Local Film Buffs Get The Party Started

By Jessica Issa on January 14, 2014 in News

When a couple of Eastern Suburbs film buffs became miffed about the poor representation of the arts in Australia, they decided to do something about it.

Barry Watterson, director of the Australian Film Festival, and filmmaker PJ Collins joined forces with a handful of passionate, like-minded arts lovers recently to launch the Australian Arts Party, and within just six weeks it’s membership grown to over 500 people, enough to register as a federal party.

“Everybody is connected to the arts,” Mr Watterson said. “We felt the arts in Australia was suffering and didn’t have a political or lobbying voice. It’s often pushed to one side, but if you’ve ever been an audience member, you’ve delved into the arts. This is a political party for both the artists and audience alike.”

Mr Watterson feels as though they’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg thus far.

“We’d like to have the party up and running at the next federal election and we’d like to field people in all the state elections as they come along,” he said.

“Our ultimate goal would be to have a strong voice in the way the arts funding is provided state to state and federally.”

This Australian Arts Party is intended to be more than just a means of raising awareness.

“We’d like to make artists’ lives more secure. Being an artist often means surviving on insecure revenue. We want to give artists a more certain funding. Artists should be focussing on their art, not on where their next pay check is coming from,” Mr Watterson said.

To become a founding member of the Australian Arts Party, sign up for just $20 at www.theartsparty.org.