September 16 2013

In 1994 the hungry and hopeful of the Arts Tribe gathered in Canberra. Our very own Placido Domingo or, take your pick, Lorenzo de Medici, aka Paul Keating, aka the Coolest Dude ever to stalk the halls of Parliament House, had promised to re-enact the loaves and fishes and give us all a feed. Amazingly enough, it was exciting hanging about waiting in the a marquee - erected over the walkway that used to connect the National Gallery of Australia (then the Australian National Gallery) to the outside world.

Placido was late - apparently he was still crossing the Ts and dotting the Is to his satisfaction and wouldn't let the document go until he was happy with it. It was worth waiting for - a pretty thing, neatly bound and quietly gleaming. The cover was a William Robinson painting; one of those looking-up-into-the-trees-from-a-strange angle-landscapes; all greens and blues and distorted perspectives. The document was titled Creative Nation and it was a defining moment.

The defining moment occurred in the marquee in Canberra, of course, because there were no iPhones, WiFi, YouTube, no selfies, Instagrams - that's right! Nobody Facebooked or Tweeted their presence to one-up their non-attending mates. No instant communication or photos of any kind. So nobody else knew about it for hours - days even. How weird is that?

Mr Creative Nation talked that day about the performing arts and their importance to Australia, about making sure performance was made available to those not living in the capital cities and major towns. That was to be done through Playing Australia, first funded the year before by the Labor Government and now with more money to keep on keeping on. He also talked a lot about the new-fangled techno stuff that was about to become the next big thing: mixed media it was called and it was going to be so cool. 

It seemed like we were in on the dawning of the next phase of Labor-led arts and cultural growth - the kind of thing that Gough Whitlam and Don Dunstan had championed and which changed the cultural and artistic landscape for all Australia, not just the practitioners. We were excited, we were full of hope for the future.

However, the real and lasting effect of Creative Nation was not one that could have been anticipated by Paul Keating, nor anyone else present and it was disastrous. The trouble was, the Tribe got big ideas. From this launch and this little booklet, the Arts Tribe developed the fatal theory that it really mattered to the government, to the nation, to culture and to others outside the magic circle. Sadly this was not the case. Truth was, no one in government, aside from the Prime Minister, gave a toss about the arts. Never had, never would. And while Keating thought he could lead from the front, he under-estimated the power of intellectual indifference and sheer, bloody-minded boganism. 

BAD NEWS FROM THE RIALTO

For the Arts Tribe the actual train wreck occurred at the State Theatre in Sydney on the occasion of the pre-election "Arts For Labor" shindig. Although none realised it at the time. The arty-farty glitterati gathered to salute and support Placido and it was all just fabulous. The back-patting was contagious, the optimism epidemic - as Australia approached the Millennium it was as a nation whose creative minds were admired, loved, revered, funded and front and centre. Politicians could no longer afford to ignore the arts and artists. Huzza!

History relates, of course, that the election was a large bucket of very cold and nasty reality and the chill has never entirely gone away. Unfortunately, in so publicly associating themselves with Paul Keating, those leaders of the Arts Tribe and therefore by association, the Tribe itself, are tainted to this day. To be derided in private and ignored in public. More than that, it's now okay - even more than okay - to be a politician and openly not give a flying fig about arts and culture. At least Julia Gillard was honest and didn't attend anything more uplifting than the football, but the rest? They'll front up to a nice big musical, maybe, or if there are stars with whom they can be social-snapped. Otherwise - are you kidding?

In Sydney, the pollies who've been regularly and voluntarily seen in theatres and concert halls without having to be dragged by their better halves can be counted on the thumbs of two hands: Tony Burke and Bronwyn Bishop. Hard to imagine it's much different elsewhere across the country.

And today the incoming Cabinet has been announced with the news that Sport is now within the Cabinet room and will be taken care of by one of Tony Abbott's anointed (and very, very talented and able don't forget) men - Peter Dutton. In initial online reports in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian, the arts ministry (or whatever it's called these days) doesn't actually merit a mention. That's how it is. And it's not going to improve any time soon.

 

 

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