ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 Letter of Transmittal
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 Letter of transmittal Minister for the Arts Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 2 September 2016 Dear Minister, On behalf of the Board of the Australia Council, I am pleased to submit the Australia Council Annual Report for 2015–16. The Board is responsible for the preparation and content of the annual report pursuant to section 46 of the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 and the Australia Council Act 2013. The following report of operations and financial statements were adopted by resolutions of the Board on the 29 August 2016. Yours faithfully, Rupert Myer AO Chair, Australia Council CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 Report from the Chair 4 Report from the CEO 7 SECTION 1: AGENCY OVERVIEW 10 About the Australia Council 13 Funding Overview 17 Australia Council Support for the Arts 26 Arts Organisations 29 Key Organisations 30 Major Performing Arts Companies 32 Government Initiatives 35 Research and Evaluation 37 Corporate Plan Achievements 38 SECTION 2: REPORT ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES 66 SECTION 3: MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY 72 The Australia Council Board 74 Committees 80 Management of Human Resources 89 Ecologically Sustainable Development 92 Organisational structure 93 Executive Team as at 30 June 2016 94 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 96 Compliance Index 144 The Council respects Indigenous communities and cultures. Readers should be aware that this report may contain images or references to members of the Indigenous community who have passed away. Cover Image: “FLOW” Designed by Kathryn Sproul & Christopher Bartlett, Concept by Olivia Allen, Created by the Riverland Community. Produced by Country Arts SA as part of “This is a River” program, supported through the Creative Communities Partnership Key Producer Program. Image credit: Robert Hogarth ANNUAL REPORT 2015–16 1 INTRODUCTION 2 Gurdanji dancers performing, Artback NT DanceSite Borroloola 2015 Image credit: Benjamin Bayliss © Artback NT ANNUAL REPORT 2015–16 ANNUAL REPORT 2015–16 INTRODUCTION 3 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR This Annual Report gives details of a significant and challenging year for the Australia Council for the Arts, as well as a powerful vision for the future. At the heart of the period under review is the ongoing implementation of the Council’s Strategic Plan, A Culturally Ambitious Nation and the release of a new corporate plan. The delivery of the best possible outcomes for the whole arts sector and for Australian audiences has been the Council’s priority within the new arts funding framework announced during the previous year and further adapted in December 2015. In this environment it was even more important that the Council focus on maximising all available resources ‘for the arts’. In 2015-16 the Council invested nearly 90% of our budget directly into the arts sector and the remaining Rupert Myer AO, National Indigenous Arts funds supported the sector through strategic Awards 2016. Sydney Opera House. advice, specialist knowledge and high quality program delivery. Over the past three years, we have transformed our grants model, our structure, and our peer assessment processes to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of the sector. Changing budgetary circumstances required refinements to the plan, including announcements during the year of two project grant rounds and Four Year Funding for Organisations. Given the rapid and simultaneous strategic, structural and budgetary changes necessary over the past year and the impact on many in the sector, I wish to acknowledge the continued breadth and depth of support expressed by the arts sector for the work of the Council. The reforms of the past three years, which were driven by sustained sector feedback and consultation, are also directly responsive to a near 50-year history of strong sector support for the Council. I would like to acknowledge the leadership and inexhaustible demonstration of care, thoughtfulness and resilience shown by my colleagues on the Board, the senior executive team and the staff across the whole organisation, as well as the peers and all those who have been engaged with Council activity. In particular, I would like to thank the Chief Executive Officer, Tony Grybowksi, and Deputy Chair and Chair of the Nominations Committee, Robyn Archer AO for their support, insights, energy and wisdom during a period of rapid changes. Additionally, I would like to thank Sophie Mitchell, Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, Tim Orton, Chair of the Strategy Committee, Professor John Daley, Chair of the Research Strategy Panel, and Wesley Enoch, Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy Panel. Each has performed a critical 4 role within the organisation, working alongside their Committee or Panel colleagues and our talented staff members. Julian Knights’ term as Chair of the Major Performing Arts Panel concluded during the year. I would like to record the Board’s deep appreciation for Julian’s important contribution to the Council as a past board member and for his dedication to the MPA sector. I am delighted that current Council Board Member, Adrian Collette AM, has agreed to be Julian’s successor. During the year, we welcomed two new Board Members, Rebecca Weisser and Christine Simpson Stokes, both of whom are already bringing considered perspectives to the Board. In reflecting upon the Board and on the manner in which it serves the organisation, the government, the diverse arts sector, and gives direction to the Council’s work, it is significant that the Board encapsulates the Australia of now. We comprise a multifarious membership, born here and overseas, of diverse faiths, ages and cultural backgrounds, and with an equal representation of men and women. Board members collectively and directly practice in or support, the full gamut of arts disciplines across community, national and international organisations and have lived and/or worked in all states and territories, in capital cities as well as in regional centres and communities. I believe that this diversity is significant as we undertake our work. Australia’s strength is its diversity. We are home to the most enduring art and culture makers on earth. A key pillar of the Council’s work is to support the cultural expressions of our First Nations people and promote them as a source of pride for all Australians. Our unique collective identity and vibrant national culture are deep-rooted in the world’s oldest living continuous cultures, as well as being born of successive waves of immigration from all regions of the world. As a result, we are a people increasingly open to new cultural practices and new art forms. Our artist-centric grants model is more responsive to changing practice and provides greater accessibility for an even more diverse range of artists to apply for support for a wide ambit of arts activity. Distributing Commonwealth funding to the arts, whilst central to what we do, is by no means the only thing we do. We approach our role more broadly: as a key advocate for, and investor in, our country’s artistic and cultural future. Our agenda includes supporting arts organisations to respond in a very challenging economic and social environment by generating pathways to new capabilities and new business models. Importantly our diversity informs our perspectives, our priorities and points of emphasis, ensuring that we serve all of the arts for all of the country. The Australian Government’s Innovation Agenda aims to “drive smart ideas to create business growth, local jobs and global success.” The drivers are identified as: capital and culture; backing our entrepreneurs; collaboration; and developing talent. Yet a significant challenge remains to better articulate our capacity for innovation through the arts as leaders and in collaboration with other industry sectors, so as to forge a place of greater priority in the vision for innovation. The Innovation Agenda aligns beautifully with that which is central to the arts; innovation, creativity, risk taking, experimentation, iterative learning and discovery. Yet the full interdisciplinary potential of the arts in collaboration ANNUAL REPORT 2015–16 INTRODUCTION 5 with science, IT and other industries which are traditionally aligned with innovation, is yet to be fully realised. For nearly 50 years the Council has supported innovation and innovative projects. This has contributed to Australian experimental arts practice building an international reputation for excellence, and a vital resource for Australia’s innovation system. Yet in both local and global terms we have so much more to offer. AU S T R A L I A’ S It was with great pleasure that during the year we announced the appointment of Naomi STRENGTH IS ITS Milgrom AO as Commissioner, Tracey Moffatt DIVERSITY. WE AO as artist, and Natalie King as Curator, ARE HOME TO THE for the Australian representation at the 57th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale MOST ENDURING 2017. It was especially pleasing, too, that the ART AND CULTURE National Gallery of Australia presented the entire installation by Fiona Hall AO, Australia’s MAKERS ON EARTH Venice Biennale artist in 2015. On behalf of the Council, I thank the officers of the Department of Communications and the Arts for their continuing support during the year. I wish to acknowledge Senator the Hon George Brandis QC who served as Minister for the Arts until September 2015 and Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield who has served in the period since. On 1st November 1967, Prime Minister Harold Holt announced the decision of his Government to establish an ‘Australian Council for the Arts.’ Mr Holt noted, "for some years now Government encouragement for the arts in general has been increasing…on the best advice [this] is one significant area where the Commonwealth Government can provide material assistance." As the Council approaches the fiftieth anniversary of that announcement, it is appropriate to reflect upon and consider carefully the very great opportunities that have been created for our nation by that assistance.