PDC: Art culture working group

This Working Group (WG) was established by the Policy Development Committee (PDC) on 1 May 2013.

Working group report
This working group was tasked with developing policy on cultural growth and freedom. It is chaired by Mark Gibbons and has prepared the following policy text for consideration of party members.

Recommendation
That the following text be adopted to encourage grassroots cultural growth and participation in Australia.

Preamble
Culture is a pillar of our lives, having evolved with us through thousands of generations, building on what has gone before and connecting people to each other and to our collective history.

However, intellectual property laws have recently imposed a misshapen model of culture, molding it into a hierarchical structure in which grassroots creators are squeezed out and the creations of the past century are placed under perpetual private control. Live music venues and other participatory avenues are becoming increasingly scarce,   even as corporate owners of music are forbidding remixing and other essential aspects of musical creativity and evolution. And while digital avenues provide substantial new ways to experience culture, traditional cultural hubs are likely to need greater support to fully harness their potential.

Part of the cultural challenge is addressed through reform of intellectual property laws (see copyright policy). However, such reforms should be supplemented with active efforts to help artists and promote grassroots cultural models which better reflect both our own creative nature and the increasingly participatory nature of the digital age. Successful cultural policies should emphasize grassroots participation and access, not hierarchical structures and artificial scarcity.

Strengthen cultural heritage and the public domain

 * Allocate $50 million per year to funding streams supporting:
 * An additional grant stream made available to artists who adopt creative commons (or similar) licencing.
 * Accelerated digitisation of library and museum content.
 * Content to be made available online.
 * Rare items to be subject to high priority.
 * Additional capacity for libraries to invest in digital and archiving services.
 * Participatory art programs organised by community groups.
 * Initial funding for a community-based program in which scientists and cultural figures are invited to interact with the community in informal settings.
 * This may utilise the successful UK Café Scientifique template.
 * Create a single source of information on exhibiting, performing and displaying art, including lists of contacts and overviews of exhibitions and events.

Increase the venues available for cultural exchange and emerging artists

 * Expand current tax exemptions applying to “cultural organisations”.
 * Extend the “Music” category to include small-capacity music venues which host at least 100 free-access live cultural or music performances per year.
 * Extend the “Literature” category to cover book and cultural exchanges which provide low-cost literary and cultural material to the general public.