By Judith White It’s been a difficult year for many public institutions in Australia, but as it draws to a close we can take heart from the growing numbers of people ready to speak out against the governmental idiocy responsible. When writer and former Wallaby [...]
Infrastructure spend and the corporate lobby Rebuild Sydney’s sports stadiums at a cost of $2.3 billion? Gladys, you can’t be serious! It’s yet another ill-considered cash splurge of a kind all too familiar to supporters of cultural institutions. This isn’t just about sport – it’s [...]
By Judith White The NSW government is on the brink of making another expensive blunder in arts policy, and it’s time for concerned citizens to speak out. On 15 November the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) revealed the final design for the massively ambitious expansion [...]
Criticism grows over Gallery expansion plan A fresh obstacle is confronting plans to spend $344 million to build the grandiose Sydney Modern gallery near the current site of the historic Art Gallery of NSW. A distinguished group of architects, environmentalists and arts professionals is calling [...]
Postmodernism and art prizes Tim Storrier, on winning Australia’s richest art prize (above, October 18), couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the board of trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). They were, he said, a “postmodernist cabal” driven by fashion, identity [...]
It’s a sad reflection on the level of discussion about culture in the New South Wales Coalition government that when arts funding is mentioned to its representatives, they assume that you’re talking about a new building. Preferably one to which the dreadful words “iconic” and [...]
Pointed questions at the parliamentary inquiry Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Coalition government in NSW is under increasing fire over its arts policy following the latest hearing by the Upper House Inquiry into Museums and Galleries. The public inquiry, which has again postponed its reporting date (now [...]
Beware governments that talk about community consultation, but in practice fall in with the wishes of the developers. At the end of July, after months of speculation and in flagrant disregard for her own government’s community consultation process, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the [...]
By JUDITH WHITE Artist John Olsen first came to public prominence back in 1953, as a leader of art students protesting against the conservative Archibald Prize choices of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Board of Trustees. That's him on the left of the [...]
In 2007 the Australian Public Service Commission published a set of guidelines entitled Building Better Governance. Under the heading “Clear Accountability Mechanisms” it stated: “Australian Public Service agencies are accountable to the general public through the Parliament as well as to the Government. The success [...]
