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1112
Australia CouncilAnnual Report
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As the primary unding body or the arts,since its inception the Australia Council hasplayed a central role in ensuring the vitalityand resilience o the Australian arts sector.Committed and knowledgeable sta, andengaged and passionate peer assessorshave, on behal o the community, seriouslyassumed their responsibilities to support
and nurture excellence among Australiaspractitioners and organisations. They havehelped to create an artistic environmentwhich has enriched Australias abric incountless ways.
Independent Review o the Australia Council, May 2012
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Our vision is to enrich our nationby supporting the practice andenjoyment o the arts.
Our mission is to supportthe creation, presentation
and appreciation odistinctive cultural works
by providing assistanceto Australian artists
and making their worksaccessible to the public.
We see the arts as a vital part oAustralias culture. All Australians
should experience the arts througheducation and in their communities.
We see an Australian culture thatis engaging with the arts in new andinspiring ways.
Australia Council employees
Photos: Karen Steains
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We see an Australiain which artists are
appreciated or how theytell our stories, able to
respond to the challengeso our time, and continually
nding new ways tocreate.
We see the arts as thebedrock o a creative economy.They are a key contributor toour nations prosperity.
We see a collaborative,creative and innovativeAustralian arts culturewhich is distinct,excellent andinfuential nationally andinternationally.
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Introduction 7
Introduction
Year at a glanc e 201112 8
Letter rom the Chair 9
The Australia Council respects Indigenous communities and cultures. Readers should be aware that this report may contain images or reerences to members o
the Indigenous community who have passed away.
Section 1: Year in review
Mission 12
The gover ning counc il 13
Message rom the CEO 16
Report rom the CEO
Year in review 18
Strategic priorities 25
Funding overview 28
1Section 2: Statement o outcome
Strategic plan 36
Results
Objectives 37
Deliverables 41
Government initiatives 42 2
Section 4: Financial review
Independent auditors report 64
Financial statements 66
Notes to nancial statements 72 4
Section 3: About the Australia Council
About the Austr alia Coun cil 48
Corporate governance 49
Artorm boards 51
Organisation 55
Accountabil ity 58
External review 59
Workplace 60
3Introduction
Image: Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal Opal Vapourcreative development rehearsals, Glasshouse, Port Macquarie, 2011. Photo: Paula van Beek
Compliance index 103
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Introduction 9
The Hon Simon Crean MP
Minister or Regional Australia
Regional Development and Local Government
Minister or the Arts
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
1 September 2012
Dear Minister,
This 201112 a nnual repor t o the Austr alia Coun cil has be en approved
by the governing council on 30 August 2012.
Under Section 9 o the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies
Act 1997, the directors o the Australia Council are responsible or the
preparation and content o a report o operations in accordance withthe Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act Finance Ministers
Orders. The ollowing report o operations was adopted by resolution o
the Australia Council on 30 August 2012.
The Austral ia Counci ls $164.5 million o unding in 201112 made an
impressive contribution to the capacity o our artists to create and share
their work with Australians and the world. Indeed, over the past year
Australia Council unding supporte d the creati on o 7,656 n ew artworks
and the presentation, perormance, publication and exhibition o 5,137
artworks. All o this work makes a powerul impact on the vitality and
wellbeing o artists and communities across the country.
The past ye ar has see n strong addit ions to the Au stralia Co uncils
governing council. In 201112 we welcomed Lee-Ann Buckskin as
Chair o the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board, Sophie
Cunningham as Chair o the Literature Board, and Stephen Armstrong
as Chair o the Theatre Board. I would also like to acknowledge
James Strongs (AO) hard work and commitment to the arts as Chair
o the Australia Council over the past six years. He has let behind an
ecient and dynamic organisation that is prepared to embrace the
opportunities o the coming year.
I am delighted to have been appointed Chair o the Australia Council at
such an important moment in the history o arts and culture in Australia,particularly as the Government proceeds with the development o the
National Cultural Policy and the outcomes o the review o the Australia
Council.
I look orward to working with you to ensure that we continue to invest in
artists and excellent art or all Australians.
Yours aithull y,
Rupert Myer AM
Chair, Australia Council
$164.5 milliontotal grant and project unding to artistsand arts organisations
13 millionattendances at Australia Councilsupported events
1,922Australia Council grants and projects
168organisations unded through KeyOrganisations multi-year grants andthe Major Perorming Arts Board
7,656new artistic works created withAustralia Council support
5,137new artistic works presented withAustralia Council support
1,011individual artists unded (directly and devolved)
Year ata glance201112
Letter romthe Chair
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0
Year in review201112
The grant helped me achieve a level oproessional practice in visual arts that wasimpossible beore. My grant year has beenmy most successul year o artistic practiceto date.
Dara Gill
2010 ArtStart and Jump Mentorship recipient
In a world that is increasinglyrisk-averse, our job as artistsis to embrace risk, dangerand adventure in our work;refecting the entire spectrumo human possibility romthe most vile to the most
hopeul.Marion Potts
Artistic Di rector, Malthou se Theatre Company
Image: Dara Gill,l Untitled (Survey with stones), 2011. Stones, rope, timber, c lipboards, paper. Survey rom Found Book. Dimensions Variable. Photo: Dara Gill
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132 Section 1: Year in review
Mission
Structure o theAustralia Council
The governingcouncil
The Australia Council is the Australian Governments
arts unding and advisory body. The Australia Councilsmission is to support the creation, presentation and
appreciation o distinctive cultural works by providingassistance to Australian artists and making t heir works
accessible to the public.
The Council plays a crucial role in supporting artists and arts
organisations to create and present their work, improve and develop
their skills, and tour and promote their work to wider audiences. It also
develops new audiences or the arts nationally and internationally, and
promotes an appreciation o the value o the arts to Australians.
The Councils national ocus refects the culture and creativity o both
regional and urban communities and honours its statutory obligationto ensure access to and participation in the arts by all Australians.
The Councils overarching guiding principle is the support o artistic
excellence through the arms length, peer review o grants to artists and
arts organisations. This is enabled by its artorm boards and panels,
whose members are made up o Australias leading arts practitioners.
The Oce o the Chie Executive Ocer, which includes Legal and
Compliance and Artsupport Australia as well as the Councils ve
divisions: Arts Funding, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts,
Arts Organisations, Arts Development and Corporate Resources
is outwardly ocused on strategic outcomes to support Australias
artists, strengthen Australias arts inrastructure and create an
environment in which the arts can fourish.
The governing body o the Australia Council is called
the council. Members o the council are appointed by theMinister or the Arts and are chosen or their experience,
passion and skill. They are non-executive directors andtogether, orm a group o artists, educators, business
managers, administrators and arts audience members.
The counc il members re present the community an d the vario us
artorms, and share a strong commitment to seeing the arts in Australia
thrive. They generously share their knowledge and expertise, and bring a
wide variety o perspectives to the Australia Council.
Council members as o 30 June 2012:
Mr James Strong AO
Chair (NSW)
Appointed Chair o the Australia Council or three years rom 1 July 2006
and re-appointed or an additional three years rom 1 July 2009. Member
o the Audit and Finance Committee; Chairman o Woolworths Limited and
Kathmandu Limited; Non-executive Director o Qantas Airways Limited;
Director o Story Bridge Adventure Climb Pty Ltd and the Australian
Grand Prix Corporation; Member o the Nomura Australia Advisory Board;
Chairman, Organising Committee or the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Mr John W. H. Denton
Deputy Chair (Vic)
Appointed Deputy Chair o the Australia Council or three years rom
1 July 2009; Chair o the Audit and Finance Committee; Chair o the
Appeals Committee; Chair o Australia or UNHCR (UN Reugee Agency);
Board member, Business Council o Australia, Arts Centre Foundation,
Asialink, Australasia Centre a nd Centre or Australian and New Zealan d
Studies (Georgetown University); Director, Large Law Firm Group Limited;
Board member, Commonwealth Business Council; Member, APEC
Business Advisory Council.
Ms Kathy KeeleChie Executive Ocer (NSW)
Appointed Chie Executi ve Ocer a nd member o t he Australi a Council
(ex ocio) or three years on 7 February 2007 and re-appointed or
a urther period to 6 February 2015; Chair o the Decisions Review
Committee and a non-voting member o the Audit and Finance
Committee; Member o the Australia International Cultural Council;
Director, International Federation o Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies.
StrengtheningAustralian a rtsorganisations
ArtsOrganisations
FundingAustralian
artistsArts
Funding
BuildingAustraliasarts sector
ArtsDevelopment
Keepingculture strong
Aboriginal andTorres StraitIslander Arts
Oce o theChie Executive
CorporateResources
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154 Section 1: Year in review
Proessor Ted Snell AM, Cit WA
Chair, Visual Arts Board (WA)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o t he Visual Arts Board
or three years rom 27 December 2006. Re-appointed or a urther
three years on 5 February 2010. Proessor Snell is the Director,
Cultural Precinct, University o Western Australia; Perth art revieweror The Australian newspaper; Chair, University o Western Australia
Publishing.
Mr Stephen Armstrong
Chair, Theatre Board (Vic)
Appoi nted t o the Austr alia Counc il a s Cha ir o the Theat re B oard or
three years on 16 August 2011. Mr Armstrong replaces Ms Rosalba Clemente
whose term ended on 25 March 2011. Mr Armstrong is an independent
producer and consultant, board director or Chunky Move, Trustee or the
Victorian Actors Benev olent Trust and a philanthropic program manager
or the Myer Foundation.
Ms Lee-Ann Buckskin
Chair, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board (SA)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o t he Aborigina l and
Torres Strait Isla nder Arts Bo ard or three years on 16 May 2012.
Ms Buckskin replaces Dr Mark Bin Bakar whose term ended on29 April 2012. Ms Buckskin works or Carclew Youth Arts in South
Australia and is a membe r o the So uth Australi an Museums
Aboriginal Advisory Committ ee.
Ms Sophie Cunningham
Chair, Literature Board (Vic)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o the Literature Board or three
years on 16 May 2012. Ms Cunningham replaces Proessor Dennis Haskell
who resigned on 9 December 2011. Ms Cunningham is a board member
o The Stella Prize, Mentor o JUMP and Course Director or the Faber
Academy.
Ms Louise Herron
Chair, Major Perorming Arts Board (NSW)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o t he Major Pe rorming Ar ts
Board and a member o the council or three years rom 16 June 2011.
Ms Herron replaced Mr Rick Allert who resigned on 16 June 2011.
Ms Herron is an Executive Director, Ironbark Corporate Advisory and atrustee o Sydney Grammar School.
Dr Matthew Hindson AM
Chair, Music Board (NSW)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o t he Music Boa rd or
three years rom 27 March 2009, and reappointed or a urther three
year term to 26 March 2015. Dr Hindson is a renowned composer and
Chair, Composition and Music Technology Unit, Sydney Conservatorium
o Music; Music Curator, Campbelltown Arts Centre; Composer in
residence or 2012 at Australian National Academy o Music, and has a
commission in 2012 with Musica Viva.
Mr Kenneth Lloyd AM
Community interest representative (SA)
Appointed to the Australia Council as a community interest representative
and a member o the council or three years rom 16 June 2011; member
o the Audit and Finance Committee. Mr Lloyd has held senior positions in
the Department or the Arts and Cultural Development (now Arts SA), the
Art Gallery o South Australia and Country Arts SA. He held the position
o Chie Executive Ocer, Country Arts SA, rom 19932010 and in 1996
was appointed to the honorary position o National Secretary, Regional Arts
Australia. He is a board member o The Carrick Hill Trust.
Ms Samantha Mostyn
Community interest representative (NSW)
Appointed to the Australia Council as a community interest
representative and a member o the council or three years rom
16 June 2010. Ms Mostyn is Commissioner; Australian Football League,Commissioner o the National Mental Health Commission, Director
o Citigroup Pty Ltd; Director, Australian Volunteers International and
Sydney Theatre Company; Member, AFL SportsReady; Director,
Transurban Group; Independent non -executive director, Virgi n Blue
Holdings Ltd; and Deputy Chair o Diversity Council o Australia.
Ms Chrissy Sharp
Chair, Dance Board (Vic)
Appointed to the Australia Council as Chair o t he Dance B oard or thre e
years rom 19 October 2009. Ms Sharp was the Inaugural Director o the
Wheeler Centre or Books, Writing and Ideas, Melbourne.
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176 Section 1: Year in review
The 201112 nancial year was a momentous one or the
Australia Council on many ronts. It was marked by a review,the end o the term o our Chair James Strong AO and the
launch o the Creative Australia Artists Grants program,one o the most signicant grants programs in many years.
Alongside th ese signic ant events , the Austra lia Counci l maintai ned
its ocus on investing in excellent art across the country and providing
all Australians with the opportunity to enjoy and participate in the arts.
More than 13 million Australians attended arts events supported by the
Council. Eorts to promote the arts to communities were given a boost
by the announcement o Georey Rush as Australian o the Year, the
rst actor in many years to be awarded this prestigious title. Given his
longstanding and deep commitment to Australian theatre and lm, this
was a very pleasing choice.
Artistic excellen ce was ore most in the Cou ncils mind or the
announcement o the Creative Australia Artists Program in August 2011.
In the ensuing months, a series o ground-breaking unding
opportunities were announced and awarded through the Literature
Board, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board, and the
Inter-Arts Oce. The highlight o the program was the announcement
o the recipients o the inaugural Creative Australia Fellowships in May
2012. A total o 11 exceptional artists ve established and six early-
career artists have been given the precious git o time and space to
develop their arts practice and undertake ambitious projects.
During the reporting period, the Council hosted a number o major
events or the arts and culture sector. The most signicant was the
5th World Summit o Arts and Culture held in Melbourne (36 October
2011), which the Council co-hosted with the International Federation
o Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). The Summit, which
was guided by the theme Creative Intersections, brought together
government and cultural leaders rom more than 80 countries to explore
how artists can give a voice to diverse communities and concerns
through collaborations with experts rom a range o non-arts disciplines.
The Summit wa s a great su ccess, os tering many new partne rships and
urthering the development o arts and cultural policy internationally.In December 2011, the Minister or the Arts, the Hon Simon Crean MP,
announced a review o the Council, led by Angus James and Gabrielle
Trainor. The review, conducted within the context o the development
o the National Cultural Policy, culminated in the release o a report in
May 2012, which included 18 recommendations or reorm. The Council
is poised to implement appropriate reorms in 201213 pending the
outcomes o the National Cultural Policy.
The period o the revi ew coinci ded with the end o James Strongs (AO)
second term as Chair. James guided the Council through an eventul
six years with his distinct, down-to-earth approach to leadership. He
ensured the governing council always measured its decisions by the
degree it assisted Australian artists to make art or Australia and or
audiences around the world.
Message romthe CEO
Looking to 201213, the Australia Council is in experienced hands with
the appointments o Rupert Myer AM as Chair and Robyn Archer AO
as Deputy Chair. These appointments provide a powerul combination
o business skills and contemporary arts practice, which will guide the
Council through the next critical phase.
The Counci ls ability to reac h the arts sector an d the broader
community is strengthened by the expertise o each member o the
governing council and the members o the respective artorm boards
and committees. Many o these members are artists themselves, and
are committed to the wellbeing o their peers and their arts practice.
Throughout the past year th ey have be en strong adv ocates or the role
o the Council, potential reorm, and the importance o creativity in our
society.
I thank each o the governing council members and particularlyacknowledge the leadership o James Strong AO or his six years as
Chair o the Australia Council. I would also like to acknowledge the
Minister or the Arts, the Hon Simon Crean MP, or his continuing
engagement with, and commitment to the arts in this country.
Kathy Keele
CEO, Australia Council
In 2011, the Australian
Government announced
its intention to review the
purpose and governance
arrangements o the
Australia Council and the
appropriateness o its
legislation. The Council
welcomed the opportunity
to refect on the impact o
the Council in nurturing
a robust and vibrant arts
sector over the past 37years and to propose
reorms that ensure the
ongoing relevance o
the Council in the 21st
century.
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198 Section 1: Year in review
Year in review
Arts Fundi ng
The Australia Councils commitment to supporting artists and their art
throughout Australia is demonstrated by the grants awarded to artists and
arts organisations through the artorm boards, committees and panels
o the Arts Funding division. Core to the work o the division is arms
length, peer assessment o applications or grants to support the creation
o new work, the presentation and promotion o work, and proessional
development opportunities such as residencies and ellowships.
In addition to assessing and awarding grants to artists and arts
organisations, the divisions artorm boards and committees developed
specic initiatives based on their respective sector plans. These plans
provide a road map or priorities, directions and initiatives and were
reviewed and revised during the reporting period.The divisi ons boards, committees and panels w orked togethe r to oer
a number o cross-artorm grants and initiatives in 201112.
Theatre, Da nce and In ter-Arts collabo rated on Mobil e States, a n initiat ive
to increase presentation opportunities, awareness and appreciation o
contemporary perormance practice. Collaboration across all artorms
has led to the launch o the Australia Council Creative Australia
Fellowships which encourage and support early career and established
artists to develop interdisciplinary and innovative work.
The Inter-Arts Oce launc hed its Creat ive Devel opment New Art
initiative. Seven artists and groups were unded through this program,
which supports the creation o ambitious, new, experimental art. The
successul projects include artists exploring new ecological practices,
community and architectural partnerships, game art, augmented-reality
and site-specic art. Collaborations between all artorms boards, the
Community Partnerships Committee and the Inter-Arts Oce have led to
an increase o jointly-unded initiatives.
The Music Board conclu ded Soundclash , an initi ative whi ch supported
the development o innovative, risk-taking contemporary popular music,
by unding musically successul experimentation across genres such as
rock, hip hop, pop, and electronic dance music. The board supported
40 artists during this our-year initiative. The board also undertook a
sector-wide consultation on music recording to advise the government
on current issues and options relating to the role o government in
supporting music recording.
The Visua l Arts Boar d conducted a review o the Key Orga nisations
portolio which resulted in two new organisations being supported
with triennial unding: West Space in Melbourne, an artist-run initiative,
exhibiting artists and collectives working on inter-disciplinary projects;
and 4A Centre or Contemporary Asian Art in Sydney which supports
visual arts representing excellent and innovative contemporary Asian
and Australian culture.
The Theatre Board invest ed in two in itiatives aimed at bui lding
theatre-making capacity in the Northern Territory. Six diverse and
exciting Northern Territory works, including Indigenous, visual theatre,
new texts and an opera, were unded through Theatres New Territory
Fund and the NT+1 initiative. The board also partnered with the Major
Perorming Arts Board to promote greater engagement with culturally
and linguistically diverse artists through the In the Mix initiative.
To provide artists wi th supportive structures to create, pre sent and
tour theatre and dance work, the Dance and Theatre Boards partnered
with Arts SA to extend the Managing and Producing Services (MAPS)
program, the successul joint initiative with Arts New South Wales,
Arts Queen sland, Arts V ictoria and Western Australias Departme nt
o Culture and the Arts. As a result, audiences intrastate, nationally
and internationally have been able to see a greater variety o work by
Australia n theatre a nd dance grou ps.
In response to the increasing popularity o multimedia-enabled smart
tablets as a platorm or the digital distribution o literature and other
orms o writing, the Literature Boards Digital Publishing initiative
supported our established literary magazines to create dynamic tablet
editions and specialised e-books.Australian Boo k Review (ABR),
Grith REVIEW, Meanjin and Overland received unding to create
interactive tablet editions o their magazine and specialised e-books.
Following a review o its multi-year unded organisations in 2011, the
Dance Board welcomed three new companies as Key Organisations,
Emerging: BalletLab, KAGE and Shaun Parker & Company. All are
making a signicant impact to the contemporary dance scene nationally
and internationally.
In September 2011, the Community Partnerships Committee awarded
two awards the Ros Bower and the Kirk Robson. The Ros Bower
Award was prese nted to Kharen Harper or her outstan ding lie-l ong
contribution to community arts and cultural development. The Kirk
Robson Award was awarded to Shakthi Sivanathan or his achievements
as a young Australian artist, working with some o Australias most
marginalised communities to produce art about social issues.
The Arts Funding division also manages the ollowing AustralianGovernment initiatives: Artists in Residence, ArtStart, Creative Community
Partnerships, Opportunities or Young and Emerging Artists, and the
Creative Australia Artists Grants (see page 43 or more details on these
initiatives in 201112).
To maximise the e ectivenes s o its gra nts programs a nd processes,
the Council undertook a Client Satisaction Survey in 2011 which
assisted the division to review its online grants processes and improve
online support provided to grant applicants.
Seven artists and groups
were unded through the
Creative Development New
Art initiative, which supports
the creation o ambitious,
new, experimental art.
The successul projects
include artists exploring
new ecological practices,
community and architectural
partnerships, game art,
augmented-reality and
site-specic art.
Report romthe CEO
Core to the work o the
Arts Funding division
is arms length, peerassessment o applications
or grants to support the
creation o new work,
the presentation and
promotion o work, and
proessional development
opportunities such
as residencies and
ellowships.
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210 Section 1: Year in review
Arts Orga nisations
In 201112, Arts Organisations oversaw unding to 168 triennially-unded
key organisations and major perorming arts (MPA) companies. The
division supported the sector in the important areas o nancial viability,
artistic vibrancy and good governance, providing a range o services to
assist these companies in improving capacity and sustainability. Services
included business planning assistance, management and leadership
training, and the provision o a range o orums and resources in the areas
o marketing, digital innovation and organisational governance.
During 201112, the companies unded by Arts Organisations
demonstrated an extensive reach into the Australian community, with
some 3 million attendances at perormances, 0.6 million attendances
at schools and education programs and 4.6 million attendances at
exhibitions.
In August 2011, the ederal and state governments agreed to a new
unding ramework to underpin and enhance the MPA companies. The
new ramework aligns with ederal and state government aspirations or
the companies, in terms o increased access and audience numbers,
artistic excellence, nurturing young talent, diversication o income
sources and excellence in governance.
In April 2012, Arts Organisations implemented a new internal structure
to better service all the arts organisations supported by the Australia
Council. Program managers within the division manage a portolio o
companies, comprising small to major, ensuring a transer o knowledge
between each sector in terms o artistic programming, nancial
management and governance. This will lead to improved capacity
building and skills development in the sector.
Throughout 2011 12, arts org anisations supported by the Council
continued to create dynamic, accessible and artistically-vibrant work
such as:
NEW11, the Australian Centre or Contemporary Arts (ACCA) annual
commissions exhibition, oered 10 artists rom around Australia the
opportunity to make something new and have it exhibited.
The State Opera o South Australia (SOSA) staged its stunning
co-production o Jake Heggies Moby Dick, with partners the DallasOpera, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera and Calgary Opera, to
great acclaim. The opera was conducted by Timothy Sexton, the newly
appointed Chie Executive and Artistic Director o SOSA.
The Sydney Theatre Company built upon its already strong
international reputation with triumphant perormances in Europe and
the USA by strong casts led by Co-Artistic Director, Cate Blanchett, in
adaptations o Chekhovs Uncle Vanya, directed by Tams Ascher and
Strausss Gross und Klein, directed by Benedict Andrews.
Gross und Kleins Paris season sold out soon ater opening night.
During the visit, Cate was awarded the prestigious Chevalier de lOrdre
des Arts et des Lettres, one o Frances highest cultural honours.
The Australian Ballet commenced celebrations or its 50th anniversary,
with both retrospective and new work being celebrated on stage.
Through the c ourse o i ts history, the Ba llet has s old over 12 million
tickets to its perormances, employed over 550 dancers, unded
237 new commissions, amassed a repertoire o 389 ballets by 144
choreographers and toured to 37 countries.
Aboriginal and Torres Strai t Islande r Arts
In 201112, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts ( ATSIA) division
ocused on increasing the canon o Indigenous artistic and creative works.
ATSIA Board members met with culture bosses and custodians in meetings in
Fitzroy Crossing (Western Australia), Mount Loty Station (Northern Territory),
Cairns (Queensland) and Adelaide (South Australia) to highlight the role
cultural bosses and custodians play in ensuring cultural knowledge inorms
the artistic and cultural expression o songs, dances and paintings.The ACCELERATE Indige nous Cultura l Leaders hip program in
partnership with the British Council saw eight successul participants
attend the United Kingdom program throughout which 34 arts and
cultural institutions provided mentoring and advice.
Leading visual artist Reko Rennie was unded to exhibit at the Scope
Art Fair in New York City, 2012 and the National Indige nous Arts
Inrastructure Program continued to build capacity and leadership in
Indigenous arts. Both the Black Arm Band and Ilbijerri Theatre were
invited to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Arts Festival.
The ATSIA board holds a nnual nati onal worksho ps to increa se the
capacity o Indigenous arts organisations to respond to environmental
infuences and challenges. In 2012 these workshops ocused on the
use o social media and digital communication tools and the importance
o governance. The board also dedicated unds to support Indigenous
artists participation in the International Symposium on Electronic Art in
2013 ($30,000) and increase engagement in the digital environment.
The National Indigenous Ar ts Awards were pre sented on 27 May 2012
at the Sydney Opera House. Musician Warren H. Williams received the
prestigious Red Ochre Award or his outstanding lietime achievement
in the arts. The inaugural $20,000 Dreaming Award or artists aged
1826 years was awarded to Nakkiah Lui, to develop a major theatrework on Indigenous youths engagement with the law, with mentorship
by Belvoir St Theatre and Indigenous theatre practitioner, Andrea James.
Fellowships were awarded to distinguished new-media artist Jenny Fraser
to undertake midden, a major experimental media arts creative
project remix; and Gurrumul Yunupingu, to create multi-sensory artistic
installations presenting the worlds oldest living culture using the
latest technology.
During 2011, the
companies unded
through Arts Organisations
demonstrated an extensive
reach into the Australian
community, with some
3 million attendances at
perormances, 0.6 million
attendances at schools
and education programs
and 4.6 million attendances
at exhibitions.
In 201112, the Sydney
Theatre Company built
upon its already strong
international reputation
with triumphant
perormances in Europe
and the USA.
Report romthe CEO(continued)
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254 Section 1: Year in review
Corporate Resources
Corporate Resources continued to provide services and inormation
to both the organisation and external stakeholders in an ecient,
timely and positive manner. A key project or the division in 2012 was
the introduction o a new nance system to streamline transactional
processes and provide more fexible and timely reporting.
A number o system improve ments were un dertaken o llowing e edback
rom the Councils client survey, including modiying the online system
or grant applications to simpliy the uploading o applicants supporting
material. Various projects ocusing on integrating systems to assist
the management o inormation and day-to-day operations were also
undertaken.
The Human Re sources tea m continued to rene the Councils learni ng
and development Skill Up! Program to ensure sta members are bettertrained and inormed, with regard to the skills and inormation they need
to do their jobs.
The ve pil lars o S kill Up! a re:
Step Up Business skills
Shape Up Systems skills (GMS, TRIM, Felix)
Spark Up Project management and evaluation skills
Geek Up Digital and social media skills
Roll Up Arts and culture inormation and updates.
A new three -year Ente rprise Agre ement was ne gotiated wi th sta and
union representatives.
Risk management initiatives included recovery testing o technology
systems, reviewing and testing business continuity plans and raud
control policy and procedures. The division also embedded debt
recovery action or grants that remain unacquitted and led a review
o work, health and saety policy and procedures, holding training
sessions or all sta, to improve awareness and understanding o their
obligations.
Strategic Priorities
Strategic Priorities 201112
The Austra lia Counci ls artorm sector plans under pin the deve lopment o
the Councils Strategic Priorities, which in 201112, addressed gaps and
issues commonly experienced across the arts sector.
The our Strategic Pr iorities or 201112 we re: Innovat ive Practi ce,
Realising the Potential o Broadband or the Arts, Diversied Models or
Support, and Cultural Leadership.
Innovative Practice
This strat egic prior ity was dev eloped to inc rease the Councils
investment in new orms o artistic expression and presentation
platorms, as well as support artists in the research and development
o their practice at various stages o their careers. It continues to be
addressed principally through the Creative Australia Artists program,made possible through the Governments 2010 election commitment o
$10 million to individual artists over a ve-year period.
This program, launched in August 2011, incorporate s a number o unique
unding programs, all aimed at supporting innovative arts practice.
In May 2012 the Creative Australia Fellowships were awarded to 11 artists.
The ve established artists (ea ch awarded $100,000 over one year) were:
Guy Ben-Ary (WA), Mic Gruchy (NSW), Antony Hamilton (Vic),
Cat Jones (NSW) and Gaelle Mellis (SA). The six early-career artists
(each awarded $60,000 over two years) were: Lauren Brincat (NSW),
Micheala Gleave (NSW), Matthew Prest (NSW), Lee Serle (Vic),
Annabel Smith (WA) and Gian Slater (V ic).
Additional opportunities delivered through the Creative Australia Artists
program were: Book2 an initiative or writers to complete that all-too-
dicult second book; the New Art Creative Development initiative or artists
to create 12 large-scale artworks over a ve-year period; and 21st Century
Stories, designed or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ar tists to create
and present 10 new works about the way society has transormed in the
rst decade o the 21st century.
Realising the Potential o Broadband or the Arts
High speed broadband is transorming the way art is produced,
distributed and experienced. Realising the Potential o Broadband or the
Arts, which builds on the ormer Arts Content in the Digital Era strategic
priority, was established to assist the sector to understand and learn
the enormous possibilities oered by this technology. In 201112, many
exciting programs have been launched as a result o this strategic priority,
including the Geeks in Residence program, the Broadband Arts Initiative
and the Hive Production Fund.
The National Broadband Network (NBN) Geeks in Resi dence program
placed two geeks in Armidale and Brunswick the rst two NBN rollout
areas to act as consultants to the local arts communities. The program
delivered 20 digital capacity-building workshops in these areas over a
two-month period, with over 130 participants attending. The program
concluded with a showcase in Armidale in December 2011.
The Australia Council
ocused on our Strategic
Priorities in 201112:
Innovative Practice,
Realising the Potential
o Broadband or the
Arts, Diversied Models
or Support and Cultural
Leadership.
The Creative Australia
Artists program, launched
in 2011, will see $10
million dollars awarded
to individual artists over
a ve-year period.
A highlight o the programwas the announcement
o the recipients o
the inaugural Creative
Australi a Fellowships
in May 2012. Eleven
exceptional artists have
been given the precious
git o time and space to
develop their arts practice
and undertake ambitious
projects.
Report romthe CEO(continued)
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276 Section 1: Year in review
The Broadban d Arts Initia tive, ann ounced in De cember 2011, supports
arts projects that utilise next generation high-capacity broadband.
There was an overwhe lming respons e to this in itiative, with over 5 00
enquiries and 119 proposals received. Four successul projects were
awarded in May 2012.
The Hive P roduction Fund, supported by th e Australi a Council, ABC TV,
Screen Australia and the Adelaide Film Festival, invests in the creation o
one-o, ambitious collaborations with artists and lmmakers, with bold
and imaginative cross-platorm ideas and strategies. Three innovative
productions, selected in November 2011, will have their world premieres
at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival and later air on ABC platorms.
Diversied Models or Support
Support or artists comes in many orms: nancial, mentoring, new
models, partnerships and collaborations, as well as delivery methodssuch as touring. This strategic priority aims to improve and expand
these support structures or artists and arts organisations.
A ocus or 201112 was to st rengthen Austr alias touring n etwork
which is diused across many stakeholders: ederal, state and local
unding authorities, peak bodies, presenters, venues and companies.
The Austra lia Counci l commission ed the crea tion o a Na tional Touring
Framework, released in June 2012, to create improved touring networks
or artists and arts organisations. The Council will continue to work on
this ramework with the sector in 201213.
New in early 2012, was the establishment o the Independent Producers
initiative. This program aims to increase the proessional capacity
o emerging independent producers, oering them more support to
manage practical issues such as: building market knowledge more
eciently, managing the expectations o artists, general industry
standards and approaches to advocacy.
With the rise o crowdunding globally, the Council, led by its
philanthropic arm Artsupport Australia, embarked on a national strategy
to build the arts sectors competence and condence in crowdunding
as an eective tool or increasing private giving to arts and culture in
Australia . In the rs t o a three -pronged approac h, Artsupport Au stralias
state managers provided mentoring or a number o projects, utilisingcrowdunding. The success rate or this pilot was 100 percent. To
supplement what was learnt through the pilot, the Queensland University
o Technology was commissioned to undertake research investigating
motivations and barriers to crowdunding in Australia. In the second hal
o 2012 this research, along with practical tips and case studies, will
be shared with the sector via a national crowdunding roadshow across
nine locations in Australia.
Cultural Leadership
In the 201011 nancial year, the Australia Council identied the need
to develop existing leaders in the arts sector and to invite the countrys
uture arts leaders. Cultural leadership continued as a strategic priority
or the Council in 201112, with a ocus on capacity building and
research.
For the second consecutive year the Council oered the Emerging
Leaders Development Program to provide mentoring and coaching or
mid-career arts managers. This orms part o the Councils commitment
to supporting individuals who have the talent and ability to become the
senior arts leaders o tomorrow. The Council also oered training or
the arts sectors more established leaders to deepen their knowledge
and skills through initiatives such as the Arts Executive Leadership and
Executive Mentoring programs.
To address the lack o opportuniti es and susta inable ca reer pathwa ys
or women in creative leadership, the Theatre Board partnered with
the Major Perorming Arts Board and the Research and Strategic
Analysis unit to support a suite o initiati ves. Key el ements inc lude the
Women in Theatre report (Lally & Miller, 2012), the Creating Pathways
reporting tool or Major Perorming Arts theatre companies and a series
o industry orums or women directors and playwrights.
Report romthe CEO(continued)
With the rise o
crowdunding globally,
the Australia Council, led
by its philanthropic arm,
Artsupport Australia,
embarked on a national
strategy to build the arts
sectors competenceand condence in
crowdunding as
an eective tool or
increasing private giving
to arts and culture in
Australi a.
Through its artorm
sector plans and strategic
priorities, the Australia
Council has targeted its
support to the arts sector
as a whole and continues
to consider ways to
innovate. The Council will
also continue to reduce
costs through greater
eciencies to provide
maximum unding to
artists.
7/31/2019 Australia Council Annual Report 201112
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298 Section 1: Year in review
The Australia Council invested over $164.5 million in
artists and arts organisations across the nation in201112, compared to $163.8 million in the previous
nancial year.
The Counci l supported the ull spectr um o arts activity during 201112,
rom small grants to individual artists, to multi-million dollar unding to
major perorming arts organisations.
The Counci ls $164.5 million i nvestment en abled arti sts to create 7,656
new works in 201112 and to present, perorm, publish or exhibit 5,137
new works. There were more than 13 million attendances at Australia
Council unded events throughout 201112.
This $164.5 mi llion in vestment al so unded 1,922 grants and pro jects.
O this, $97.3 million went to major perorming arts companies, over$27.5 million to board grants and over $16.1 million to government
initiatives (see Figure 1).
O the 1,922 grants and projects provided by the Council in 201112,
903 grants were given to individual artists and 1,019 grants were given
to organisations (gures or individual artists include artists working
together as groups, outside o ormal structures). These grants were
awarded ollowing the review o the 6,004 applications received. There
was an increase o 315 applications on the previous nancial year
(see Figure 4), which refects interest in the new Creative Australia
Fellowships initiative and an increase in the numbers o applications
received by the Community Partnerships Commitee and Music Board.
The $164.5 mi llion inv estment inc orporated $51. 2 million or the nati ons
orchestras; $21.6 million or opera; $10.8 million or other music artists
and organisations; $15.7 million or visual artists and organisations;
$23.4 million or theatre companies and artists; $16.8 million or dance
artists and companies; $5.9 million or writers, publishers and literary
organisations; $13.1 million or multi-artorm artists and organisations;
and $4 million in miscellaneous unding, including sector building and
audience development initiatives and programs (see Figure 2).
The Australia Councils total unding or 201112 also included:
$8.4 million or international activities by Australian artists and arts
organisations
$7.6 million or arts and cultural activities with a predominantly
Indigenous ocus
$12 million or arts and cultural activities with a predominantly regional
ocus.
Fundingoverview
Figure 1: Grant and program unding
million
s$
200
150
100
50
200809
Total unding
Key organisations
Major perorming arts
Government initiatives
Board grants
Council initiatives
200910 201011 201112
7/31/2019 Australia Council Annual Report 201112
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310 Section 1: Year in review
Figure 2: Total unding by artorm 201112 Figure 3: Total unding by state and territory 201112
Orchestras
$51.2 mill ion WA$11.6 mill ion
Qld
$15.5 million
NSW
$58.2 mill ion
$1.6 million
$39.2 million
$7.8 million
National
$7.5 million
NT
$2.6 million
SA
$14.2 million
Opera
$21.6 mill ion
Other musical genres
$12.8 mill ion
Visual Arts
$15.7 mill ion
Theatre
$23.4 million
Dance
$16.8 mill ion
$164.5million
Literature
$5.9 million
Cross-artorm
$13.1 million
General
$4 mil lion
Cross Artorm$
Dance$
Literature$
Music$
Theatre$
Visual Arts$
General*$
Total$
NSW 3,413,421 5,371,723 1,734,287 33,834,333 7,733,221 4,892,352 1,249,574 58,228,911
Vic 2,551,462 7,161,228 1,532,738 16,845,975 7,909,667 2,770,114 408,000 39,179,184
QLD 1,313,394 1,207,827 421,770 8,642,388 2,158,921 1,413,850 354,046 15,512,196
SA 1,564,494 831,979 307,995 8,057,657 1,843,097 1,347,061 277,626 14,229,909
WA 883,283 759,388 571,734 7,237,426 1,044,082 954,477 176,250 11,626,640
Tas 301,546 202,657 251,000 5,991,593 484,283 413,773 115,000 7,759,852
NT 381,478 323,955 289,520 510,916 374,385 557,510 187,000 2,624,764
ACT 55,000 255,534 100,000 130,700 112,064 475,426 471,250 1,599,974
Nat 1,943,748 337,754 246,520 3,108,401 619,914 643,695 619,227 7,519,259
Overseas 693,030 387,735 421,609 1,204,719 1,099,583 2,265,752 157,753 6,230,180
Total 13,100,856 16,839,780 5,877,172 85,564,108 23,379,217 15,734,009 4,015,726 164,510,869
NB: Table includes rounding to the nearest dollar.* Non-specic artorm sector support such as strategic planning and market and audience development.
Tas
ACT
Vic
7/31/2019 Australia Council Annual Report 201112
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332 Section 1: Year in review
Figure
5:Totalfundingby
division/boa
rd
201112*
NSW
Vic
Qld
SA
WA
Tas
NT
ACT
NationalOverseas
Total
ArtsDevelopment
No. $
34
1,376,945
11
801,561
6
99,825
5
351,000
2
135,044
0 0
1
40,000
0 0
37
1,537,832
192
1,953,275
288
6,295,482
ArtsFunding
No. $
60
928,221
80
832,862
20
214,586
4
80,000
5
110,000
6
58,040
0 0
4
40,000
15
887,277
36
434,040
230
3,585,026
ArtsOrganisations
No. $
17
497,560
10
249,000
5
134,000
5
118,000
6
43,250
2
15,000
1
5,000
1
2,900
1
13,485
2
186,000
50
1,264,195
AboriginalandTorres
StraitIslanderArts
No. $
18
480,073
9
140,638
7
132,533
17
116,282
6
157,701
1
20,000
6
205,181
1
25,044
7
244,878
5
301,640
77
1,823,970
CommunityPartnerships
No. $
30
1,851,696
36
1,860,277
17
1,335,781
11
846,495
10
636,467
5
324,796
9
438,850
3
60,000
7
536,760
5
47,777
133
7,938,899
Dance
No. $
13
596,173
19
409,341
3
89,531
6
159,842
9
314,049
1
75,000
0 0
0 0
1
50,000
3
53,844
55
1,747,780
Inter-ArtsOfce
No. $
14
326,668
13
308,253
3
49,842
4
218,219
1
33,636
4
61,750
0 0
0 0
3
54,118
4
66,400
46
1,118,886
KeyOrganisations***
No. $
36
8,809,847
35
5,471,718
19
2,637,473
18
2,759,860
11
1,638,715
5
811,544
8
1,095,914
6
984,501
9
1,021,372
3
230,000
150
25,460,944
Literature
No. $
40
935,906
46
1,082,772
11
297,000
8
197,000
12
318,000
7
251,000
4
140,000
3
100,000
12
244,120
39
287,243
182
3,853,041
MajorPerormingArts
No. $
45
39,338,090
17
25,354,616
19
9,332,706
5
8,260,734
10
7,772,486
2
5,931,093
1
203,934
1
100,700
7
1,865,693
4
100,866
111
98,260,918
Music
No. $
53
932,064
44
804,785
18
416,648
9
162,827
6
101,535
2
30,500
1
50,000
1
30,000
14
334,985
62
768,596
210
3,631,940
Theatre
No. $
33
1,186,575
39
1,133,817
13
524,546
12
607,115
7
200,824
2
75,429
15
350,885
2
112,064
5
181,664
10
254,998
138
4,627,917
VisualArts
No. $
46
969,093
36
729,544
14
247,725
15
352,535
8
164,933
6
105,700
6
95,000
7
144,765
34
547,075
80
1,545,501
252
4,901,871
Totalgrantsandprograms
439
395
155
119
93
43
52
29
152
445
1,922
Total$
58,228,911
39,179,184
15,512,196
14,229,909
11,626,640
7,759,852
2,624,764
1,599,974
7,519,259
6,230,180
164,510,869
NB:Tableincludesroundingtothenearestdollar.
*FundingbydivisionincludesgovernmentandCouncilinitiativeallocationsdeliveredbyeachdivision.
**Numberograntsandprojects.
***Fundingromartormboards,ATSIA,CommunityPartnershipsandInter-Arts.
****IncludesotherundingprovidedbyKeyOrganisations,suchascompanydevelopment,inadditiontocoregrants.
Figure 4: Total applications, grants and projects
200809
200910
201011
201112
2008-09 200910 201011 201112
Grant and project applications 4,216 4,700 5,689 6,004
Grants and projects approved includes: 1,846 1,873 1,897 1,922
Grants and projects to organisations 1,294 1,121 1,085 1,019
Grants and projects to individuals (including artists
working together as groups outside o ormal structures)552 752 812 903
Grants to individual artists devolved through
organisations/companies93 143 105 108
Grants and project applications
Grants and projects to organisations
Grants and projects to individuals
Grants to individuals artists devolved through organisations/companies
2000 4000 6000 8000
*Increase relates to Creative Australia Fellowship applications and increases in applications to Music and Community Partnerships.
***
****
7/31/2019 Australia Council Annual Report 201112
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4
Statemento outcome
Through my ArtStart program I havegained the opportunity to nd, research andnetwork with companies and dance artistswhose work I am particularly interested inand which resonates with my own practice.It allowed me reedom to invest in my work,learn rom other peoples artistic practice,update my marketing material and support
antastic networking opportunities.Helen Duncan
2011 ArtStart recipient
Being a recipient o a writinggrant rom the AustraliaCouncil brings about itsown kudos. It has inspiredin me a new condence and
approach to how I see myselwithin the arts scene. Anacknowledgement which Inever quite expected.
Michelle St Anne
2011 New Work Emerging grant recipient or Writing or Perormance
Image: Helen Duncan. Photo: Jeremy Phillips
7/31/2019 Australia Council Annual Report 201112
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6 Section 2: Statement of outcome 37
The Australia Councils strategic direction is based on
one outcome: the creation, presentation and appreciationo distinctive cultural works by providing assistance to
Australian artists and making their works accessible tothe public.
The strate gic directi on o the Au stralia Co uncil is guided by its Strategic
Plan 20102012, which is continually monitored in response to artorm
sector needs and aligned to the broad principle o maintaining an
Australia n arts sec tor that is artistica lly vibr ant, innova tive, dive rse
and accessible.
The Counci l continue s to support the creation o new works,
proessional development and cultural exchange (ellowships and
residencies), artorm awards, mentoring opportunities, organisational
investment, business planning advice and other industry investments.
It also unds individual artists and organisations to present, exhibit,
publish, distribute and promote Australian works.
The Counci l plays an important rol e in helpi ng more Austr alians en gage
with the arts. It continues to invest signicantly in community-based
arts, community cultural development programs, audience development
initiatives, arts marketing and promotional programs and analysis o the
arts sector.
Objectives
Objective 1
Invest in the development and production o excellent Australian
artistic work.
Objective 2
Assist the pr esentation o artisti cally vi brant works, nationall y and
internationally.
Objective 3
Promote access to, participation in and appreciation o the arts by
Australia ns.
Objective 4Assist the de velopment o Australia n arts in rastructur e.
Objective 5
Provide policy development, research and advisory services to promote
the arts.
Strategic plan Results:objectives
Objective 1
Invest in the development and production o excellent Australian
artistic work
The Austra lia Counci l invests in artisti c production a nd the deve lopment
o artistic practice by providing grants and other orms o nancial
support to individual artists and arts organisations. This support
enables them to create new work and pursue proessional development
opportunities through residencies, mentorships and ellowships.
The Counci l also ce lebrates e xcellenc e with awa rds that recog nise
outstanding achievement or artistic potential. Throughout 201112,
7,656 new artistic works were created with the Councils support.
In 201112, the Australia Council received 6,004 grant and project
applications which resulted in:
1,019 grants to arts organisations
903 grants to individual artists including:
57 artist residencies
33 ellowships
108 grants to individual artists which were devolved through
organisations/companies.
Notable examples o the Councils investment in the development and
production o excellent Australian artistic work in 201112 included:
The Creativ e Australi a Book2 Gran ts a huge hit in the literature
sector were awarded to Anna Krien, Nam Le and Favel Parrett to
assist them to work on the oten notoriously elusive second book.
Support rom the Music Board or composer Elena Kats-Chernin to
create a new work incorporating 30 pianos and 60 pianists, to be
perormed at the 2012 Soundstream Adelaide New Music Festival.
A partnersh ip between th e Inter-Arts Oce , Music, Th eatre and
Visual Ar ts boards led t o the inaug ural Indige nous Experi mental Art
Fund (IEAF), which will invest in contemporary Indigenous media,
interdisciplinary and hybrid-art practitioners over the next three years.
In 201112, with the
Australia Councils
support, artists presented,
perormed, published or
exhibited 5,137 new works.
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8 Section 2: Statement of outcome 39
Objective 2
Assist the presentat ion o art istically vibrant wo rks, nati onally
and internationally
The Austra lia Counci l runs progr ams to incre ase resourc es,
opportunities and audiences or Australian art by unding the
presentation, exhibition, publication, distribution and/or promotion o
Australia n works in a range o artorms a nd practic e areas.
In 201112, the Council supported the:
presentation o 1,026 Australian works by Key Organisations
presentation o 260 Australian works by the major perorming arts
companies, including 103 new Australian works
presentation o work by Australian artists in 65 countries.
The Counci l supports Austr alias presence at major e vents on the
international cultural calendar and international touring. Highlights in
201112 included:
An unprecede nted represen tation o ei ght Austral ian artis ts at
dOCUMENTA (13), the prestigious visual arts exhibition, held every
ve years in Kassel, Germany.
Back to Back Theatre with Theatre Board investment, toured its
critically acclaimed play, Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, across the
UK, Europe and the USA.
Three disti nct group exhi bitions prole d the work o Australia s
leading media artists as part o the 16th International Symposium
on Electronic Art (14th21st September 2011) Exhibition Program in
Istanbul, Turkey. A total o 14 artists exhibited works across diverse
practices such as virtual art, robotics and media arts.
The Austra lia Counci ls support or presen ting artist ically v ibrant works
spans the nation, rom cities to remote areas. Highlights or 201112
included:
The State Ope ra o South Australia staged its st unning
co-production o Jake Heggies Moby Dick, with partners the Dallas
Opera, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera and Calgary Opera,
to great acclaim.
SOUNDCIRCUS ound a home in outback NSW with Music Board
support, which saw the installation o site-specic sound art works in
distinctive locations such as Mutawintji, Sturt National Parks, a sheep
station, the Dog Fence, and the Moomba gaselds.
In 201112, the Australia
Council supported
artists and companies to
engage in international
market development
opportunities across
32 countries, generatingover $11 million in
sales and over 3,500
new relationships and
connections.
Results:objectives(continued)
Objective 3
Promote access to, participation in and appreciation o the arts
by Australians
The Austral ia Counci l runs progra ms to increa se nationa l and
international audiences and markets or Australian arts, supports a
diverse range o arts and cultural activities in communities and utilises
the arts to build stronger communities.
Each year the Council supports the presence o Australian artists and
arts organisations at a changing array o one-o, biennial and triennial
projects which contribute to increased access to, participation in,
and appreciation o the arts in Australian communities. In 201112,
there were more than 13 million attendances at Australia Council
supported events.
Organisations unded by the Council are deeply involved in schools
across the nation, both in regard to the education curriculum and also
in building childrens lielong appreciation o the arts. In addition to their
regular perormances and exhibitions, these organisations recorded
more than 600,000 attendances at schools and education programs
during the reporting period.
Further notable examples o audience development included investment
in the Queensland Music Festival, to bring together musicians and
people rom regional communities, stretching rom Charleville to Far
North Queensland, to create music and tell their stories; and Get
Reading! which promoted books and reading across the country through
an extensive nationwide media campaign, and or the rst time, included
a year-round author-reading program.
In 201112, the Council promoted the value o the arts to the
community through regular publications, including its sector-news
platorm,Artery, which is now available in online, mobile and tablet
ormats; the biannual Indigenous arts publication,Arts Yarn Up, and a
new Council-wide monthly e-newsletter.
In 201112, 1.33 million
Australi ans living in
regional areas attended a
perormance, workshop
or exhibition presented
by the Australia Councils
168 multi-year unded
arts organisations and
1.28 million children
participated in schools
programs presented by
these organisations.
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0 Section 2: Statement of outcome 41
Objective 4
Assist the developm ent o Aust ralias arts inrastru cture
The Australia Council provides grants to artists, arts proessionals,
and organisations to develop and maintain a sustainable and vibrant
arts inrastructure through collaborations, partnerships and proessional
development opportunities.
Notable examples o the Councils commitment to developing arts
inrastructure in 201112 included:
Supporting the Residential Editorial Program, an intensive skills
development workshop to support mid-career editors to become
more adept at assisting writers to publish their best possible book.
The Dance and Theatre Boards partne ring with Arts SA to crea te
a South Australian chapter o the highly successul Managing andProducing Services (MAPS or Artists) initiative, bolstering production
and audience development support or artists in South Australia.
The Emergi ng Leaders Development Program, whic h provides
mentoring or up-and-coming arts leaders, was held or a second
year in 2012 ollowing its success in 2011.
In 201112, the Australia
Councils 168 multi-year
unded organisations
employed 16,382 artists
(3,080 ull-time equivalents).
Results:objectives(continued)
Objective 5
Provide policy development, research and advisory services to
promote the arts
The Austra lia Counci l plays a national l eadership role in un dertaking
and commissioning robust research and analysis to inorm strategic
planning, monitoring, evaluation and advocacy work by the Council
and the arts sector.
The Resea rch and Stra tegic Anal ysis (RSA) teams priorities or
201112 were:
conduct and communicate practical and infuential research
optimise engagement and sharing o knowledge
build an evaluative culture.
In 201112, an example o the Councils delivery o research and policy
development was the organisations work on the community relevance o
the arts, and the delivery o the Measuring Cultural Value orum. This orum
investigated how research can contribute to more sophisticated public unding
decisions or arts and culture, and eatured a keynote address rom Hasan
Bakkshi, Director o Creative Industries at Nesta (UK), an independent charity
with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to lie.
Through its Artsupport Austr alia ini tiative, the Council provides advi sory
services on philanthropy and giving. In 201112, Artsupport Australia
worked closely with the cultural, corporate and philanthropic sectors
to increase cultural giving to artists and arts organisations, acilitating
over $17 million in philanthropic income rom donations and oundation
grants. This was achieved through mentoring and brokering programs
undertaken by its director and six state and territory managers.
In 201112, the Australia
Council acilitated over
$17 mill ion or artists
and organisations across
the country through its
philanthropic initiative,
Artsupport Australia.
Results:deliverables
The Australia Councils deliverables are to:
provide opportunities or Australian artists to create and present
a body o distinctive cultural works characterised by the pursuit
o excellence
invest in initiatives that promote understanding, enjoyment and
appreciation o the arts by Australian people.
Figure 6: The Australia Councils perormance against its
deliverables
200809 200910 201011 201112
Total unding $ 168.1m 164.5m 163.8m 164.5m
Grants and projects No. 1,846 1,873 1,897 1,922
Organisations unded:Key organisations
$ 20.8m 21.2m 22.1m 21.4m
Organisations unded:Major perorming arts
$ 94.1m 94.9m 96.5m 97.3m
Grants to organisatio ns No. 1,294 1,121 1,085 1,019
Grants to individual artists(unded directly)
No. 552 752 812 903
Grants to individualartists devolved throughorganisations/companies
No. 93 143 105 108
Countries presented in No. 70 58 66 65
Grants supporting Australianartists internationally
$ 7.3m 6.3m 7.2m 8.4m
Grants supporting Australianartists internationally
No. 397 362 418 578
Figure 7: Key perormance indicators, demonstrating the
perormance o the program in achieving its objectives and
contributing to the Australia Councils outcomes*
2008-09 200910 201011 201112
Number o new works created 5,526 6,911 7,541 7,656
Number o new worksexhibited, perormed andpublished
5,414 8,728 6,989 5,137
*Variations refect major national and international one-o and recurrent exhibitions and estivals.
Figure 8: Attendance numbers at Australia Council supported events*
2008- 09 200910 201011 201112
Project grants 3,229,380 3,982,933 6,478,701 4,793,609
Key organ isat ions 6,409,200 7,176,409 6,922,075 5,305,438
Major perorming arts 3,376,063 2,939,639 3,057,757 2,939,011
Total 13,014,643 14,098,981 16,458,533 13,038,058
*Figures refect new works created and presented within the reporting period.
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2 Section 2: Statement of outcome 43
Results:governmentinitiatives
In 201112, the Australia Council managed a number o
Australian Government init iatives, the majori ty o whichwere unded through its appropriation.
Artists in Residenc e (AIR)
The Artists in Residence (AIR) initiative is managed by the Austral ia
Councils Community Partnerships section. AIR aims to expose Australian
students to the benets o creative practice by creating opportunities or
artists and teachers to work together on developing eective teaching
methods and practices or the arts. In 2012, AIR provided $1.3 million to
proessional artists, enabling them to broaden their experience and share
their skills while providing Australian school and university students with
greater exposure to creative practice. Since 2009, over 200 residencies
have taken place in schools across the country.
AIR is now a n ongoing Aus tralian G overnment initiativ e and the Cou ncil
will continue its partnerships with state and territory governments
to deliver more residencies in 201213. This will include working
strategically with pre-service teacher training institutions to develop
meaningul proessional development opportunities or artists and
teachers during residencies, and soliciting new proposals rom
jurisdic tions as to th e implementa tion and dri vers o AI R or the n ext
three years.
ArtStart
ArtStart prov ides small business star t-up grants to artists o all
disciplines who have recently graduated rom tertiary or TAFE studies.
Each ArtStart grant provides up to $10,000 or services, equipment,
resources and activities that will assist graduates to build an income-
generating career in the arts practice they have studied. ArtStart has
proved to be a valuable strategic intervention during what is oten a
challenging transition period or early-career artists, with recipients citing
increased condence, business, artistic and nancial skills as gains rom
their ArtStart year. Also evident are the new networks, markets, career
opportunities, sponsorships and grants that recipients have leveraged
as a result. To date, ArtStart has distributed $6 million to 621 recent
graduates. ArtStart is currently unded by the Australian Government or
a period o our years (200910 to 201213).
Canberra and Darwin Symphony Orchestras
The Austral ia Counci l oversee s Australia n Govern ment grants t o the
Canberra and Darwin Symphony Orchestras and provides urther
assistance to both organisations through the provision o consultancy
and capacity-building programs to strengthen their management
capabilities.
ArtStart has proved to
be a valuable strategic
intervention during what
is oten a challenging
transition period or
early-career artists, with
recipients citing increased
condence, business,
artistic and nancialskills as gains rom their
ArtStart year. To date,
ArtStart has distr ibuted
$6 million to 621 recent
graduates.
Creative Australia Artist Grants
Creative Australia Artist Grants is a $10 million ve-year initiative
(20112015) that provides unding to artists or the creation and
presentation o new Australian works o art. This program commenced
in 2011, with Creative Australia New Work grants oered through the
Inter-Arts Oce, the Literature Board and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Arts Board. In 2012, the Australia Council also announced the
rst round o Creative Australia Fellowships or established artists and or
early-career artists to the value o $100,000 and $60,000 respectively.
In the rst year o this initiative the Council distributed $900,000 to:
a Major Festivals Initiative or a new work Development Site
seven artists or New Art projects
three writers or Book2 grants
eight 21st Century Stories grants
11 established and early-career artists or Creative Australia Fellowships.
Creative Communities
In 201112, the Creative Communities Partnerships initiative provided
$2.7 million to large-scale projects benetting communities.
Managed by the Councils Community Partnerships section, this initiative
builds quality arts programs that give individual community members the
opportunity to directly participate in all aspects o art-making across all
artorms. It also develops community-based partnerships with long-term
outcomes and stimulates innovation in the use o the arts to enhance
community wellbeing.
In 201112 the Australia Council approved an additional ve proposals
amounting to $1.8 million with some commitments extending into uture
scal years.
Get Reading!
This $1.6 mi llion ini tiative e ncourages Australia ns to discove r the joy o
reading. Independent research company AMR Interactive ound one-in-
ve readers (21 percent) was aware o the Get Reading! campaign with a
third o all readers (33 percent) aware o Get Readings main campaign:
50 Books You Cant Put Down. These results were higher than those
o the 2010 campaign. However, overall book sales refect the broaderdiculties acing the book sector. Nielsen Bookscan reported an
increase o 115 percent in the volume o Get Reading! titles compared
to the preceding ve weeks, despite a 38 percent decrease in total sales
volume as compared to 2010.
In 201112 the Creative
Communities Partnership
initiative provided
$2.7 mil lion to large
scale projects beneting
communities.
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4 Section 2: Statement of outcome 45
Major Festivals Initiative (MFI)
The Ma jor Fe stival s Initi ative (MFI) supports the co mmission ing,
development and showcasing o new Australian perorming arts
productions o scale or presentation at Australias major international
arts estivals. Members include the Adelaide Festival o Arts, Brisbane
Festival, Darwin Festival, Melbourne Festival, Perth International Arts
Festival, Sydney Festival and Ten Days on the Island (Tasmania). In
201112, the $750,000 per annum und supported Chunky Move and
Victo rian O perasAssembly, Force Majeures Never Did Me Any Harm,
Arena Theatre Companys House o Dreaming and Black Lung Theatre
and Whaling Fir ms Savages. The initiative also supported the irst o
three Development Sites (via an additional $500,000 commitment over
ive years through Creative Australia) in Melbourne. Development Sites
provide a orum to proile new work-in-progress to MFI members and
other potential presenters and partners.
Melba Foundation
In 2004, the Melba Foundation received a grant o $5 million over ve
years rom the Australian Government to develop and disseminate
high-quality Australian music recordings, nationally and internationally.
In 2009 the Government announced the continuation o its support o
the Melba Foundation with a grant o $2.25 million or a three-year xed
term rom 200910 to 201112, at a reduced amount each year, in order
to sustain the organisation while it builds income rom non-government
sources, and in recognition o the oundations contribution to the
vibrancy and sustainability o the Australian music industry.
Opportunities or Young and Emerging Artists
In 201112, the Opportunities or Young and Emerging Artists (OYEA)
initiative provided just over $1.7 million through nine programs that
combine opportunities or development and presentation o new
work, sector development, development o proessional skills and
engagement o young artists and audiences. Through these programs
young and emerging artists have developed and presented new works
that range rom experimental installations, new plays, dance works,
visual art exhibitions and music compositions. They have also directed
perormances, created graphic novels, crat and design works, recorded
CDs and established websites and blogs. They have reached audiences
o tens o thousands o Australians, urthered their creative careers andmade new connections.
Results:governmentinitiatives(continued)
Visual Arts and Cr at Strat egy
The Visua l Arts and Crat Strate gy (VACS) was de veloped as a joint
initiative o all Australian governments in response to the2002 Report
o the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crat Inquiry (The Myer Report,
2002). Since its implementation in 200304, the VACS has signicantly
increased the vitality and sustainability o Australias contemporary
visual arts sector. The Australian Government contributes hal o the
total unding or the VACS, with state and territory governments
providing the balance.
In 201112, the VACS delivered its ninth year o unding to the
contemporary visual arts and crat sector.
VACS Stage I (December 2003 June 2007) provided $39 million over
our years.
VACS Stage II (200708 to 201011) was a $49.4 million our-year jointstrategy delivered by the ederal, state and territory governments. The
VACS unding ocused on our key areas: support or inrastru cture,
expanding the market, support or individual artists and support or
Indigenous arts and crat.
VACS Stage III (2011 12 to 201415) i s a $55.3 mil lion join t
ederal, state and territory government unding package. It supports
contemporary visual arts and crat organisations across Australia,
providing assistance to individual artists, artist-run initiatives
and projects.
In 201112, the Australia Council administered $5.3 million o the VACS
unding, including $1 million in direct grants to individual artists. The
remaining unds were delivered to key organisations, artist-run initiatives
and projects. Highlights or 201112 included:
The 18th Bie nnale o SydneysAll our Relati ons showcase o more
than 220 works by over 100 Australian and international artists at
major venues across Sydney.
Perth Institute o Contemporary Arts Hatched, Various Artists,
National Graduate Show (21 April10 June 2012) presented,
or the 21st time, an annual survey o the best o Australias art
school graduates.
Support or the upcoming 7th Asia Pacic Triennial o ContemporaryArt presente d by the Quee nsland Art G allery ( 8 December 2012
14 April 2013), which will eature new and recent work by over
140 artists rom 25 countries across the region.
Through the Opportunities
or Young and Emerging
Artists ( OYEA) init iative,
artists have developed
and presented new works
including experimental
installations, new plays,
dance works, visual arts
exhibitions and music
compositions. They have
reached audiences o
tens o thousands o
Australi ans, ur thered
their creative careers andmade new connections.
Since its implementation
in 200304, the Visual Arts
and Crat Strategy has
signicantly increased the
vitality and sustainability
o Australias contemporary
visual arts sector.
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6
Its a great achievement to receive thisaward. I hope it helps make it easier or theyounger people rom the bush to ollow inmy ootsteps.
Warren H Williams
2012 Recipient o the Red Ochre Award, or outstanding, lielong contributions to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts at h ome and a broad
My belie is that somethingantastic will come rom this some antastic new works,shows and perormanceswill emerge rom thesecollaborations. For mywork to be recognised as avaluable contribution to thelives o the people is about
the best eeling you can have.The ellowship will allow methe luxury o exploring mycreative interests. Havingmore creation time is the keyvalue.
Antony Ham ilton
Recipient o a 2012 Creative Australia Fellowship or an
established artistImage: Warren H Williams. Photo: Karen Steains
About theAustralia Council
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8 49Section 3: About the Australia Council
The Australia Council is the Australian Governments arts
unding and advisory body. The Council is accountable tothe Australian Parliament and to the Government through
the Minister or Regional Australia, Regional Developmentand Local Government and Minister or the Arts, the
Hon Simon Crean MP.
Formed as an interim council in 1973, the Australia Council was given
statutory authority status by the Australia Council Act 1975. It replaced
an earlier non-statutory body called the Australian Council or the
Arts, whic h had been e stablished a s a divisi on o the Pr ime Ministe rs
Department in 1968.
The Australia Council subsumed other arts-related Australian Government
unctions, such as the Commonwealth Literary Fund and the CommonwealthArt Advisory Board. It was granted considerably expanded unctions and
greater independence rom the government than its predecessors.
The work o the Australia Council is guided by two undamental principles:
The arms length pr inciple , enshrine d in the Australia Counci l Act
1975, which provides that Ministers may not direct the Council with
respect to the provision o grants.
The peer assessment principle, whereby decisions on grants are made
by artists, individuals closely associated with the arts, and community
representatives who are peers o those being assessed. Grants are
oered to artists and arts organisations whose proposals, in competition
with those o other applicants, and within budgetary constraints,
demonstrate the highest degree o artistic merit and innovation.
The uncti ons o the Australia Council are to:
Formulate and carry out policies designed to:
promote excellence in the arts
provide and encourage the provision o opportunities or persons
to practise the arts
promote the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment o the arts
promote the general application o the arts in the community
oster the expression o a national identity by means o the arts
uphold and promote the right o persons to reedom in the practise
o the arts
promote the knowledge and appreciation o Australian arts by
persons in other countries
promote incentives or, and recognition o, achievement in the
practice o the arts
encourage the support o the arts by the states, local governing
bodies and other persons and organisations.
Furnish advice to the Government o the Commonwealth, either o its
own motion or upon request made to it by the Minister, on matters
connected with the promotion o the arts or otherwise relating to the
perormance o its unctions.
Do anything incidental or conducive to the perormance o any o the
oregoing unctions.
The governing body o the Australia Council is the
council. The primary role o the governing council isthe achievement o the agencys policy and strategic
objectives. To ull this role, the council is responsible orthe overall corporate governance o the agency, including
implementing its strategic direction, establishing andmonitoring the achievement o managements goals and
ensuring the integrity o internal control and managementinormation systems. It is also responsible or approving
and monitoring nancial and other reporting.
In accordance with theAustralia Council Act 1975, the council has
between 10 and 14 members, not including the Australia Council Chie
Executive Ocer (CEO) who is a member o the council (ex ocio). Terms o
appointment or members o the council are generally three years. Members
are eligible or re-appointment. Appointments cannot be or more than
six continuous years. Members are appointed with a view to achieving a
balance o relevant expertise in the arts, business, management, public
policy, corporate governance and administration, appropriate to regional,
gender, multicultural and Indigenous community participation in the arts.
All new me mbers o the council a re provided w ith an indu ction program
where they receive a copy o the Australia Councils Governance
Manual and the General Guidance or Directors o Statutory Authorities
publication, provided by the Oce or the Arts in the Department o
Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport.
The manual contains a section tha t outlines appropriate e thical
standards with regard to, amongst other things, directors obligations,
condentiality and disclosure o the Councils business, conficts o
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