The recent Federal election saw unprecedented coverage of the arts as a political issue, the outcomes of which may have lasting benefits for the sector.
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Writing and Publishing
Instagram photo by Tracy Paterson (@ lacontrapposto).
After a week of uncertainty in which neither the Coalition nor the Labor Party have been able to claim outright electoral victory, one thing is certain: for the first time in living memory – perhaps ever – the arts were on the radar of voters and politicians alike.
Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts