The notion of the arts as an industry dates in Australia from about 10 years ago with the beginnings of statistical data measuring the economic impact of artistic activity. ... (Response to this article by Anna Ward, Director of the National Association of Visual Arts also in this issue of Artlink.)
No matter what we say about furniture, it seems to have been said before. Small wonder that painting and installation attracts our writers more than furniture, when discourse about tables and chairs is confined to the rehearsal of so many grim platitudes. But if banality beleaguers the objects themselves, it is still more oppressively unavoidable in discussion of the unfortunate Australian industries of furniture design and manufacture.
Written by the co-ordinator of the past three ARX events which have taken place in Perth Western Australia. Four views on the exchange See also the articles by Vivienne Binns, Anne Kirker and Ian Howard in this issue of Artlink.
The arts community of Australia has weathered the recession extremely well. While shopkeepers are shutting their doors, factories are shedding their workers, and the average Australian contemplates life in the same house for the next five years, the average artist continues on pretty much as always.
Just recently I was giving a lecture to a large group of arts people when a person in the audience had a go at me for talking about the economy of the arts and not about art. I, too, am very conscious of the intellectual dilemma in this regard.
Interview format with Dr Poshyananda One of Four views on the exchange. See also the articles by Vivienne Binns, Ian Howard and Adrian Jones in this issue of Artlink.