Arts alarm bells ring over funding - Simon Plant, Herald Sun — 16.01.2012
DELAYS in approvals for 2012 Arts Victoria funding are setting alarm bells ringing in the arts sector.
“We are very concerned at the delays to date and trust future government processes will be executed in a more timely manner,‘’ Arts Industry Council (Victoria) executive director Jacqueline Grenfell said.
The AIC is especially concerned that no announcement has been made about applications for Arts Development funding, which had to be lodged by August 1 last year.
“This is a competitive category mainly supporting the small-to-medium sector which produces a lot of the cutting-edge work Melbourne is known for. Some of those companies operate on a shoestring budget as it is,‘’ Grenfell said.
The AIC has written to Premier Ted Baillieu, urging “an immediate resolution of this issue'‘.
Yesterday a government spokesman said successful recipients would be notified shortly.