School of Culture and Communication - Theses

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    Culture crisis: an assessment of government arts funding in Australia during COVID-19
    Bouckaert, Ravenna ( 2021)
    Decades of underfunding and poor policy design have worn down the vitality of the cultural industries in Australia. The majority of public funds have been directed to the largest organisations, while the small-to-medium sector is reduced to reliance on short-term grants. This funding environment has meant that the sector was vulnerable as it was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced the closure of nearly the entire arts and cultural sector, and it continues to be one of the worst - affected industries alongside hospitality and tourism. This thesis considers the perspective of six professional performing arts organisations of different sizes and organisational structures, using semi-structured qualitative interviews. Analysis of these interviews allows for an understanding of how performing arts companies responded to a national crisis, and how government support played a role in this response. The objective of the research is to provide an insight into the ways in which the pandemic has brought to light issues affecting the sector, and how this could inform permanent policy reform to better support Australia’s performing arts ecology.