A group of artists and cultural organisations in Victoria has launched a grassroots campaign calling for the restoration of arts funding and new investment in the state’s cultural sector ahead of the next state election on 28 November.
Don’t Break Our Arts will target politicians and lobby for commitments to restore funding where it has been cut and to increase cultural funding overall, with the group calling for ‘new cultural investment in a state once renowned for its vibrant arts scene’.
Victorian arts sector campaign – quick links
Peak arts bodies back campaign
The campaign is backed by peak bodies and unions including Writers Victoria, Theatre Network Australia, the National Association for the Visual Arts, the Public Galleries Association of Victoria and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
A series of campaign actions is planned across marginal seats, culminating in a rally in early November.
The campaign is seeking commitments from the Victorian Government and all election candidates to restore funding in the next term of Parliament. It will target marginal electorates including Footscray, Northcote, Albert Park and Preston, alongside regional areas such as Macedon, where campaign organisers point to high concentrations of cultural workers.
Its launch comes amid ongoing concern about the impact of government funding reductions on artists, independent practitioners and small-to-medium cultural organisations across Victoria.
‘The arts in Victoria are in crisis’
Campaign organiser Max Delany, former director of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, says the sector has reached a critical point:
‘The arts in Victoria are in crisis,’ Delany said. ‘Funding has been slashed to artists and the small-to-medium sector. We know some organisations are facing closure and artists are leaving the sector – it is now becoming existential for many.’
The campaign’s broader argument is that Victoria’s reputation as a cultural centre was built through sustained investment in artists, cultural workers, organisations, infrastructure and local communities.
It says that legacy is now under serious threat, with the consequences extending beyond individual organisations to the state’s wider creative ecosystem.
Funding cuts threaten the sector’s creative pipeline
A media release distributed by the campaign cites budget analysis by Monash University lecturer Dr Ben Eltham, which claims that Victorian Government funding for artists and small-to-medium cultural organisations has declined by 35% in real terms since 2022.
High-profile Victorian arts organisations such as Abbotsford Convent, Writers Victoria and the Australian Print Workshop having their arts funding completely eliminated, while funding available to independent artists has also been slashed.
The funding changes have been the subject of sustained sector criticism. ArtsHub’s has previously spoken with defunded organisations that have expressed serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of Victoria’s cultural infrastructure.
Victoria’s Shadow Arts Minister, the Hon David Davis MP, denouncing the government’s decision to defund successful arts organisations in an op-ed for ArtsHub, referring to the Allan Labor Government’s actions as ‘a betrayal’. In May, Davis urgently called on Victoria’s new Creative Industries Minister, the Hon Vicki Ward MP, to reverse the funding cuts to arts organisations.
Don’t Break Our Arts argues that the organisations most affected by the cuts are often those responsible for developing the state’s future creative talent: small companies, studios and artist-run spaces where careers begin.
Its organisers warn that continued reductions could leave emerging artists without the infrastructure and opportunities needed to establish sustainable careers.
Artists call for renewed cultural investment
For the campaign’s supporters, the case for restoring arts funding extends beyond the survival of individual organisations.
‘The arts have always been an essential part of human existence,’ said Ursula Searle, Equity President of the MEAA in Victoria.
‘The ability for all people to participate in, enjoy and share art is absolutely vital to every community. As artists, we deserve economic recognition for the significant role art plays in democracy and the enjoyment of life.’
Melbourne-based public art curator and T Projects Director Victoria Jones described the changing cultural landscape in similarly stark terms.
‘When I arrived in Melbourne 13 years ago, the vast array of creative industries made the city buzz with life,’ Jones said.
‘Today the situation is dire: the arts are in severe crisis, the buzz is gone and the future is bleak. The arts are the heart of our city: without them, it’s just another collection of skyscrapers.’
Election campaign puts arts funding on the agenda
Don’t Break Our Arts will now take its advocacy into the electoral cycle, seeking commitments from candidates across political parties and from the current Victorian Government.
The campaign’s planned activities in marginal electorates and its November rally are intended to make cultural funding a visible issue in the lead-up to the election, with the group’s next actions expected to focus on building public and political support for its funding demands.
For organisers, the central question is whether Victoria will continue to invest in the artists, organisations and creative communities that have shaped its cultural identity.
ArtsHub has contacted Creative Victoria and the office of the Hon Vicki Ward MP, Victoria’s Minister for the Creative Industries and Public Transport, for comment.
