The Australian visual art and craft sector has benefited from a four-year $39 million package known as the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy (VACS). This initiative by the current Government, delivered through the Australia Council, was a result of the recommendations by Rupert Meyer following an inquiry in 2002 into the health and status of the visual art sector.

Reflecting the recommendations of the Myer Report, the strategy has been targeted at supporting individual practitioners, arts infrastructure and marketing. We are halfway through the initiative and questions are being asked about the outcomes of this package. To provide some answers on this issue, the Australia Council organised a meeting in Adelaide in March, 2006 for the protagonists and recipients of the VACS initiative to discuss the upshot of VACS funding on the visual art sector.

The list of meeting attendees reads like a who’s who of the Australian visual arts sector. It included representatives from both federal and state governments as well as artists, directors of art organisations, touring agencies and national support groups. All states and territories were represented. In my twenty years as an arts worker I have never witnessed such a gathering brought together for the focused purpose of reporting on our collective contribution to Australian culture.

The meeting was held at the Art Gallery of South Australia as a prelude to the opening of 21st Century Modern, the 2006 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art. The overall context was inspiring and the outcomes overwhelming. The day was structured so that a representative from each of the art sector groups gave a report on the national outcomes achieved in their field as a result of the VACS funding.

In his report presented for the Contemporary Art Organisations (CAOs) Alasdair Foster said, "the strategy brought stability; it brought new hope and stimulated a renewed vision for the contemporary visual arts in Australia.

Christine Ballinger for the Australian Craft Design Organisations said that "the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy was a lifeline. ACDO .. sincerely thank(s) the Federal and State governments for recognising the struggle and responding to it."

Tamara Winikoff, reporting for the National Service Organisations, gave an overview of the achievements of this disparate but vital group that sustains a range of activities from arts advocacy and lobbying to fostering cultural links with Asian neighbouring countries.

In summary the meeting proved beyond doubt the value of VACS funding to the arts. More significantly it highlighted the benefits of VACS to the broad community through greater audience involvement and international connections. Economically, the multiplier effects of this investment are yet to be adequately measured, however, the information presented at the meeting gave ample evidence of good results.

So what is the next step? VACS is not ongoing funding. It was established as a three year initiative. Will the government commit to VACS in its next budget? The answer we are all anticipating in the arts community is a simple yes. Given the outcomes to date how can it be otherwise. The reality however is not that simple. The basis of VACS funding is new State/Territory art funding matched dollar for dollar be Federal funds. Ongoing VACS funding is reliant on a renegotiation between all the State/Territory Governments agreeing to increase arts funding which will then be matched by Federal Government. This is clearly no simple task and the lobbying wheels need to be greased up again to achieve this. What is disappointing about this scenario is that the original VACS initiative, despite its benefits, did not deliver key recommendations outlined in the Meyer report. Some of these are legislative changes that will not require additional funding such as the introduction of resale royalty. Others such as artists’ fees and improved online promotional systems have only had a scant whiff of support.

Clearly there is still much work to be done to ensure the arts in this country have a sustainable future. As Alasdair Foster and Christine Ballinger pointed out in their reports, VACS is more than just buoying a struggling visual art sector. It is about the greater economic benefit to Australia, ensuring we have a cultural sector that is internationally competitive as well as being nationally relevant.

Catrina Vignando   April 2006
General Manager
Craft Australia