Outback artists slam NSW government's changes to regional art gallery funding
Broken Hill City Art Gallery, the oldest regional gallery in the state, is among those that have been overlooked.
The gallery is run and supported by the Broken Hill City Council, but it also relies on annual funding from Create NSW's Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP).
Council general manager Jay Nankivell said the gallery had received $100,000 per year in the past through the program and that it was concerning to miss out on the latest round.
Gallery advisory committee member and artist Kelly Leonard moved to Broken Hill four years ago to be a part of the Far West's rich art scene.
"The art gallery really is a centrepiece, a location where we can connect, develop opportunities for each other," she said.
Ms Leonard said she would need to travel interstate or to Sydney for workshops and professional development if it were not for the gallery.
"We're only just recovering from the COVID years out here, and to go through something like this, it's extremely frustrating," she said.
Artist Wendy Martin said any funding cut would be a major setback.
"Art plays a major part in the tourism industry and attracts a huge amount of people to our city," she said.
"Lots of artists have been given a career start by having their work displayed in the gallery, including myself, and I have been painting and exhibiting in Broken Hill now for the last 50 years."
Wagga Wagga, Orange and Armidale were among the other regional centres to miss out on the four-year funding, which Regional Arts NSW chief executive Tracey Callinan said was received by only three galleries.
"We're now really concerned that those regional galleries across the state are going to struggle to produce good work," she said.
The funding is offered in two, four and eight-year cycles and Broken Hill council hopes to be named as a recipient of two years' worth of funding in September.
"The gallery works at least two years ahead on planning for exhibitions, so it really needs that long-term funding support," Ms Leonard said.
The ABC contacted NSW Arts Minister John Graham for comment and received a statement from a Create NSW spokesperson who said the ACFP was highly competitive.
"The NSW government recognises the significant contributions made by regional art galleries to the arts and culture ecology across regional NSW," they said.
"The full funding profile of support for regional galleries will be available following the assessment of the two-year funding program."
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