Arts day delivers millions, with a bit of taxpayer help
Liz Hobday |
A national arts fundraising day run by federal agency Creative Australia has raised just over $2.26 million, but a big chunk of that money has come from taxpayers.
More than 330 artists and organisations participated in the inaugural AusArt Day on October 23 and the campaign officially closed on Thursday, with participants receiving more than 4600 individual donations overall.
“The inaugural AusArt Day achieved strong sector engagement and promising early results,” Creative Australia said in a statement.
But about half of the headline result of $2.26 million was government money that went to a small number of selected organisations.
In South Australia, the state government provided $800,000 to match private donations for Country Arts SA and the State Opera.
Creative Australia also allocated up to $450,000 in matched donations across nine more organisations, although the exact amount has not been disclosed.
Separately, the agency ran workshops and provided fundraising coaching, and spent $500,000 on so-called micro-grants to help participants make promotional content.
It all means the cost of AusArt Day to taxpayers may well exceed the amount provided by private donors.
Some organisations raised less than their micro-grant. In the Western Australian town of Geraldton, music not-for-profit Regional Sounds received a $5000 grant to raise money for a recording booth.
It made $1750 and has extended its campaign until mid-December, with the offer of a pop-up concert prize for locals who donate.
While Regional Sounds has not come close to its fundraising target, AusArt Day helped it develop campaign materials and a donations portal, said development officer Sarah Hinton.
“We wouldn’t have created this fund, if there wasn’t that push,” she said.
AusArt Day has been a success for dozens of arts organisations across the country, according to Creative Australia.
These include Adelaide theatre company Slingsby, the NT Writers Centre, Perth International Jazz Festival, Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre, Sunshine Coast Creative Alliance (SCCA) and the National Theatre in Melbourne.
“The focus was on testing the model and supporting participants to run successful fundraising campaigns,” said Creative Australia.
It’s hard to know how much of the money raised has actually come from non-government sources, or how much AusArtDay cost to run.
Creative Australia did not disclose the overall cost of the initiative, the amount of government donations, or how many organisations reached their fundraising targets, in response to questions from AAP.
AusArt Day was held towards the end of a tumultuous year for the agency, after it ditched and then reinstated the team it selected to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale.
More broadly, AusArt Day was launched during a cost-of-living crisis in an effort to encourage a US-style culture of arts philanthropy.
In the arts sector, many organisations have struggled to secure government funding as they contend with a hike in production costs.
The Australian Design Centre in Sydney is one stark example, with the organisation recently announcing its impending closure.
Having missed out on the state and federal funding it had relied on, the centre is $350,000 per year short of what it needs to keep the doors open.
After two major fundraising drives, it received a $5000 micro-grant to participate in AusArt Day – and raised $85.
The future of AusArt Day is under discussion, according to Creative Australia.
AAP
