Deborah Stone, ‘Corporate money but at what cost, Minister?’, ArtsHub, 16 October 2014

The messages arts organisations have received from the Federal Government about arts sponsorship are strong but not always clear.

Last week the Prime Minister slammed WA Opera for not staging Carmen while it had a Healthways sponsorship. But earlier this year Minister for the Arts Senator Brandis attacked the Biennale of Sydney for turning down the Transfield sponsorship and said arts organisations which did not accept sponsorship should lose government funding.

At the Regional Arts Australia Summit in Kalgoorlie we asked the Minister to clarify. Should arts organisations adjust their programming to get corporate sponsors? His response: ‘I think we need to get as much private sector money going into the arts sector as we can and one of key priorities of the government is to encourage more corporate sponsorship, more philanthropy, more private sector money going into arts organisations. We want the arts to be as well supported as it can be both by governments and by corporates.’

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