Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 21 May
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
The worlds of art and finance often make for uncomfortable bedfellows. Throughout history, artists from every discipline have depended on the financial support of the state and from private patrons, in the form of philanthropic donations. Can art survive without philanthropy, and should it? If an artistic individual or organisation is to benefit from an injection of funds from without, must they become beholden to the whims and beliefs of their benefactor, particularly if the funding comes from corporate sponsorship whose ideals may not match that of the arts organisation?
In this edition of the Art & us series, Rebecca Coates, curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, is joined by Philanthropy Australia CEO Louise Walsh, Australia Council and Creative Partnerships Australia board member Rupert Myer, and Clemenger BBDO Chief Executive Peter Biggs.
As they look back over the history of patronage and scrutinise the ethics behind artistic philanthropy, they look at whether it’s possible for the worlds of money and art to co-exist without the interests of one seeping into the other. Or is there a method for financially supporting the arts without compromise?
This event is part of Give it up for Margaret: A month of philanthropic inspiration. More details visit please www.giveitupformargaret.com.
Art & us
The nature and meaning of art has been hotly debated for centuries, but in this new series for 2014, the Wheeler Centre explores the impact of art in a variety of contexts. We look at how artistic practice fits in to the many diverse aspects of everyday life, as well as how its context has a direct effect on the realms of inspiration and creation.
Featuring
Simon Abrahams
Simon Abrahams is a strategic arts and cultural leader, dynamic programmer and experienced producer whose work has been recognised nationally and internationally. He is Chair of Theatre Network Victoria, and a freelance arts consultant and performer.
Previously, Simon served as the Wheeler Centre’s Head of Programming, Executive Producer at Polyglot Theatre, Artistic Development Program Manager at Arts Centre Melbourne and Producer at Gasworks Arts Park. In 2010, Simon was named amongst Arts Hub’s Top Ten Australian Arts Leaders.
Louise Walsh
Louise Walsh brings extensive corporate, government, not for profit and philanthropic leadership experience to her role as CEO of Philanthropy Australia.
A former corporate lawyer with Allens Arthur Robinson, Louise worked on Sydney’s Olympic Bid, and corporate partnerships for the 2000 Olympic Games and the City of Sydney, before becoming Director of Development for the Sydney Symphony.
More recently, Louise was the founding director of Artsupport Australia, an initiative of the Federal Government agency, the Australia Council for the Arts, to grow cultural philanthropy. During her ten-year tenure, Artsupport Australia facilitated over $77 million of philanthropic funds nationally for cultural sector across hundreds of organisations and individual artists.
Rebecca Coates
Rebecca Coates is an independent curator and writer, and associate curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. She lectures in Art History and Art Curatorship at the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne.
In 2013 she was awarded a PhD in Art History from the University of Melbourne. Her thesis examined the intersection of art and exhibition histories, exploring the rise of private art foundations as part of a globalised contemporary art world.
She has curated over 40 exhibitions, and worked extensively as a curator in Australia and overseas at ACCA, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF), and Museum of Modern Art Oxford (MOMA Oxford).
In the UK, she curated and developed an extensive program of touring exhibitions and collaborative projects with art spaces and museums across the UK and Europe. She is a member of the Stonnington Arts Advisory Board, and has sat on the Arts Victoria Development panel. She writes regularly for Australian and international art journals, magazines and refereed academic publications.
Rupert Myer
Rupert Myer is the chair of the Australia Council for the Arts. He serves as a member of the Felton Bequests’ Committee and as a board member of Jawun – Indigenous Corporate Partnerships, Creative Partnerships Australia, The Myer Foundation, The Australian International Cultural Foundation and The University of Melbourne Faculty of Business and Economics Advisory Board.
He is an emeritus trustee of The National Gallery of Victoria. Rupert is deputy chairman of Myer Holdings Ltd and is a director of AMCIL Ltd.
Rupert holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge, and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He chaired the Australian Government’s Inquiry into the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crafts Sector, which completed its report in 2002. Rupert became a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2005 for service to the arts, for support of museums, galleries, and the community through a range of philanthropic and service organisations.
His previous roles in the arts include serving as chairman of the National Gallery of Australia, Opera Australia Capital Fund, Kaldor Public Art Projects and National Gallery of Victoria Foundation. He has been a trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria, a board Member of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, a member of the advisory board, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a member of the National Council & Melbourne Committee and The Australian Opera (now Opera Australia), and as a council member of the Australian Association of Philanthropy (now Philanthropy Australia).
Peter Biggs
Peter Biggs CNZM is Chief Executive of Assignment Group.
He was formerly the Chief Executive of Clemenger BBDO/Melbourne, one of the top five agencies in the world (The GUNN Report 2014), Campaign Brief’s Australian Agency of the Year for a record five years in a row and Asia Pacific’s Most Effective Agency of the Year for three years in a row.
Before taking up his appointment in Melbourne in February 2006, he was Managing Director of Clemenger BBDO in Wellington, New Zealand. During his time at Clemenger BBDO/Wellington, the agency was New Zealand Agency of the Year in 2002 and 2004, and he was chosen as Agency Chief Executive of the Year in 2003.
In Australia, Peter is Chair of Chunky Move, Australia’s leading contemporary dance company. He is also a member of the board of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a former board member of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas.
As well, Peter is a member of the Clemenger Group Australia/New Zealand Board.
Peter has a first class honours degree in English Literature and Latin from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. In New Zealand, Peter is Chair of the New Zealand Book Council, Chair of the Panel advising the Government Review of Symphony Orchestras, Chair of the Government Reference Group on Private Giving and Partnerships for the Arts (he recently chaired the Government’s Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce), a member of the nz@frankfurt Advisory Board and a member of the World War 1 Centenary Panel.
He was also Chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand from 1999 to 2006.
Peter is married to Mary and has four children. They split their time between their home in Melbourne and their farm in New Zealand. He was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit at the Queen’s Birthday Honours announcement in June 2013.