Top artists upset with ABC cutting Arts
Geoffrey Rush, Tim Winton, Peter Carey, Nick Cave and assorted artists all have a message for the ABC.
- Published by David Knox
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Prominent Australian artists have signed an open letter to the ABC in the wake of cuts to Arts progamming.
The Age reports they include include novelists Peter Carey (Booker Prize winner), J. M. Coetzee (Booker and Nobel prizes), Helen Garner (Walkley Award winner) and Tim Winton (Miles Franklin Award winner); Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and Adam Elliot; scientist and former Australian of the year Sir Gustav Nossal; Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle; musician Nick Cave; advertising figure Harold Mitchell; Edinburgh Festival director Jonathan Mills; and food industry figures Stefano de Pieri and Gay Bilson.
”We are deeply disturbed by ABC management’s plan to axe ABC TV’s only arts magazine program, disband the TV arts unit and divert resources to prime time, populist content in pursuit of ratings,” they write.
Earlier this week ABC Managing Director Mark Scott promised there would still be an Arts presence.
“Not only do we show – and will continue to show – a wide range of arts programs on ABC television, but we do the same on radio of course, and our rich and layered online arts portal as well,” he said.
12 Responses
And now no arts on the radio either. Sigh
@Kevin…..No way,slippery slope.I think that was the original idea for SBS and the idea got the flick soon afterwards.
Australia is, without doubt, one of the, if not the most artless counties on the planet.
Something to be proud of.
Yep, we are our proud our real estate is so overpriced – yep, Sydney more expensive than Paris, what a laughable joke – similar to having a Big Mac more expensive than a Michelin starred restaurant – it is only used an ego boost to say “hey we must be as important as NY, or Paris, just look at a real estate prices.” Talk about a form of masochism.
Designers, creatives, photographers, filmakers take heed – do what the rest of us do and get out of Australia ASAP – head to europe or the usa, cause australia is a Bogan orientated culture that is lacking such vast things in terms of art culture it is not funny (lets be real, there is No art culture).
Again, there are less galleries than 10 years ago and the “culture” we have is going backward.
If nations were a person we would surely be Paris Hilton – shallow, artless, culture less.
Time to give up on Australia and the world “culture”.
Lets face it, Aussies are artless
I don’t see anything wrong with the ABC running ads on all their 4 channels to raise funds, but only on condition that they’re run before and after shows, not during them.
It’ll be like BBC
Are any of the signatories to that letter regular watchers of the ABC’s original arts programming? If they are or were, fair enough. If not, shush. The problem is that no-one’s watching the stuff – it’s dull, patronising, exclusionary. That’s why it got the boot.
How about the government just cut the ABC as a whole.
Apparantly their “Arts” content will be imported arts documentaries from overseas..We want Australian arts docementaries!!
I am a (not so prominant) artist and I too find it disturbing as well. They may show Arts programming but it wont be made here from what I can tell.
The US love their art and I guess I will rely on their programs to get my quota.
I wonder how long it is before commercials start to appear , its bound to happen , as costs get dearer and budgets are cut this seems to be the way they will go.It will be a great shame the day this happens.
?!?!ABC still exists!!!