Revealing the Arts

As I sit down today to get back into the swing of essay work about the impacts of digital and new media on museums, across town (well down the street, really) our National Broadcaster and the overseer of our cultural institutions are likewise engaged in conversation about just that.

Are you wondering what’s happening to arts and culture in the new digital world? Where will the money come from? How will we manage rights? Where do we find creative partners? What works and what doesn’t? And what are we leaving the next generation? The Australia Council for the Arts and the ABC invite you to be part of a selected group of strategic thinkers, artists, practitioners and directors who will uncover the opportunities for the arts that the digital era presents.

Today and tomorrow, the ABC and the Australia Council are hosting 'Revealing the Arts: creative conversations and solutions for the digital era'. The program of discussion appears to be covering the current and future role of digital across areas such as a education and opening up access to arts, while tackling 'issues' such as copyright, rights management and commercial opportunities in the digital era.

One thing that has struck me is the inclusion of OA's Chief Executive among the speakers list in a presentation with David Ford on Aussie Cosi entitled 'SHOW ME HOW - Revealing the Creative Opportunities'. As a small initiative that may or may not have reached it's strategic aim (bums on seats? access? sorry was there a strategic aim?) it will indeed be interesting to hear what is said about this project.

The ABC is providing live streaming of the event on both days, so there's no excuse not to watch. You can also follow the blog or the twitter stream (see cultural caretakers can interact with digital media! my bad).

Of perhaps most interest to me is the last session entitled 'Where to from here'. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow we might all know (we can dream can't we?).

And if you need anymore proof it's one to watch, here's another great article in The Age this morning from Marcus Westbury. Marcus takes a slightly different tack and for me, one who has watched a large cultural institution grapple with the impact of the digital...I would say....right on!

there are vital basic assumptions that are rarely questioned: that the culture, the cultural organisations that deliver it, the cultural needs and infrastructure of Australia will remain more or less fixed. Technology is merely about the marketing, the branding, the language, the revenue and the education programs. The idea that the culture itself is changing and evolving is rarely considered. Technology merely changes the hype and the pitch to keep the kids interested.

The ABC has long moved beyond that. The broadcaster has realised that in order to justify its continued existence, it needs to keep questioning and evolving its roles.

I would love to (but I won't) comment on how just the opposite to the ABC approach where a lack of innovation (fostered by a lack of strategic thinking and not helped by having no budget for experimentation) seems to be one of the many blockages at the arts organisation I know intimately.

Well lets just hope that some of those attendees from the large cultural institutions are paying attention over the next few days.

Image source: http://revealingthearts.com/blog/