Artswashing dilemma continues to plague festivals

Late last week, Darwin Festival launched its 2022 program. On the same day, a delegation of Traditional Owners from Larrakia Country, the Tiwi Islands and the Beetaloo Basin, joined by members of the Northern Territory arts group Fossil Free Arts NT, held a ‘Darwin Festival Dump Santos’ campaign rally in Darwin’s CBD.

Recent action by artists includes Australian author Tim Winton, who publicly called on Perth Festival to end their ties with fossil fuel sponsors earlier this year. Winton was subsequently backed by the Australian Greens, who issued a statement at the time reiterating the need for several other WA arts companies to end their relationships with fossil fuel sponsors, citing the country’s disastrous flood and bush-fire tolls as evidence that urgent change is needed.