The Australia
Council’s CEO

In response to recent articles, Australia Council CEO Adrian Collette offers his opinions on RISE funding.

Interview with Wes Lambert and Adrian Collette AM

“The longer the social distancing goes, the more critical the cash flow issue is going to become”

Australian Council for the Arts CEO Adrian Collette has spoken up over the past couple of days about the issues the arts sector is currently facing and will face once restrictions lift.

Australia’s $15 billion arts industry has been smashed apart by the restrictions put in place to tackle coronavirus.

This week has seen another major blow, with major cultural centre in Sydney, Carriageworks, going into voluntary administration as a direct result of the virus.

Tourism has been a major casualty of COVID-19, but the arts have been hit equally hard.

Dozens of events including concerts, comedy festivals, music festivals and theatre performances have been cancelled.

Landmark change to government funding of performing arts in Australia was ushered in at last Friday’s meeting of Arts and Cultural Ministers. The endorsement of the new National Performing Arts Partnership Framework (the new Framework) marks a pivotal point of evolution, significantly updating the funding model of the last 20 years and promising more flexibility, transparency and accountability in our country’s arts funding.

Australia’s principal arts funding and advisory body will roll out a public awareness campaign to  counter attitudes the sector is elitist and pretentious, and combat a decline in public support for arts funding.

The Australia Council’s new CEO, Adrian Collette AM, recently had one of the most powerful theatrical experiences of his life. In a performance of Belvoir Theatre’s hit show Counting and Cracking at the Sydney Festival, he says he saw his own story on stage for the first time.

It’s an unexpected observation from a veteran arts administrator whose family migrated to Australia.

NAVA today welcomed Adrian Collette as the new CEO of the Australia Council for the Arts.

“The role of Australia Council CEO is pivotal to the health and the ambition of the arts in Australia,” said Esther Anatolitis, Executive Director of NAVA.

The Australia Council for the Arts has announced the appointment of Adrian Collette as its incoming CEO. Collette, an experienced arts leader, will take the reins in January 2019. He was appointed by a selection panel, following a recruitment process involving an external executive recruitment agency.