ARTS CUTS STILL BLEEDING

ONE of the Marshall government’s first acts when it was elected in South Australia in 2018 was to effectively dismantle Arts South Australia and to disperse its responsibilities to other departments. Arts funding was cut by $4.9 million in 2018-19, with further cuts of $31.9 million forecast over the next four years.

Given this context, there was relief across the arts sector when Premier Marshall announced an arts review—the first since 2000—led by respected arts bureaucrat Tony Grybowski, leading to the formulation of an Arts Plan for the State.

Artists and arts organisations enthusiastically prepared submissions and attended forums to express their views on how the arts should best be supported and developed. In April the SA independent dance sector urgently met to co-written by Dr Cathy Adamek from AusDance SA and Amanda Phillips from Dance Hub SA, in consultation with over 30 representatives from the sector.