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In a surprise move, artists at the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit have recommended more handouts for artists.
A cushy loan scheme has been proposed under which struggling artists get a handout that they don’t have to repay if they fail, move to the United States or “have this big audition next week.”
Another idea that came up was to teach art in schools, AAP reported. While this is probably not the sort of new thinking Kevin Rudd promised for the summit, it does highlight the problem of celebrities not having paid attention in school.
Kram Maher from Spiderbait said that artists shouldn’t have to work too hard to practice their art. Having a job like the rest of us can really stifle the sort of creativity that allows a guy called Mark to rename himself Mark-spelled-backwards. Maher then demanded the Commonwealth buy him a pony.
Co-chair Cate Blanchett is apparently under the impression that government attention on the arts will continue past this weekend’s summit. “It’s just the beginning—it doesn’t mean that the conversation is over at the end of the day,” she quipped.
Comedian Corinne Grant described the stream’s final session as productive and herself as a comedian. “What do you expect us to do—just sit there for the last hour and pat each other on the back?” she asked, apparently rhetorically.
Having set the direction of art in Australia for the next decade, Ms Blanchett returned to her work on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Rhys Muldoon went back to hosting Play School.
According to AAP, Arts Minister Peter Garrett said the government took the arts industry “very, very seriously”. A government spokesman declined to reveal how seriously he took Peter Garrett.
Mr Garrett’s serious attitude to the arts does not extend to dance.
Most of the 102 artists, musicians, actors and dancers invited to the summit did not turn up on the weekend, thinking that it was on in 2020.
