Esther Anatolitis

Esther Anatolitis is one of Australia’s most influential advocates for arts and culture. She is Editor of Meanjin, Honorary Associate Professor at RMIT School of Art, and a member of the National Gallery of Australia Governing Council. Esther has led arts and media organisations across all artforms, including Express Media, the Emerging Writers' Festival, Craft Victoria, SYN Media, Melbourne Fringe, Regional Arts Victoria and NAVA. Her consultancy Test Pattern focuses on creative practice, policy and precincts, as well as advocacy and public value. A hallmark of Esther’s arts leadership career has been her tenacious civic engagement, ensuring that artists’ voices and arts issues feature prominently on political agendas. This work has ranged from strategic development and private advice to public events, regional marginal seat forums, candidates’ debates, specialist workshops and Australia’s first advocacy training program for the arts. A prolific writer, Esther’s work regularly appears in literary journals, newspapers, and arts and design media, and she is a regular Arts Hub columnist. Her book Place, Practice, Politics is published by Spurbuch. Follow Esther on Twitter: @_esther.

Esther's Latest Articles

Radically rehumanising: Kate Larsen’s Public. Open. Space. 

Kate Larsen’s work radically rehumanises the institutions that shape our lives.

Features

Whitlam 50 years on: art, democracy and the public good

It's been 50 years since Gough Whitlam formed government in December 1972; how does his legacy impact on Australian arts…

The logo for Budget October 2022-2023.
Opinions & Analysis

A safe-ish Budget that dares to be boring

Esther Anatolitis examines the Budget's arts and cultural impacts, and the policy work to come.

Features

Culture as a 'global public good': MONDIACULT 2022

What role did Australians play in MONDIACULT, the UN's conference on cultures, convened for a first in 50-years.

A photo of an old grain silo which is painted with three three Clydesdale horses captured mid-gallop.
Opinions & Analysis

Creating a big picture approach to cultural policy: looking outside the arts

How best to move beyond the arts towards a broader cultural policy? Esther Anatolitis looks at some of the non-arts…

Features

Writing your National Cultural Policy submission

Esther Anatolitis reframes the five pillars of Australia’s next cultural policy, offering new questions to help identify the key policy…

A hand holding a pen notates a spread of data shown in various graphs.
Features

Census 2026: Making sure artists are counted

A national snapshot, the ABS Census allows us to plan for the future – so how can we ensure it…

Opinions & Analysis

Re-centring the voice of the artist

The voice of the artist is once again welcome on the national agenda – and Australia’s newly elected politicians are…

Opinions & Analysis

Let’s make this election personal

With just a few days left until election day, Esther Anatolitis argues that it’s time to make our advocacy personal.

Image of one lit lightbulb amid several dark lightbulbs
Opinions & Analysis

Artists to political candidates: ‘Inspire us’

Speaking at the recent Federal Arts and Culture Policy Forum, Esther Anatolitis called on our politicians to offer policies that…

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