Prominent Australian artist Ben Quilty has issued a stark warning, labelling the nation a "nation of rich cowards" for its systemic underfunding and undervaluing of the arts. In a powerful essay, the Archibald Prize-winning painter argues that future artists are essential for building the "social fibre" needed for a healthy and resilient Australia, yet they face a culture of contempt and financial discouragement.
A Personal Story of Discouragement
Quilty recalls the moment his own artistic ambitions were first stifled. At age 16, he told his school careers adviser he was considering art school. The adviser's response was one of alarm; he promptly contacted Quilty's parents to urge them to re-enrol the teenager in economics instead. This early experience, Quilty suggests, reflected a collective lack of ambition and a fundamental misunderstanding of the arts' role in society.
He contrasts this with the nation's reverence for sport, where achievement on the international stage swells national pride. "If sport is sugar, the arts are fibre," Quilty writes. While sporting victories offer a temporary tonic, he contends that the deep, sustaining cultural narrative required for long-term social health comes from a robust arts sector.
The Stark Financial Disparity
Quilty highlights the glaring financial imbalance between support for sport and the arts. He points to the doubling of fees for humanities degrees under the previous federal Liberal government and the massive public investment in sports stadiums and institutes like the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
"Part of the tax I paid from my Archibald prize win in 2012 went to training athletes at the AIS," he notes, adding that he himself worked as a builder's labourer to repay his university HECS debt while trying to make art. This system, he argues, makes choosing a career in the arts financially perilous, while sporting careers are not only revered but actively subsidised.
A Call for Courage and Investment
The artist looks back to the progressive reforms of the mid-1960s under Gough Whitlam as a period when Australia began to bravely define its own unique culture. Today, he sees a society diminished and lost, lacking the courage to acknowledge its past or imagine a better future.
"To be an artist in a society contemptuous of the very idea of art is an act of courage," Quilty states. He calls for a society that once again values its dreamers and visionaries, those who explore uncomfortable truths to help the nation understand itself and envision new possibilities.
Quilty's conclusion is unequivocal: the future of a healthy, successful Australia depends on building strong cultural fibre through the arts. This, he insists, is only possible with an unflinching acknowledgment of our past and governments that are prepared to properly fund the nation's cultural future.
