School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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Start date: 1990 × Type: PhD thesis × Subject: Australia × Subject: federal aid to the arts ×

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    The role of Australia's cultural council 1945-1995
    Johanson, Katya Anne-Madsen ( 2000)
    This thesis examines the concept of a cultural council as it was expressed in Australian public debate over the fifty years between 1945 and 1995. It aims to draw out the discrepancy between the concept of such a council- its potential contribution and relation to Australian political, social and cultural development - and the form in which the council has been institutionalised as the Australia Council. The thesis was written in a context of increasing government interest in cultural policy, and increasingly pro-active policies. This resulted in a recognised need for more research into the relationship between cultural activities and public policy, which has become an issue of interest within the disciplines of cultural studies, economics, history and political science. The Australia Council has been one focus of such interest. Research has concentrated on its administration, its funding priorities and, more recently, the extent to which it has reflected government cultural policy objectives. Yet such research has tended to neglect the extent to which the function of the Council has reflected and interpreted broader social and political concerns. Throughout the period examined in this thesis, understandings of a cultural council's appropriate responsibilities have included a wide range of social, cultural and political concerns experienced as a consequence of post-war development. The council has provided an important, but often overlooked, axis around which public recognition of and debate about such concerns has occurred. Its function has thus been 'cultural' not just in the sense of providing funds for artists and arts organisations, but in providing a focus for public debate. There are two key implications of these findings. Firstly, behind the institution of the Australia Council lies a more complex history than previous policy studies might suggest, a history that reveals a unique aspect of common social concerns and ideals over the post-war period and that might make a significant contribution to broader studies of Australian history. Secondly, the contribution of the council to public debate - rather than to cultural development in the more narrow sense of arts development - might usefully be considered in future political or administrative assessments of the cultural council's worth.