Call For Aussie Artists To Shake Their Thang In Protest Against Budget Cuts [UPDATED]

Artists, arts workers and lovers of all things creative are being rallied by emergent movement #FreeTheArts to engage in a nationwide "mass dance action" in protest against a proposed plan to shave $104.8 million from the budget of the Australia Council For The Arts.

Orchestrated by the group behind Australians For Artistic Freedom — which has just launched a petition to oppose the cuts — #FreeTheArts will be held in public spaces from 1.30pm AEST tomorrow, 22 May, in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Lismore; full details for each city can be found at the base of the story.

Before rocking up to register their displeasure with the budget results, participants are asked to familiarise themselves with the "Hoofer Dance", created by renowned dance troupe The Fondue Set, with members Jane McKernan and Emma Saunders even having taken the time to create an instructional video to help those planning on attending get the moves down pat.

"Come as you are, from the studio, rehearsal room, theatre, classroom, home, office etc," organisers wrote on the event's Facebook page. "Even if you don't want to dance, come to show solidarity for the arts."

And, if you do want to dance, get up to scratch with The Fondue Set's clip below.

So, what's the problem with the proposed cuts? Well, as announced by Attorney-General and Arts Minister George Brandis, the funds being diverted from the Australia Council would instead go towards the establishment of a "National Programme For Excellence In The Arts", affording himself a hitherto unseen level of control over the dissemination of creative funding.

As QMusic executive officer Joel Edmondson explained in a recent op-ed for the organisation, the creation of the National Programme is "ostensibly because [Brandis] believes that the Australia Council has a monopoly it does not deserve" but, in essence, perpetuates a monopoly of its own in deferring to Brandis' particular tastes and whims.

Acknowledging that QMusic "doesn't always agree with the decisions the Australia Council makes", Edmondson nonetheless expresses the company's belief that the existing peer-assessment process used in the allocation of funding by the Australia Council is "the most democratic and transparent model that's available", and the creation of the National Programme would simply benefit the already over-funded "elite" sectors of the arts community.

As evidence, Edmondson explained that contemporary music events make up 37% of ticket sales nationwide, with musical theatre (14%), classical (6.6%) and opera (5.1%) lagging behind, while those very same under-performing major arts sectors receive the lion's share of national funding.

"For all the wrangling over who gets to make the decisions, the National Programme For Excellence In The Arts will most likely perpetuate the only monopoly that actually makes a difference to the diversity of cultural experiences available to Australian audiences: that of the major organisations in the elite artforms," Edmondson wrote.

Further muddying the waters is the very subjective ideal of "excellence", and the exclusionary impact that is likely to arise from any attempt to quantify the term — as Edmondson elaborates, "Senator Brandis' protection of the AMPAG [Australian Major Performing Arts Group] organisations suggests something about his definition of excellence, and this is destined to draw perpetual criticism from the significant proportion of the sector it excludes".

Thus, given the generally less-valuable artforms  (economically speaking) are the ones Brandis seems to dig the most, you can understand Edmondson's — and everyone else's — confusion when he asks: "When the economy needs a burst of energy, wouldn't it make sense to support artforms like contemporary popular music that not only enhance the cultural life of the nation, but also make the greatest contribution to the nation's economy?"

You'd think so. If you're keen to get out and get your wiggle on to demonstrate your support in service of the arts, see the list of times and locations below, or head over to the #FreeTheArts Facebook page.

Read Joel Edmondson's full piece about the nebulous nature of the National Programme here.

UPDATE, 22 May: The location of the Brisbane protest has shifted from King George Square to Metro Arts, in the CBD, and Bathurst has joined the list of locations staging demonstrations this afternoon — their event will be held at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre from 1.30pm today.

#freethearts - nationwide events

SYDNEY

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Hyde Park, near Archibald Fountain

MELBOURNE

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: ACCA Forecourt, 111 Sturt St, Southbank

CANBERRA

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Garema Place

BRISBANE

When: Arrive by 1.10pm, Dance at 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Metro Arts, 110 Edward St

HOBART

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Elizabeth St Mall

ADELAIDE

When: 1.00pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Parliament House

DARWIN

When: 1.00pm, Friday 22 May
Where: More details to come

PERTH

When: 11.30am, Friday 22 May
Where: Perth Cultural Centre, outside PICA

LISMORE

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Lismore Art Space, 1 Norris St

bathurst

When: 1.30pm, Friday 22 May
Where: Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre