Biennale future may depend on arts independence

Whether the Biennale of Sydney survives may depend on the independence of the Australia Council in the face of an angry Minister.
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The statement is clearly targeted at the Biennale, which last week split with its founding sponsor Transfield Holdings, after boycotts and protests by artists because Transfield Holdings in a major shareholder in Transfield Services, which manages asylum seeker detention centres.

In a letter sent to Australia Council for the Arts Chairman, Rupert Myer, Brandis has asked that a policy be formulated to prevent arts organisations knocking back funding for political reasons. ”If the Sydney Biennale doesn’t need Transfield’s money, why should they be asking for ours?’ he said in the letter, the full text of which is available on ArtsHub.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina