A 1980s cost-of-living crisis gave Australia a thriving arts program – could we do it again?
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Nantsou, IzabellaAbstract
The cost-of-living crisis is hitting the arts hard. Artists struggle to survive on poverty wages and audiences are getting priced out. This challenge is not unprecedented. In the 1980s, another cost-of-living crisis sparked a bold and imaginative model for embedding artists into ...
See moreThe cost-of-living crisis is hitting the arts hard. Artists struggle to survive on poverty wages and audiences are getting priced out. This challenge is not unprecedented. In the 1980s, another cost-of-living crisis sparked a bold and imaginative model for embedding artists into the everyday rhythms of working life. This article reflects on the Art and Working Life program, an historic community arts program managed by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. It examines how the program responded to a previous cost of living crisis and the conditions necessary to revive such a program today.
See less
See moreThe cost-of-living crisis is hitting the arts hard. Artists struggle to survive on poverty wages and audiences are getting priced out. This challenge is not unprecedented. In the 1980s, another cost-of-living crisis sparked a bold and imaginative model for embedding artists into the everyday rhythms of working life. This article reflects on the Art and Working Life program, an historic community arts program managed by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. It examines how the program responded to a previous cost of living crisis and the conditions necessary to revive such a program today.
See less
Date
2025Publisher
The ConversationLicence
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0Faculty/School
Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Theatre and Performance StudiesShare