We call on all voters to elect candidates and parties who will support the arts. We call on the incoming Australian Government to support communities who wish to make and share art. Art is intrinsic to our humanity. Art sustained us through the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises. Art must be recognised and supported by the government rather than devalued, as it has been for many years.
We call on the incoming Australian Government to value the arts
* Increase funding through the Australia Council for the Arts;
* Increase funding through the Commonwealth’s Office for the Arts;
* Increase whole-of-government support for the arts;
* Implement a living wage or basic income for workers in the arts sector.
Everyone has a right to participate in the cultural and artistic life of the community. This right is enshrined by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Australia is a signatory to the Declaration and was instrumental in its adoption.
We call on the incoming Australian Government to:
* Increase support for community participation in the arts through significantly increased support for Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) and similar programs;
* Implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI) so that all Australians may make and share art if they choose while their basic needs are met.
Australian culture and art are grounded on the culture and art of First Nations Peoples in Australia.
We call on the incoming Australian Government to:
* Increase support for programs that develop and support the art and culture of First Nations Peoples;
* Increase support to appropriately represent First Nations Peoples in Australian art, cinema, mass media, and other cultural arenas;
Australia has been enriched by its cultural diversity.
We call on the incoming Australian Government to:
* Increase support for programs that develop the art and culture of culturally and linguistically diverse communities;
* Increase support to appropriately represent culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australian art, cinema, mass media, and other cultural arenas.
There is no art on a dead planet.
We call on the incoming Australian Government to commit to and face the challenges of global heating:
* Declare a Climate Emergency;
* End fossil fuel-based power generation and support sustainable alternative power generation;
* Ban Fracking;
* Support Art and Ecology initiatives, including dedicated Art and Ecology funding programs.
Darwin Community Arts, May 2022
