'Australian Arts: Where the Bloody Hell Are You?' was a one-day symposium in December 2006 organised by the Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney to consider Australia's international arts profile. The forum examined cultural advocacy not as a one-way process but as a means of facilitating cultural flows which benefit both artists and society. It highlighted the substantial benefits of international cultural exchange and concluded that strengthening existing programs rather than a large bureaucracy would best serve Australia's current circumstances. Doubling or trebling Australia's current expenditure would enable the public to enjoy more fully the fruits of those who are currently Australia's biggest arts subsidisers, the artists themselves.
Author Biography
John Clark is a professor of art history at the University of Sydney and founding Director of the Australian Centre for Asian Art and Archaeology. Peter McCallum is an academic advisor in the Office of the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sydney. Ian Maxwell is the Chair of the Department of Performance Studies at the University of Sydney.
