The Australian Design Centre (ADC), based on Gadigal land in Darlinghurst, Sydney, announced late yesterday (Thursday 19 June) that both Federal and State Governments, through Creative Australia and Create NSW, have chosen not to support the ADC with four-year operational funding.
ADC currently receives a combined $500,000 in base level funding needed to support annual operations, so the remainder of its 2025 programs – including all exhibitions and the Sydney Craft Week Festival – will continue as planned.
Without core operational funding, however, the organisation’s future looks grim. A media statement from the ADC released yesterday read as a stark warning: “Without core operational funding it is difficult to see how ADC can continue in its current form.”
The future of the organisation’s headquarters in William Street, Darlinghurst is also uncertain. It currently houses staff as well as the ADC’s retail store, Object Shop, an important sales outlet for NSW’s craft practitioners and makers . The ADC Board “will determine the future for the Centre in William Street before the end of 2025 in consultation with our local government partner, the City of Sydney,” the statement read.
The ADC adds it was “recommended by peers for funding” and said the decision that it would not receive funding was due to “government quoting a lack of available funds and other priorities”.
The news was met with dismay by the sector, with the World Crafts Council Australia (WoCCA) stating on Instagram: “The World Crafts Council Australia wants to recognise the integral part that the Australian Design Centre (ADC) @australiandesigncentre plays in the arts ecology in Australia.
“This small, dynamic, independent organisation has nurtured and supported thousands of artists since 1964, presenting work locally, nationally and internationally across extensive exhibition, touring, retail, publishing and digital platforms,” WoCCA’s statement read.
Established in 1964, the ADC was Australia’s first-ever Australian craft association. Should it be forced to close its doors in 2026, it would leave NSW as the only state and territory in Australia without a government-funded organisation dedicated to craft and design practice.
ADC’s statement acknowledged the organisation’s respect for the funding process and celebrated the many successful applicants, but added, “We find the decision to remove this base level of operational funding from ADC after decades of investment, difficult to understand.
“As an independent organisation we have operated on a tenuous financial footing for too long. Operating under incredible pressure to perform with inadequate resources, an organisation can only push well above its weight for so long.
“ADC has been remarkable in this regard for decades, and most recently since 2016 under the leadership of Executive Director Lisa Cahill (CEO and Artistic Director). Lisa and the ADC team have forged strong and pivotal partnerships and connected thousands of artists with audiences and market development opportunities across multiple platforms,” the ADC’s statement read.
It continued: “While government core operational funding has declined in real terms since 2015, ADC has successfully secured more than $5 million in project grants, philanthropy and earned income underpinning this extensive activity and contribution to Australian cultural life.”
A call for community and sector support
In addition to announcing the funding loss faced by the ADC, yesterday’s statement acknowledged that the organisation’s Board and staff are in the process of imagining the future for 2026 and beyond. The statement also called on the broader community and its supporters in the sector and beyond for assistance.
“We’re interested in formal proposals to help us to reimagine our future beyond 2025,” the statement acknowledged, including support for key programs such as the national exhibition program ADC On Tour, ADC’s annual program of 18 Sydney exhibitions, the recently announced MAKE Award: Biennial Prize for Innovation in Australian Craft and Design, and ADC’s Object Shop, which presents work by more than 150 artists.
Read: What I learned from 12 years at Sydney Fringe Festival: Kerri Glasscock
The statement also encouraged sector members to lobby the likes of John Graham MLC, NSW’s Minister for the Arts and Tony Burke, the Federal Minister for the Arts, on the ADC’s behalf.
The full statement, including contact details for the relevant State and Federal Ministers that could potentially be lobbied, can be read on the ADC’s website.
ArtsHub will be following up this story in detail in the coming days.
