Sector Dispatch
Sector news and advocacy from PACT’s CEO
Sector Dispatch #3: 8 July 2025
Rarely are the arts front-page news in Australia but the last week has seen the sector repeatedly in the headlines – albeit not for great reasons!
Analysis and opinions are still shaking out after the release of the review into Creative Australia’s handling of the Venice Biennale commission. I join many of my colleagues in rejoicing in the reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino; but I also agree with arts critic John McDonald who wrote yesterday that the wealth of commentary has overshadowed a “far more troubling topic… the NSW government’s systematic undermining of regional arts.”
In the most high-profile example of the recent Create NSW cuts, three out of four regional public art galleries lost four-year funding (eek, glad I wasn’t in that meeting!).
It could be said to be an assault on the regions, but it appears that nothing so coordinated is behind the axing. Established galleries from Mosman to Penrith, our friends at Firstdraft and the Australian Design Centre also missed out on funding.
Neither is it just about the visual arts, or who was or wasn’t funded. It is increasingly murky just who the “winners” of NSW’s funding program are… Many four-year funded orgs are receiving brutal cuts, like PACT’s 50% cut on already bare-bones funding, or otherwise “funded to fail” while being congratulated on our success.
Just what went wrong? Where is the money going? (or, dare I say, what was remotely faster, simpler, or fairer about Create NSW’s new approach?)
Whether it is because of a dramatic increase in spending for one-off festivals as the SMH postulated this week, or capital project spending as John McDonald claims, there is undeniable unease about the lack of transparency in how funding was allocated beyond the peer assessment process and concern for the catastrophic hollowing out of the sector that is ahead.
The Minns government has committed to passing on savings from the recently announced staff cuts at Create NSW to frontline arts and culture programs, a promise I hope they honour. But given the haphazard way in which the new funding program has been delivered so far, will it be too little too late?
Until next time,
Justine
Sector Dispatch #2: 29 May 2025
Since the NSW government announced the outcome of organisational 4-year funding last week, it has become clear that many well regarded and important orgs in the sector received cuts or received no funding at all. As I’ve been hitting the pavement around town, I get the sense that there is a feeling of deep concern about what is coming down the line (I’m with you, people)...
In these times, one of the things I can offer is a viewpoint from the ground as I go about my work advocating for artists and supporting sector knowledge building. I take this part of my role seriously and will therefore be writing to you regularly this year in a series of ‘dispatches’ as I navigate the halls of (albeit low-level) power. I recognise that PACT’s most important stakeholders are our community of artists and supporters, and I will keep you all updated with as much openness as I can.
Just after emailing you the other day to let you know about PACT’s 50% funding cut and the lack of response from the Arts Minister’s office… we got a meeting! We really appreciated the opportunity to put PACT’s case to Minister Graham’s Arts Advisor and the acting CEO of Create NSW.
The most important message we wanted to get across is PACT’s role in the sector ecology – that providing a sustainable level of support for PACT is supporting the 370+ artists that use our venue each year (amazing!) and the many other organisations that rely on our facility and our hardworking technicians (go team!).
We know that PACT is one of the only remaining theatres that is affordable enough for artists and companies in the small-medium sector to engage with; 65% of the greater Sydney performing arts organisations funded in the recent 8-year and 4-year funding rounds use PACT for development and performances (humble brag) – and that figure doesn’t even include annually funded orgs, NFP orgs, community groups and, of course, individual artists.
PACT is the place where you get to try things out – make, renew, experiment, experience as a creator and audience member. We’re here for artist, artform and sector building – and we have been for almost 61 years.
The meeting was… in their own terms, “disappointing.” While they love PACT (aw shucks, we’re so loveable!) they could only say that the funding program outcome is decided by the peer assessors.
The larger impact of this funding round – what appears to be a shrinking sector despite an increase to the arts budget – is not something they would comment on, although there will be an upcoming review of Create NSW’s new funding program which will be open for feedback (of which there will be plenty). There is more work to be done to understand how this result has come about.
We also met last week with our other stakeholder investor the City of Sydney, and were buoyed by their knowledge of our work, informed concern for the sector and their offer to have more internal discussions about the situation.
The current fiscal, political and social environment is tough at the moment, it can feel like we are getting pummelled from all sides. But, to our emerging artists, I want to reiterate ARTMAKING IS VALUABLE. Remember that the Australian public (stats show) value the work you do! And the social context always fuels incisive, important art for our times.
In the meantime, PACT continues to overflow with community and artists treading the boards… the fight is not over and we’ve got artmaking to do!
Until next time,
Justine
Sector Dispatch #1: 22 May 2025
Yesterday the NSW government announced the recipients of its 4-year funding program for organisations.
Although we at PACT were lucky enough to gain multiyear funding (yay us!), the amount we received is less than half of our current annual funding (booo).
We recognise this was a super tough round and that many of our colleagues in the sector are facing hard decisions. The level of funding we received will make it extremely difficult for PACT to deliver the level of arts opportunity and service to the sector that we have been, that we put forward in our application to the NSW government, and that our other main stakeholder the City of Sydney expects from us.
We wrote to Minister John Graham on 29 April but so far, we have had no reply.
As an organisation with a sixty-year history championing young people in the arts, we cheered Minister Graham's recent announcement about how he wants more young people on arts boards – but we really wish his vision extended to support for, you know... the next generation of artists and the orgs who nurture them.
Until next time,
Justine
