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Australian artists feel the pinch
Australia’s initial hopes that it would escape the worst of the global financial crisis have vanished.
The consensus that the country will enter a recession is as certain as it is in the United Kingdom and the United States. While it's still too early to comment on the specific effects of the downturn on the visual arts sector, there is strong evidence of a classic consumer response in uncertain times: quality work from established names remains sought after. For emerging artists and those who have always relied upon non-arts work as their primary income, not a lot has changed. Melbourne illustrator Belinda Suzette comments, "Most artists need a job to support their career at the best of times, so the recession may be crunch time, but it's not a whole lot different... yet." Paul Greenaway, chair of South Australia? Living Arts festival, says the crisis has brought some positive effects to the emerging arts market. "If you've got a regular job.. in the past where you might have thought of buying a painting for up to $5,000 (£2,500) you might look more towards the emerging artists and sort of go around the $2,000 (£1,000) mark," he said. Innovation and an entrepreneurial approach is proving more important than ever for practitioners; the ability to utilise freely available Web...
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