"As a practising artist/craftrsperson with an interest in education, teaching and learning, the potential of studio based training greatly appealed to me."
The time is post-recession, the economic climate is uncertain, Australian designers and consumers inhabit the suburbs but are cut off from each other, and someone decided to do something about it in the City of Caulfield, Victoria.
Ipswich City Council in Queensland is recruiting artists and designers from their large regional base and assisting them to create their own incomes through the work they are already trained to do.
The Cultural Services Unit of the Liverpool City Council has increased substantially over the last 2 years as has the number of artists employed by them.
Artists are particularly vulnerable to economic downturn for two main reasons...the business cycle and the role of other jobs in a tight employment market.
Museums and larger arts spaces are increasingly looking at ways to improve access to their exhibitions for a wider range of people. Contemporary art spaces face a more difficult battle than museums in trying to become more relevant to their diverse communities.
How do artists survive when they are not able to sell work in galleries -- sales are at a record low and many galleries have folded-- or get commissions through State agencies -- because these are few and far between?