Tax reform for artists: exempting prizes and revising business rules
NAVA advocates for tax reform to exempt art prizes and grants from taxation and calls for removing inequitable provisions that unfairly burden artists navigating inconsistent and low incomes.
Counting Gender: The Countess Report’s urgent call for action
The slow progress in addressing gender equity in the visual arts emphasises the need for proactive measures to dismantle systemic barriers and promote diversity and inclusivity.
Fundamental change needed to improve artists’ working conditions
Presented to the Fair Work Commission as part of the Modern Awards Review 2023-24.
Statement from the Chair of NAVA
A call for representation, allyship, and agency in the wake of the referendum.
Modern Award Review: Opportunity to mandate pay and working conditions
The Modern Award Review was announced on 15 September 2023 and presents a significant opportunity to legislate pay for artists and arts workers.
Strengthening data on the arts
The importance of accurate data cannot be overstated, as it plays a pivotal role in shaping policies at all levels of government, regardless of political affiliation.
How risk aversion is impacting insurance for artists
Artists working at heights are the latest to be impacted by the hardening insurance market.
Structural transformation to support gender equity in the arts
Institutions must take on a proactive role to address challenges around how women and gender diverse people are represented and how their work is presented, collected and valued.
Supporting Racial Equity in the Arts
The new Racial Equity and Representation section in the Code of Practice demonstrates different ways in which issues of racial equity might be present, and the responsibilities of organisations and artists in addressing them.
Insurance policy backflip: NAVA wins and next steps
While the insurance win for NAVA Members is a great result, there is still more work to do to stay ahead of the shifting insurance landscape.
May Day 2023: Standing up for the rights of artists and arts workers
To celebrate May Day, NAVA shares an update of where we’re at with seeking an Award for the Visual Arts.
Hardening insurance market pricing out artists and arts workers
It is crucial that policymakers and insurance providers take necessary steps to ensure insurance is widely available and accessible to all.
Access Rights in the arts: A shared responsibility
Open and ongoing conversations about access is an important part of building and maintaining positive relationships between organisations, artists and audiences.
Artists with Home Studios Denied Insurance
Republished with permission from Artist Profile, Issue 61 2022
Outsourcing development of generic curriculum planning will disempower teachers
NAVA proposes developing a comprehensive map of resources to support art educators in delivering lesson plans that are relevant, contextualised and engaging to Visual Arts students.
Mandating payment standards necessary to sustain visual artists as workers
NAVA’s submission to a new National Cultural Policy consultation.
Instituting Care
A reflection on Precarious Movements: Precarity and Practices of Care for Dance and the Museum, a conference organised by the Precarious Movements research team.
NAVA responds to the Federal Budget
Image: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivering the 2022-2023 Budget at Australian Parliament House, Canberra. Screenshot from ABC News, 29 March 2022.
#BreakTheBias
International Women's Day, held on 8 March each year, is a valuable call to action for accelerating gender equity and safety in the visual arts and craft sector. Let’s take a look at recent projects that are critically engaging with gender equity in the sector.
Proposed changes to copyright laws pose threat to artists’ rights
NAVA concerned draft legislation may lead to increased instances of copyright infringement.
Omicron Struggle for Visual Arts - Pulse Survey data
Recent research by NAVA reinforces need for crisis funding for independent visual artists, a federally-backed insurance scheme and a new artwork fund.
Pulse Survey - Impacts of the Omicron wave on the Australian visual arts and craft
Illustration by Emily Johnson
A national insurance scheme is key to boosting visual arts sector confidence
NAVA continues to advocate for the creation of a national insurance scheme for visual artists, organisations and touring agencies impacted by exhibition cancellations.
Reopening Resources for Galleries and Museums
Is your gallery or museum planning to reopen? Access NAVA's free resources for a COVID-safe reopening.
Reading the roadmaps: the visual arts sector prepares
NAVA is listening to network leaders to better understand industry perspectives and processes as Vic and NSW prepare to reopen.
NAVA strongly encourages visual arts applicants for RISE Funding
Applications for the remaining $40 million in RISE Funding close 24 October 2021 at 23:59 AEDT.
Update from NAVA's Co-Directors
NAVA continues to raise the profile of the impacts of lockdowns and restrictions on the visual arts and craft.
Visual Arts in Australia - Pulse Survey
To best support you and your work, we need data. Please share your experiences of 2021 in this sector pulse survey.
Joint statement and call to action in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan
The statement requests that the Australian Government take immediate humanitarian actions to protect vulnerable Afghan people and their immense contribution to world cultures and heritages.
NAVA again calls for urgent crisis support for the visual arts sector
It’s time for the visual arts and craft sector voices to be heard alongside live performing arts and music.
Visual arts sector urgently requires crisis funding
Urgent measures are needed to ensure hard-hit artists and arts workers have access to vital financial support.
NAVA Members asked to join national survey
Image: ONE & ALL arranged on a smartphone by Ceri Hann.
COVID-19 Support Package – what we know so far
The government recently announced more support and thankfully sole traders and small businesses received a mention.
RISE Funding: NAVA info session recording and transcript
Recording and transcript of NAVA's RISE Fund info session by the Office for the Arts.
Fletcher’s “significant re-imagining of the Commonwealth’s approach to the arts” falls short
Image: Minister for the Arts Paul Fletcher, (background) Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty.
Fletcher’s “significant re-imagining of the Commonwealth’s approach to the arts” falls short
Image: Minister for the Arts Paul Fletcher, (background) Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty.
Visual arts sector far from recovery, NAVA survey reveals
Illustration by Emily Johnson.
Choose to Challenge
Image: Tamara Armstrong, Melanin Garden - A Portrait of Anisa Nandaula, 2019. Acrylic on linen, 64 x 80 cm.
Call on the government to #SupportArt through COVID-19
Be heard. Talk to your MP. Together we can make so much more noise.
Reset, Recreate
What's NAVA doing in 2021?
University cuts risk losing Australia's next generation of artists
Image: NTEU and Save Our Studios rally to save jobs and education at Griffith University. Photo by Cheryl Bronson, 2020.
Why are politicians failing to focus on who the pandemic has hit the hardest?
It is Australia’s first service-sector recession, and this should be reflected in the focus of our recovery and job creation programs.
The arts sector is already suffering. This year's budget just pours salt on the wound
The Coalition has demonstrated its lack of interest in helping a job-rich industry hit hard by COVID-19.
22 October 2020: Our chance to change public perception of the arts
The closing date for submissions to the Inquiry into Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutions is 22 October 2020.
Protesting arts funding: sensationalist and inaccurate
Claire Bridge and Chelle Destefano, What I Wish I'd Told You, 2020 with Haley Martin, Worimi and Daingatti woman, Too Loud, multi-channel video (video stills)
New Australia Council research shows that art is relied upon by millions of Australians
Image: TOY by All the Queens Men. Photo by Ben Vos Productions, courtesy of Australia Council for the Arts.
Creative approach crucial to economic recovery
Image: Esther Anatolitis presenting at In these critical times. Photo by Daniel Gardeazabal, 2019.
Amplify your voice
Image: Esther Anatolitis and Minister for the Arts, Paul Fletcher MP at Arts Day on the Hill 2019. Photo by Irene Dowdy.
Public Memory: The role and curation of commemorative monuments and public art
Image: Luke Currie-Richardson. Photo by Jamie Morris.
Public Memory: The role and curation of commemorative monuments and public art
Image: Luke Currie-Richardson. Photo by Jamie Morris.
Fact-checking the role of arts and culture in economic recovery
Image: Make or Break, Influence Operation (Campbelltown), 2019, curtains, LED tickers programmed with custom bots, office space, monitors, twitter feed, fortnightly ‘news hack’ sessions. Installation view at Campbelltown Arts Centre, 2019. Photo by Document Photography.
Finding a new equilibrium in an increasingly precarious world
Image: Kay Abude, WORK WORTH DOING, Castlemaine State Festival 2019, hand silkscreen on linen, dimensions variable. Project supported by a 2018 Arts Vic Grant from Creative Victoria, LaTrobe Art Institute, Shedshaker Brewery and Taproom and The Mill Castlemaine. Photo by Kay Abude.
More than enough: Balancing art and motherhood
Aseel Tayah is a mother, an artist and an activist. In this article, Aseel discusses the challenges of balancing all of these roles before and during social isolation.
More than enough: Balancing art and motherhood
Aseel Tayah is a mother, an artist and an activist. In this article, Aseel discusses the challenges of balancing all of these roles before and during social isolation.
COVID-19 Action: What have we achieved so far?
Image: Artists in conversation at a NAVA roundtable. Photo by Document Photography, 2019.
Why arts and culture should be the policy leader, not the afterthought, in economic crisis recovery
Photo by Tanja Bruckner, 2017.
Why arts and culture should be the policy leader, not the afterthought, in economic crisis recovery
Photo by Tanja Bruckner, 2017.
#CreateAustraliasFuture
Image: Giselle Stanborough, Cinopticon, Carriageworks. Photo by Mark Pokorny 2020.
Sacred Data
Poet, film maker and digital producer of Wiradjuri heritage, Jazz Money, examines the potential benefits and threats to Indigenous data sovereignty in increasingly digitised spaces.
Sacred Data
Poet, film maker and digital producer of Wiradjuri heritage, Jazz Money, examines the potential benefits and threats to Indigenous data sovereignty in increasingly digitised spaces.
'If our government wants cultural life to return, it must act now': an open letter from Australia's arts industry
Over 130 arts groups call on minister Paul Fletcher for urgent action over coronavirus hit to industry.
Top priorities for NSW’s next minister for the arts
Following the resignation of the New South Wales arts minister* due to his infringements of COVID19 public health laws, NAVA outlines the key priorities facing the incoming minister.
It’s ghostlights, not spotlights, for the industry hardest hit by COVID19
Image: Dean Cross, I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY, 2020. Installation view, Firstdraft. Photo by Zan Wimberley
It’s ghostlights, not spotlights, for the industry hardest hit by COVID19
Image: Dean Cross, I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY, 2020. Installation view, Firstdraft. Photo by Zan Wimberley
Today's office: how to work from somewhere else
A guide to managing your home office including tips on managing your wellbeing, negotiating rent relief, and tracking expenses that are tax deductible.
Art creates the future
Image: Luke John Matthew Arnold, Don't Cancel Creativity, 2020. Digital illustration.
Key levers in arts policy: the vexed question of operational funding
Lucas Ihlein, "The Audit Itself (so far)", created as part of "Environmental Audit", MCA, 2010. Chalk drawing.
Interview with Milo Tse: Hong Kong Artist Union 香港藝術家工會
In this interview NAVA spoke to Milo Tse of Hong Kong Artist Union about the challenges artists have faced in the current political landscape in Hong Kong, and the ways HKAU are supporting artists wanting to enact direct political change.
Take local action for national impact
Image: Peter Drew AUSSIE posters. Photo by Wade Whitington.
New models for new times
Image: Karla Dickens Mother's little helper, 2019. Installation view, Three Views, curated by Djon Mundine, historic Amoured Casemates, Georges Head, Mosman Art Gallery January 2020. Photo by Tim Connolly.
NAVA's submission: Religious Freedom Bills
Read NAVA's submission to the Religious Freedom Bills – Second Exposure Drafts, we welcome you to use this as a starting point for yours. Deadline 31 January 2020.
What’s in a name change? The invisibility of the arts to the national agenda
Join the discussion using #invisiblearts and let your local member know what the national visibility of the arts means to you.
End of the year, end of the decade
Image: Deborah Kelly 'My Sydney Summer' (2019 edit). Digital photomontage, size variable.
ARIs: What's Next for Artist Led Action?
(L-R) Hayley Pigram (Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative), Olivia Koh (recess), Robbie Handcock (play_station), Liam James (Sawtooth and Constance), Justine Youssef (NAVA and Pari) at Studio 65, Hobart. Photo by Lucy Parakhina.
Developing Arts Criticism Review
Reflecting on NAVA's recent conversation on developing visual arts criticism in Australia.
Photo by Gianna Hayes.
Education, professional development and lifelong learning
Image: Esther Anatolitis at NAVA's roundtable discussion on commissioning art in public space, RMIT, Melbourne 2018. Photo by Daniel Gardeazabal.
Artists respond to the climate crisis
NAVA asked several artists whose work deals directly and indirectly with the climate crisis to share their thoughts and ideas for our sector.
Q&A with Elizabeth Rogers
We caught up with Elizabeth Rogers, CEO of Regional Arts NSW about the upcoming Artstate Tamworth, 31 October - 3 November 2019.
Fair practice, fair pay, fair go
With the launch of the draft Pay Standards for Artists and Arts Workers for NAVA's revised Code of Practice, questions are being asked about what's fair?
What comes after Arts Day on the Hill?
Your personal commitment to build a relationship with an MP.Let's Do This
This week we’ve been in Canberra resetting the national arts conversation and forming some important new relationships – and, goodness me, it’s been a big week.
Change the Conversation From Surviving to Thriving
Bronwyn Bancroft, Time marches on, 2010 (cropped), mixed media. Courtesy of the artist and the Australian War Memorial.
Change the Conversation From Surviving to Thriving
Bronwyn Bancroft, Time marches on, 2010 (cropped), mixed media. Courtesy of the artist and the Australian War Memorial.
Cultural Authority and Consultation
When seeking to engage with First Nations cultural heritage on any project, it should be expected that you consult with the appropriate cultural authority at each stage of research, development and production.
Cultural Authority and Consultation
When seeking to engage with First Nations cultural heritage on any project, it should be expected that you consult with the appropriate cultural authority at each stage of research, development and production.
Exhale.
After the massive month we’ve all just been through, take the time to reflect on you this month. The season is cool and rewards cosy self-care. It’s so important.
Practicing Self-Care in the Arts
This guide provides some basic information and tips for practising self-care and maintaining good mental health.
Tips to Making a Genuine Commitment to First Nations and People of Colour in the Arts
Illustration by Emily Johnson.
Tips to Making a Genuine Commitment to First Nations and People of Colour in the Arts
Illustration by Emily Johnson.
Artistic courage
With the federal election coming up on Saturday 18 May, NAVA is calling on all parties to Invest in Artistic Courage.
Art and Economics
Bek Conroy, Dating an Economist, 2015. Luminary Arts, St Louis Missouri, USA. Credit: Brea McAnally
More Powerful Together
Image: Salote Tawale with Get to Work, as part of Making History by Barbara Cleveland (2016) commissioned for the 20th Biennale of Sydney The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed. Photo by Jessica Maurer.
Hopes, vision and fears
APHIDS co-directors: Mish Grigor, Eugenia Lim and Lara Thoms on their hopes, visions and fears in this election year, and their intent on working together as a reaction against a singular vision.
2019 in the arts: Get ready for a big year
Image: 'Grandstanding: A reconfigurable future' at MPavilion 2017. Photo by Bec Capp.
A Government of Artists
Image: Deep Soulful Sweats by Rebecca Jensen, Sarah Aiken, Natalie Abbott & Janine Proost, Next Wave Festival 2014. Image by Sarah Walker.
Arts sector calls for new Artistic Investment Framework to rethink and replace Major Performing Arts Framework
Sector organisations from across Australia are calling for a rethink of the Major Performing Arts Framework currently under review, following the recent close of submissions towards a national consultation.
2018 Reflections
Esther Anatolitis reflects on NAVA's year of advocacy and campaign work. Photo by Tanja Bruckner.
NAVA calls for new Artistic Investment Framework to replace Major Performing Arts Framework
The National Association for the Visual Arts today calls for the establishment of a new Artistic Investment Framework to replace the Major Performing Arts Framework currently under review.
Ambitious and Fair
What would it mean to be part of a contemporary arts sector that’s ambitious and fair?
ARIs setting the bar by paying artists
This month we’re focusing on what it means to be both Ambitious and Fair in the way we work in this industry. What are the sacrifices we’ve made and how are we working toward a thriving and supportive industry?
Q&A Blak Curatorial Exchange
NAVA talks to Blak Curatorial Exchange program mentors, Freja Carmichael, Jo-Anne Driessens and Amanda Hayman about some of the highlights of the program.
Q&A Blak Curatorial Exchange
NAVA talks to Blak Curatorial Exchange program mentors, Freja Carmichael, Jo-Anne Driessens and Amanda Hayman about some of the highlights of the program.
Strengthening the status of the artist
Image by Zandi Dandizette for CARFAC National.
Let's Champion Regional Arts
This month – with Artlands Victoria at its heart, and Artstate Bathurst following early in November – we’re focusing on regional arts and regional artists.
Q&A Ben Tupas
NAVA chats to Ben Tupas about LIT Festival and working in Toowoomba.
Q&A Grace Dewar
NAVA chats to Grace Dewar about the impact of the First Coat festival in Toowoomba its future.
Aleshia Lonsdale
NAVA recently talked with artist, Aboriginal Arts Development Officer of Arts OutWest and speaker at Artstate Bathurst, Aleshia Lonsdale.
Aleshia Lonsdale
NAVA recently talked with artist, Aboriginal Arts Development Officer of Arts OutWest and speaker at Artstate Bathurst, Aleshia Lonsdale.
A Code that Champions Best Practice
Ensuring that national best practice standards are well understood has become a matter of urgency.
Photo: Zan Wimberley
Buyer's Bias
Let’s talk about conscious and unconscious bias when buying at the art fair. Do you make a conscious effort to support marginalised or under represented artists? If you haven’t decided to, then why?
Q&A Cut Thumb ARI
NAVA chats with Lu Forsberg and Callum McGrath to discuss highlights of an ARI mentorship program held in Qld.
Black Art
Kurnai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman, Nayuka Gorrie draws on Beyoncé and Jay Z's new album to question the art of 'making it', for black bodies in white spaces.
Q&A with Carly Lane and Andrea May Churcher
Image: Michael Cook, INVASION (Laser girls) 2017, digital print, 135 x 200cm. Courtesy of the artist and Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane.
Q&A with Janina Harding
We caught up with Janina Harding, Artistic Director of CIAF for a quick chat.
Image: Sid Bruce Shortjoe, Janina Harding, Kristen Fagan. Blueclick Photography.
An investment in the public good
What does the future hold for art in the public space? Who or what is the public? And how do we understand the relationship between art and the public good?
Towards national standards for art in the public space
The overwhelming majority of disputes that seek NAVA’s support are about public art projects.
A handy guide to reading government budget documents
NAVA has asked me to write a handy guide to reading government budget documents. So, here goes.
The Budget as Cultural Text
This month, we ask, how best to read the Budget as a cultural text?
On Soda_Jerk's TERROR NULLIUS
The history of humanity is not the telling of stories but their retelling: perversely, the retelling of a story can have considerably more power than its incarnation, its first telling or its truth.
Owning the right to your own work
This month we are contributing to a lot of conversations about copyright, intellectual property and our right to our own work.
Q&A with Dr Oliver Watts
We chat with the inaugural artist director on the Copyright Agency board, Dr Oliver Watts, about the benefits and implications of copyright, as well as new and existing initiatives for visual artists.
Back Your Own Horse
NAVA strongly supports ambitious philanthropy that encourages artists to share in that ambition – extending it further than its friends, supporters and funders could possibly have imagined.
Gender Equity - March 2018
It’s International Women’s Day this month – and that means a whole month of focus on gender equity at NAVA.
Q&A with Paola Balla
We speak with Wemba-Wemba and Gunditjmara woman, artist, curator and researcher, Paola Balla, on feminism and her recent projects.
Q&A with the Artists' Committee
The Artists’ Committee is an informal association of artists and arts workers that makes collaborative public work around the intersection of money, ethics and culture.
2017 Reflections
Esther Anatolitis reflects on strong themes in NAVA’s 2017 advocacy and the wider critical public issues.
HOBIENNALE
Conversations and take aways for NAVA from the recent HOBIENNALE festival.
Developing protocols for working with the Indigenous Visual Arts sector
Doreen Mellor reflects on co-developing NAVA's Valuing Art, Respecting Culture – Protocols for Working with the Indigenous Visual Arts and Craft Sector with Terri Janke.NAVA Book Club
NAVA’s Book Club, as part of Artspace Sydney’s Volume 2017 I Another Book Fair, invited people to connect and discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols, policies and rights.
Q&A with Nici Cumpston
Artistic Director of the Tarnanthi Festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, 13 Oct 2017 - 28 Jan 2018, Adelaide.
Choose Love Vote Yes
In response to the Liberal Governments decision to hold a national postal survey on marriage equality, over 40,000 people rallied in Sydney on Sept 10 in support on equal rights for the LGBTIQ+ community. Jenny Leong MP addressed the rally on behalf of The Greens.
Debates we don't need to have
NAVA asked several artists dealing both directly and indirectly with issues around queer identity and equality in their work to share their experiences of the Australian Marriage Survey.
Q&A with Van T Rudd
We chat to Melbourne-based artist and activist Van T Rudd about his murals, free speech and how he challenges the status quo.
Q&A with Dick Quan
Dr Dick Quan is a highly respected collector of Australian and international art. We caught up with him to find out what he enjoys about art fairs.
Q&A Future Contemporary
We chat to participating Future Contemporary galleries showing at the upcoming Sydney Contemporary 7-10 September 2017 at Carriageworks.
11th Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair
DAAF was held 11-13 August and showcased the work of over 50 art centres from across Australia. Executive Director, Claire Summers, shares the highlights of this year’s fair.
On Craft Cubed
Craft Cubed Festival is an annual celebration of the handmade and the biggest coming together of the craft and design sectors of its kind in Australia.
Taxing Prize Money
One of NAVA's goals is getting it legislated that prize money to professional artists be tax exempt. We discuss the issue with a number of award winning artists and arts accountants.
Art Prizes in Australia
Artist Michael Zavros discusses the importance of art prizes and the impact that they can have on an artists' career.
Q&A with Roberta Rich
Roberta Rich is one of the four 2017 recipients of The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. Drawing on her diasporic African identity, Rich’s multidisciplinary practice probes into the notion of ‘authentic identity’ and problematises the way it has been constructed and represented in contemporary socio-political and cultural context.
DGR Reforms - Hands Off Advocacy
Proposed reforms outline a new streamlined application process for organisations, but threaten to silence advocacy and campaign work.
Practical Politics
Cherie McNair, Director & CEO Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) asks what would it take to make paying artists a reality?
The Grey Areas
NAVA consulted with a number of lawyers and superannuation experts to resolve the grey areas of when superannuation contributions should be paid for artists working in galleries or other arts organisations in various capacities.
Q&A with Wendy Whiteley
A preview of our upcoming NAVA in conversation podcast with Wendy Whiteley.
Q&A with Tamara Winikoff
We chat to Tamara Winikoff about the highs and lows and the changes she's witnessed over her years at NAVA.
From the archives
In September 1995, Tamara Winikoff introduced herself as NAVA's new Executive Director.
The Power of the Collective
NAVA's Deputy Director, Brianna Munting discusses industrial relations in the visual arts.
From the archives
For this month’s edition of Art Wires, we dug into NAVA’s archives on the issue of industrial representation for visual artists.
Q&A with the CoUNTess Team
We caught up with the Countess Team to discuss the impact their research has had on the contemporary Australian visual arts sector over the past 9 years.
To Fee or Not to Fee
Tamara Winikoff reports from the recent Brisbane Fair Pay for Artists consultation roundtable in the next phase of NAVA's campaign.
Q&A with Judy Watson
We chat with NAVA Member and renowned Brisbane-based artist Judy Watson.
RAYGUN Projects
We chat to RAYGUN Projects, a non-profit artist run initiative owned and co-directed by artists Alexandra Lawson and Tarn McLean in the CBD of Toowoomba, southern Queensland.
$5 million for Artists
NAVA's latest advocacy campaign calling for a new $5million government allocation for artist fees.
Q&A with a-n The Artists Information Company
We spoke to Jeanie Scott, Executive Director of UK-based organisation a-n about their Paying Artists campaign for UK artists and their thoughts on artist fee models in Sweden and elsewhere.
The Greens Arts Policy
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young on the value of artists and the programs that would support artists' incomes and help to foster their careers.
Copyright in Danger of Going Seriously Wrong
Media Release
Navigating the Summer
Jess Day selects the best of exhibitions around the country this summer.
Ding Dong Merrily on High
On the current state of the arts in Australia and the takeaways for 2017.
Q&A with Michelle Nikou
We had a chat to one of the NAVA Visual Arts Fellowship recipients - Michelle Nikou.
Infrastructural Activism
Art theorist and historian Professor Terry Smith on the role of the activist curator.
Curating Power
Tamara Winikoff on the important role of the curator in leading the critical conversations and debates of our times.
Q&A with Djon Mundine
We interviewed curator, writer, artist and activist Djon Mundine.
Tenuous Freedoms
If you’re under the illusion that we have freedom of expression in Australia, think again. Gender, race and politics are a volatile mix. For this issue of Art Wires, NAVA asked for the observations of several artists whose work could be considered controversial.
The Public Body .01
THE PUBLIC BODY .01 currently showing at Artspace, explores contemporary representations of the the naked and/or sexualised body.
Co-curator Talia Linz discusses the assessment of risk in context of this exhibition.
Shitstorm
On the theme of censorship, NAVA asked Scot Cotterell (artist) and John Vella (curator of the ‘Brainstorm’ exhibition for Dark Mofo in Tasmania) to reflect on their experience when Scot’s artwork ‘Shitstorm’ elicited strong reactions from the students and staff of the Tasmanian College of the Arts in Hobart.
Q&A with Michael Agzarian
We interview the graphic designer behind the recent political poster series of Turnbull, Abbott, Hockey, Bishop and Brandis.
Social security for artists
David Pledger on the case of establishing a living wage for artists.
The Great Peak Bodies Massacre
Why have four out of the five national peak artform organisations just had their funding discontinued by the Australia Council (in dance, literature, music and visual arts)? I’ll tease out several possible answers to this question. But first, let’s have a look at what these bodies do.
Q&A Harrie Fasher
We chat to Harrie Fasher, recipient of the 2015 Windmill Trust Scholarship for Regional NSW Artists.
Crafting Change
With the recent release of the publication Agenda for Australian Craft and Design Tamara Winikoff discusses the perception of craft in recent years, a brief rundown of the National Craft Initiative and steps to ensure the future of a sustainable craft sector in Australia.
Paint the Wildwood
Treahna Hamm comments on the importance of craft and the continuation of the traditional in contemporary Indigenous cultures.
Q&A Bruce Rowe
Based in Melbourne, Anchor Ceramics is a design studio that operates in an applied research, prototyping and product development capacity. The studio produces handmade ceramic lighting, tile, outdoor and furniture product ranges. Initially trained as an architect, founder, Bruce Rowe began making ceramics as a side project in 2009 and maintains his studio practice through a process of continual visual inquiry, exhibition and publication. We chat to him about working across multiple disciplines, the sustainability of Australian craft and design, and the underlying ethos of Anchor Ceramics.
Signature Style: The artist's name in the exposure economy of contemporary art
Elvis Richardson on the online research behind The CoUNTess report and the representation of female artists in Australian arts media. Read more.
Q&A with Women's Art Register
Interview with Danielle Hakim and Sally Northfield, Co-Convenors of Women's Arts Register.
Women in Australian Art
Coinciding with the recent publication of The CoUNTess report on International Women's Day, Tamara Winikoff writes on a brief history of women's art collectives and movements in Australia. The CoUNTess report has been funded by The Cruthers Art Foundation and is supported by NAVA.
Gendered decision making?
Esther Anatolitis on the accountability of decision makers at Australia's major art institutions.
What's happening to Australia's art schools?
There was a time when art schools were regarded as a thrilling hotbed of experimentation, bohemianism and great new anarchic ideas. But the gradual funding squeeze and the Dawkins reforms around the early 90s saw them moved under the umbrella of the universities and required to be more business like and set ‘performance targets’. What has been the consequence?
Q&A with Laura McCusker
Laura McCusker has been building furniture professionally for over 15 years and is a classically trained fine woodworker and cabinet maker with experience in boat building, fit outs and traditional freestanding pieces. We chat to her about the path that took her from Sydney to Tasmania and which has seen her work commissioned by the MONA and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery as well as a number of personal commissions from Tasmania, mainland Australia and beyond.Q&A with Stephanie nova Milne
Stephanie nova Milne is one half of the artist nova Milne, and co-founded their collective Ms&Mr, and also our NAVA Online course facilitator for Writing Grant Proposals. Currently based in New York, Stephanie chats to us about the importance of writing grants within an arts practice.
Q&A with Brook McCarthy
We chat to Brook McCarthy trainer and business coach and founder of Hustle & Heart, and online course facilitator for NAVA Online's Maximise Your Exposure about the importance of marketing skills for artists.
Q&A with Monica Davidson
We chat to Monica Davidson, CEO of Creative Plus Business Group and the former NSW Creative Industries Business Adviser and online course facilitator for NAVA's Art Business Basics about the practical skills artists need alongside their creative practice.
The artist as disruptor
Early in my practice I saw the arts as an effective vehicle to have impact beyond the gallery, theatre and performance space so I started to negotiate a very fine balance between making art that exists for my own pleasure and making art that engages with people and place in an ethical way.
Catcalling bad behaviour
Dr Jacqueline Millner on the importance of publicly calling out bad behaviour, to make sexism, rather than being female, shameful.
The Art of Elections
As 2016 cranks into gear attention turns to the federal election and what it will mean for the arts in Australia.
In 2015 the arts sector showed it has real political muscle. The sector gained a lot of respect and some important new allies. How should we focus this power to the greatest benefit in an election year? What should be our priorities and strategies?
Q&A with Jon Goulder
We chat to Jon Goulder, Creative Director of Furniture Studio, Jam Factory about his practice, place and the popularity of Jam Factory.
Localism in the top end
In Darwin it’s easy to consider ‘localism’ in an Aboriginal sense: of its own locality on Larrakia land and the vast network of local language groups and intercultural exchange stretching across the Top End and desert regions. It’s also easy to consider ‘localism’ in a northerly sense – the city’s paradoxical positioning as both a northern line of defence and gateway to Asia.
The Year in Rhyme - 2015
A wrap up of 2015 for the small to medium arts sector in limerick form.
Craft + Localism
With the latest change in season comes a time for many people to reflect on ways of living. For makers, it’s often a time to look inwards to practice. For communities, it’s an opportunity to look locally.
Finding Harmony in Diversity towards a National Consensus
With renewed global urgency to find harmony in diversity, peace can only come about where all voices at the margins can be expressed, heard and valued. The place to entrench freedom of expression is in an inclusive vision about our shared identity. Yet Australia has had only two national cultural policies in the last 25 years, Creative Nation and Creative Australia. Incoming governments threw both out, leaving long periods of no policy direction whatsoever.
Q and A with Amanda Buckland
Amanda Buckland is passionate about the power of creatively to transform people and places. As a cultural planner, project manager and educator, she connects government, artists and communities. She works for Not for Profits, Local Government and in the Health, Art and Education sectors. She has designed a course for NAVA online called “So where to from here? Alternative income sources for artists".
Greater than the sum of the parts: cultural funding and the power of diversity
Cultural diversity underpins so much of value in Australia. It creates an exciting country which is enjoyable to live in. It also ensures innovation flourishes, because where cultures intersect differing world-views come into contact and fixed ideas and old ways of doing things are challenged.
A Tale of Two Cities: the case for equity
In February this year, the NSW Premier and Minister for the Arts launched a new arts funding package for Western Sydney. A number of commitments focused on Parramatta including $10 million to develop a business case to relocate the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta. Only an additional $7.5 million over four years was allocated to support artists and organisations across the remainder of Greater Western Sydney.
Diversity is the Same but Different
Since the theme for this Art Wires is ‘diversity’ I am thinking of how it might apply to the matter which has been preoccupying the art world and NAVA for the last six months. The previous Arts Minister, George Brandis tried to convince us that diversity of government funding sources was a good thing and was one of the reasons he had created the National Program for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA). However, resistance built to what the sector suspected was instead going to be another way of diverting yet more resources to privilege the major performing arts companies, the polar opposite of diversity. Brandis seemed to be of the opinion that excellence was their prerogative and the rest were mediocre.
The Australian - 28th October 2026 – Arts Reporter
In line with her soon to be released Platform Paper no. 45, cultural strategist and co-director of Positive Solutions, Cathy Hunt projects ten years into the future and proposes how strategic cultural policy made today could have extraordinary ripple effects into the future for both artists and arts organisations.
Utopia and how to get there
In trying to answer the question ‘what does Utopia look like?’ The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)’s dream was, and still is, that in time Australia will be recognised internationally as one of the great arts nations.
Could we get an artist to be our Prime Minister?
We can’t get our Prime Minister to be Arts Minister, but could we get an artist to be our Prime Minister? That would make for a very different kind of Utopia. Poland, Iran, Albania, Britain, they’ve all done it. Why not Australia? And what better time than now? Our new PM pines for an Australia that is agile, innovative and creative.Q&A with Clare Cooper
We chat to Clare Cooper who has created a monthly arts futuring program at the University of Technology, Sydney where she is currently lecturing in Interdisciplinary Design Studies, Design Thinking and Researching Design History.
Q&A with Claudia Nicholson
Claudia Nicholson is one of four 2015 recipients of NAVA’s Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. Through her multi-disciplinary practice, Nicholson explores Latin American folklore, pre-Columbian artefacts and Chola culture. For her, this research is an avenue for understanding her position amongst Australian, Latino and Amerindian cultures. Through the support of this scholarship, Nicholson will travel throughout South and Central America to visit various cultural events and shop for ‘counterfeit goods’.Utopia - what do you wish for?
We asked representatives across different sectors to start a discussion on perspectives for the future.
You can contribute your thoughts and your vision to the prompt: Utopia - what do you wish for by emailing a paragraph (100-150 words) to ywu@visualarts.net.au
Q&A with Heidi Axelsen
In July Sainsbury Sculpture Grant 2014 recipients, Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline completed their artist residency at Australia House, Echigo Tsumari, Japan (2013-2015). In collaboration with fellow Australian artist Nathan Hawkes, and the local Japanese community, they developed a new public art work, 2000 Waraji 200 Feet which was commissioned especially for the 2015 Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale. During Axelsen and Moline's installation of their recent work Owner Occupy in Martin Place Sydney, part of the Groundwork 2015 festival, we spoke to Heidi about their latest project and how their residency experience has shaped their practice.
Art Fairs are the New Black
Following the blow dealt to the art market by the global financial crisis in 2008, it has been slow in recovery but is undergoing significant shifts. Many commercial galleries have closed, but new models for selling have emerged. Like biennales, art fairs are proliferating around the world. They are the emergent key marketplace for showcasing artwork for sale and diversifying the collector base. Sydney has just had a spate of simultaneous art fairs but all very different from one another. In their wake, it is good to reflect on the different models they offered.
Sydney Contemporary Comes of Age
Chloé Wolifson reports on the success of this year's fair, the experience of several participating galleries and its popularity with collectors and the general public.
Q&A with Art Collective WA
We chat to Art Collective WA's Chair, Merrick Belyea, and Director Felicity Johnston about their unique gallery model, the circumstances surrounding its formation and its focus on the careers of established Western Australian artists.
On the Current Health of Commercial Galleries
In a series of voxpop interviews at Sydney Contemporary we asked several gallerists for their perspective on the state of the commercial gallery scene.
What is needed to foster Australian craft and design?
In grappling with this challenge, great ideas have emerged out of conversations amongst some really accomplished Australian practitioners, curators, writers and academics. These discussions were precipitated by the Women in Design colloquium organised in July by Design Tasmania and held in Launceston, Tasmania.
Framing Design
Simone LeAmon, Hugh Williamson Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture, the National Gallery Victoria writes on the importance of design, it's influence on cultural practice and production, and the importance of cultural institutions in providing a platform to critique and champion design.
Q&A with Jessie Mitchell
With an interesting practice at the intersection of art, craft and design, emerging practitioner Jessie Mitchell introduces her work, her experience working with traditional craft practitioners in Hanoi, and the challenges that lie ahead for the future of Australian craft and design.
In the Midst of Chaos One Good Thing
If nothing else, one good thing to come out of the artquake caused by the funding cuts in the last two Federal Budgets, is the coalescing of the arts sector into a formidable machine. There has been a clear demonstration that when sufficiently pushed, the arts can speak with one voice. The more than 2260 submissions to the Senate Inquiry into the arts cuts was an amazing show of strength of conviction by the arts community and its supporters, audiences and participants of all kinds.
The future of arts advocacy
For Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) and the communities they engage with, the arts has always been a vehicle for social justice. Jade Lillie, Director & CEO of FCAC on the future of arts advocacy.
Q&A with Dr Terry Wu
This month we interview Dr Terry Wu, collector, an indefatigable advocate for the arts, and NAVA Board Member, Terry endeavours to contribute to the wellbeing of artists and visual art in Australia. Terry serves as a Board Director of Heide Museum of Modern Art and supports institutions and events including the National Gallery of Victoria, The Melbourne Festival, Sydney Biennale and the new Australian Pavilion for Venice Biennale.
Brandis out of touch
Yesterday, federal Arts Minister Senator George Brandis demonstrated his disdain for the broader arts sector when he chose to ignore an invitation to meet with 65 independents artists and representatives of arts organisations who had travelled from every state and territory to meet with members of all three main political parties at Parliament House in Canberra.
The Commonwealth Arts Budget Fallout
Arts activists this week are celebrating the success of the call for a Senate Inquiry by ArtsPeak (the confederation of national peak arts organisations). Labor and the Greens proposed the motion in the Senate on 16 June and were supported by all crossbenchers. The Inquiry will be conducted by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee for report by 15th September.
The Possibilities of Art Money
This month NAVA's Executive Director, Tamara Winikoff discusses the various ways artist generate income from their practice, the art market, legislation in favour of artists, and the recent Art Money initiative.
Q&A with Mike Parr
Renowned Australian performance artist Mike Parr on the challenges of maintaining an independent practice since the 1970s, eschewing government funding and establishing one of Australia's landmark ARIs Inhibodress.
Q&A with Phillip Keir, Keir Foundation
NAVA speaks to Phillip Keir, co-founder of the Keir Foundation, and Chairman of the Biennale of Sydney about his support of the Arts within the realms of "arts incubation" and "venture capital".
Artists and the City
NAVA Executive Director Tamara Winikoff discusses the use of artists to provide vitality and excitement in public spaces and the problems that arise in the process of commissioning public art projects.
Q&A with Jordan Bryon
NAVA speaks to Jordan Bryon, one of the winners of NAVA's Soup Sessions in 2014, about her upcoming project and challenges to her arts career.
Artists, you are the brand
NAVA Executive Director Tamara Winikoff delves into the risks and rewards of maintaining a public profile as an artist and the skills needed to cultivate your own brand.
Q&A with Cementa15 artists
From 9 to 12 April, 2015, over 60 contemporary artists from both Sydney and regional NSW will participate in Cementa15, an arts festival that celebrates the state of contemporary art in Australia and the community of artists that generate this strange, challenging, and wonderful way of looking and thinking about the world. NAVA spoke to some of those artists about the strategies and challenges experienced when producing their work.
Artists Rights International
Working towards the recognition of artists' professional status is a worldwide issue. Executive Director Tamara Winikoff discusses the work being done overseas and the repercussions for Australia.
Q&A with Sainsbury Sculpture Grant recipients
NAVA had a chat with Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline, two of the recipients of the 2014 Sainsbury Sculpture Grant, about their practice and upcoming residency in Japan.
Top things list time
As we drag ourselves lethargically back to the arts coalface, where do our thoughts wander as we say goodbye to late rising, leisurely coffees/beers with mates and sunburn, sand in the mouth days at the beach? This time of year is special. It's top numbers time as we look back and forward to identify the best and worst of everything.
A crafty Christmas
When standing in front of a beautifully crafted thing, do you find yourself mentally trying to make it yourself? Doesn't it make your heart sing even if you fall back defeated and just give up and buy it? And anyway it's Christmas, a time of indulgences. However, as lovers of beautiful things we need to be conscious that behind the object lies a life of dedication to a practice that can be both hugely rewarding but also precarious.
Artist Interview: Sarah O'Sullivan
NAVA spoke to Sarah O'Sullivan on her arts practice as a ceramicist.
A consequential national visual arts summit?
As we emerge from the whirlwind that was 'Future/Forward: the National Visual Arts Summit', NAVA is reflecting on how well our objectives were achieved and what the participants thought of it. During the event, the Twittersphere was electric with comment but we know that the real value will be if it continues to resonate and have impact long after it's over.
What’s Normal in the Visual Arts?
In the tidal wave of change, what is becoming the new 'normal' in the visual arts?
Q&A with Elvis Richardson
NAVA spoke with Elvis Richardson, artist, academic and author of the blog, CoUNTess, on her practice and experience as an artist.
Artist Interview with Owen Leong
Owen Leong is a contemporary artist who explores the body as a physical site of exchange for social, cultural and political forces. Owen talks to NAVA about his career path and the steps taken to get there.
Arts Stats Dumped
Until now art statistics have provided essential information to governments and the sector itself. But no longer.
Artist Interview with Noriko Nakamura
Noriko Nakamura was one of the recipients of the Sainsbury Sculpture Award last year. Based in Melbourne, she has exhibited as a solo artist and as part of groups in Melbourne, New Zealand and her native Japan. Here she talks to us about the inspirations behind her work.
Q&A with Barry Keldoulis
NAVA's new Chair, Barry Keldoulis, talks about his experiences working for a New York 'art tsar' and his current role as Director of the Melbourne Art Fair and Sydney Contemporary.
For artists is avoiding disaster just too hard?
How to protect yourself if your gallery goes bankrupt.
Visual Arts Budget Wrap
We can expect some belt tightening in the visual arts for the next four years. The recent federal budget announcements for our sector are not good.
Artist Activism
Are we on the brink of seeing the Australia Council make it a requirement of funding to have support from the business sector? This could become a new battleground for many arts organisations and artists resisting the imposition of a power partnership between the state and business.My New Year’s Art Resolutions
I'm staring at the blank slate of a new year and resolving what I must do to make this the best arts year ever…..
