Arts funding, Young Turks and old lexiconic straitjackets

Ironically, the euphemistic term “Young Turks” [1] • [2] is used rather loosely currently to imply that these ‘youngsters’ – new kids on the block – are change agents of a kind. Strangely the term is used in ways that seems to be ignorant of  –careless of perhaps? – the euphemism's historic context. You see, “the Young Turks were the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide”. Nonetheless, removed from, and oblivious to, their historic context, these contemporary Young Turks are sometimes lauded as cultural heroes of a kind.

Somewhat curiously, those who see themselves as being ‘put down’, marginalised or oppressed today applaud these so-called Young Turks to some extent – especially those  in 'the arts' who are predisposed to denigrate the ‘c word’. “Craft”, it seems, still carries so much negative cultural cargo despite the circularity and pointlessness of the argument.

The unknown feminist who once asked, ”how good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete” is rather like the ‘craftspeople’ who were once asking the same kind of question about their credibility as cultural producers. 

For some with long memories recall Daniel Thomas during his tenure as the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ chief curator talking about “high and low arts" – fine art and craft by implication as often as not. As recently as 2006 this idea bobbed up in an address – “ABORIGINAL ART: WHO WAS INTERESTED?”  – he gave at the National Gallery of Victoria, on Mabo Day, June 3 that year.

So, and in so many ways, it is not all that surprising that the  aspirational Young Turks championing new and innovative ‘arts practices’ might covet the funding enjoyed by a sector of arts funding with ‘lead in its saddlebags’. And it seems given that, and Craft Australia’s lexiconic straitjacket, and the 'givens'  implied in the ‘craft brand’ – excuse the mixed metaphors here – the so called ‘craft sector’ has come full circle in 40 years. It's a situation ready for a touch of cultural cleansing perhaps?

If only the pie were bigger or at least my slice was! If you are hungry perhaps the end always justifies the means. Well, it might so long as nobody is looking all that hard.