During World War II, so the story goes, British PM Winston Churchill was urged by some of his ministers to divert funds from the arts to the war effort. Churchill reportedly rounded on his ministers and said, “In that case, what are we fighting for?”
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
His point – that arts and culture are the foundation stones of a people, and therefore worth fighting for – is still relevant. Last week’s decision, made under duress, by the NSW Premier to permit the use of the Opera House sails as a giant billboard is yet another step in the systematic dismantling of the arts in favour of corporate interests.
The Opera House is public space. The building itself is a work of art and is one of the most recognisable structures in the world. To that end, would the Brazilians enjoy having advertising for Rio’s Carnival splashed over the statue of Christ the Redeemer? For that matter, the Indians could promote IPL Cricket on the facade of the Taj Mahal. Perhaps the Greeks could salvage their economy by selling space on the side of the Parthenon. Silly to even think about it, really.
There are two issues at play here: firstly, the concept of public space, which, by definition, belongs to the public. It is not the government’s to sell to private interests. Secondly is the role of the arts. Reducing a symbol of the arts to the status of advertising hoardings is indicative of a government that has little or no respect for the culture of the people it represents. Bowing to the rantings of a shock jock and his rich mates indicates a government that has lost its footing.
Shakespeare’s Berowne opined: They sparkle still the right Promethean fire/ They are the books, the arts, the academes/ That show, contain, and nourish all the world.
Why do the arts nourish all the world? Because in the arts is the mirror of who we are. Art is said to imitate life.
One does not have to understand, appreciate or even like the arts to realise that it has been the only constant in human society from prehistoric times through to the current day.
Empires have risen and fallen, whole civilisations have disappeared, human endeavour has changed directions, but beneath it all has been the need to create and build culture and to do so in the public spaces that belong to us all.
The people who turned out to the Opera House last week to protest did so in recognition, perhaps not of the arts, but of the centrality of public space.
