Arts Hub, Jo Pickup
23 Feb 2022

“The Federal Government’s largest arts funding program in recent memory is about to wrap up, with the announcement on its final round winners (now several weeks overdue) expected within days.

Executive Director of Theatre Network Australia Nicole Beyer says there is no doubt RISE has made a huge difference, but what’s needed now is more strategic investment.

‘RISE has shown what large scale grants can do,’ she told ArtsHub.  ‘It was created to fill an urgent need – for restarting arts and cultural activity. So it was the right program for the right time.

‘What we need going forward is absolutely that reinvestment in the arts industry, but it has to be for [sector] infrastructure,’ she continued, explaining that more sustainable government investment is needed for arts organisations, jobs and skills to ensure the sector’s future viability.

‘We’ve lost companies, we’ve lost jobs, we’ve lost skills, and we need those things to be rebuilt,’ she said. ‘So that’s where we need significant investment now, and it should go through the Australia Council, who are best placed at arms-length from government to deliver that kind of funding,’ Beyer concluded.”

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