Spare a thought (or penny) for Newcastle’s This Is Not Art festival. After a decade of patronage, Newcastle City Council decided not to renew the festival’s triennial funding plan, placing them at immediate financial risk. Reports place the shortfall at just $18,000 (it went instead to Surfest and the Maritime Festival among others) but organizers say the loss could close the festival all together. This despite the estimated $1.5 million it generates for Newcastle’s economy or its decade long servitude to Australia’s music, arts and media communities. Something doesn’t compute. The arts focused umbrella event includes The Crack Theatre Festival, National Young Writers’ Festival, Electrofringe and Sound Summit, which, really, should receive $18,000 each.
Says their official website: “TINA has been notified that its current triennial funding would not be renewed. This means with just 12 weeks until the annual arts festival is scheduled to kick-off the TINA operational budget is $18,000 short of its financial need. TINA is now calling on the amazing community of Australia to lend it’s support towards the development of a culturally diverse, rich, and sustainable arts sector. If you have ever been to TINA….If you support the Arts….If you believe that emerging artists are vital….Please donate to this national cause, and invest in the future development of Australian art.”
