Australia Council for the Arts

The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council of the Government of Australia. It is responsible for funding arts projects around Australia, formulating and implementing policies to foster and promote the arts in Australia. The Council also advises governments and industry on arts-related issues. Each year, the Australia Council provides over 1700 grants to artists and arts organisations. In addition, it supports strategies to develop new audiences and markets for the arts both in Australia and overseas. The Australia Council itself, is funded by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts from 2007.

History

The Australia Council was formed in 1973 by the Whitlam government [cite web
url = http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/meetpm.asp?pageName=inoffice&pmId=21
title = Australia's Prime Ministers - Meet a PM - Whitlam - Inoffice
publisher = National Archives of Australia
date = 2007-02-02] and was given statutory authority in March 1975 by the "Australia Council Act". The Council's predecessor, the Australian Council for the Arts was established in 1968 as a division of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Council then incorporated other government projects, such as the Commonwealth Literary Fund and the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. It operates in co-ordination with the various state government agencies. [cite web
url = http://www.ozco.gov.au/the_council/about_us/who_and_why_we_are/
title = Australia Council: Who and Why We Are
publisher = Australia Council for the Arts
date = 2007-02-02]

Boards

The Australia Council is composed of 7 boards, each board has seven members including a chair. An exception is the MPAB which has eight members. The 7 boards are:
*Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts
*Dance
*Literature
*Major Performing Arts
*Music
*Theatre
*Visual Arts [cite web
url = http://www.ozco.gov.au/the_council/how_can_we_help/how_do_the_boards_work/
title = Australia Council: How Do the Boards Work?
publisher = Australia Council for the Arts
date = 2007-02-02]

Online presence

Several online initiatives have been funded by the Australia Council including:

* [http://www.noise.net.au/ Noise] : A global media arts initiative profiling young artists and their work.
* [http://www.amo.org.au/ AMO] : A guide to contemporary Australian music featuring band biographies and discographies.
* [http://www.theprogram.net.au/ the PROGRAM] : A social networking site with a focus on the arts.
* [http://www.fuel4arts.com/ fuel4arts] : A free service that provides advice and information to artists, including arts marketing case studies and articles, trend reports and an up-to-date database of industry contacts.
* [http://www.copyright.org.au/ Australian Copyright Council] : The council is a non-profit organisation providing awareness on copyrights

References

External links

* [http://www.ozco.gov.au/ Australia Council for the Arts]
* [http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/ Culture and Recreation portal]
* [http://www.australianmusicoffice.com Australian Music Office] - Australian Government organisation aimed at promoting export initiatives for Australian arists and music companies