Tina Arena criticizes lack of support for Australia’s arts sector

Tina Arena criticized the lack of support for the arts during the pandemic in an interview on Studio 10.

Arena was on the morning show this weekend to discuss the 50th anniversary of the Australian variety show Time for young talents, where she played as a child. During the interview, the respected singer-songwriter said there continues to be a “categorical disrespect” between how sport and culture are treated under the pandemic restrictions.

“I hate the differentiation between sport and the arts in Australia. It’s now at a point where, for me, someone has to draw the line. As an artistic community, we are now going to draw the line in the sand and say, ‘No more double standards now,’ ”she said.

“Sport is absolutely a good thing, we understand that, but life is not just about sport, life is about art and culture, and art and culture play a role as well. important.”

When asked how the artists helped at the Fire Fight concert in early 2020, Arena said the help was not reciprocated.

“If something goes wrong in this country, the arts community has always rolled up its sleeves. We’ve been there, we’ve done what we need to do because we believe in it, it’s a role we play. We’re very happy to play this role to help people – that’s what we do, ”she said.

“Now we have problems, can anyone help us?” No. It’s amazing how people fly away and disappear. However, they are very quick to ask us for help, to work for free, to give up any form of remuneration for work, for the sale of records… ”

Watch the interview below:

Arena’s comments follow similar remarks made by other musicians during the pandemic. Last month, for example, Alex Lahey published an open letter questioning the federal government‘s roadmap to ease restrictions and its link to the return of live music to Australia.

“Tens of thousands of concerts are canceled with each passing month. The necessary instant lockdown strategies, in particular, result in a complete lack of the ability to plan and budget for concerts and events, which causes collective sanity and confidence to continue to slide with every postponement and cancellation, ”a- she writes.

“There must be structures in place that provide quick and direct restorative financial support for businesses and individuals in the event that concerts, tours or festivals cannot take place due to epidemics. In addition, a wage subsidy system will allow workers and artists to make ends meet during the inevitable capacity restrictions upon exiting lockdowns. “