The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.
MAJOR BOOST FOR AUSTRALIAN STORIES IN ARTS SECTOR
The Australian Government today announced an additional $3 million for a major initiative by the Australia Council to boost the creation and presentation of Australian Stories.
Australian Stories will provide support for the development of works of art telling distinctly Australian stories across all art forms by artists, writers, composers, and choreographers.
The initiative will benefit both the arts sector and communities in regional and metropolitan Australia through supporting artists and smaller arts organisations to work within communities to interpret, document and celebrate the images and stories of Australia.
Specifically, the Australia Council's funding boost includes $1 million for the small-to-medium arts sector, where many great Australian stories are nurtured. A well-directed funding boost in this sector will have far-reaching impacts in creating new material and building audiences.
The funding is in addition to the extra $5 million over five years announced in the recent Federal Budget to support small-to-medium arts organisations and to assist in the expansion of international markets for Australian artists.
The Minister for Arts and Sport, the Hon. Senator Rod Kemp, said the initiatives announced today are also in addition to the Australia Council's triennial base funding, which was renewed in the Budget at $398 million over the next three years (2004-07).
'Australian stories are unique,' said Senator Kemp. 'Their unmistakable mix of words, sounds and images describes what it is to be Australian. They are about our landscape and our people.'
Senator Kemp said the Australia Council had funded a wide array of iconic Australian works, such as the stage production of Tim Winton's Cloudstreet and performances by the Bangarra Dance Theatre.
'Works like these help us express our national identity to the world.'
In providing the additional $1 million to the small-to-medium sector, Senator Kemp said the Government acknowledged that this was an important element in the arts equation and recent industry studies showed the challenges many young companies face in developing new works and sustaining their markets.
Welcoming today's news, the Australia Council Chairman, Mr David Gonski AO, said the additional funds would be used to generate new Australian stories across a range of art forms.
'The extra funds will also help to underpin the vital small-to-medium sector where the Council has identified a number of structural issues,' Mr Gonski said.
Mr Gonski said the Council would factor in these additional funds when deciding its overall budget priorities for 2004-2005 at its next meeting in Canberra on June 17.
MELBOURNE
4 June 2004
Media contact: Richard Wise, 02 6277 7350 or 0438 204 554