The Chamber of Arts and Culture WA board will today debate whether to wind-up the organisation due to a lack of funding certainty.
The Chamber of Arts and Culture WA board will today debate whether to wind-up the organisation due to a lack of funding certainty.
Formed in 2010 with high-profile executive Sam Walsh as inaugural chair, the chamber is the industry's peak body and its collective voice in discussions with government.
It was thrown a lifeline in 2023 when Arts Minister David Templeman announced the state government would provide $800,000 in funding for the following two years.
That commitment runs out at the end of this year, and the state government hasn't allocated any further funding.
The chamber's board will also consider whether to continue the organisation as an advocacy-only body. Under its current structure, the chamber also offers networking opportunities and industry events, professional development programs and various other benefits for members.
Chamber of Arts and Culture WA chair Anthony Hasluck confirmed a board meeting was slated for today but wouldn't confirm the details of any motions on which the board would vote.
He said the chamber was in a "sound financial position for the forseeable future" as a result of the government funding, although it would run out this year.
“At this time, the board is simply having prudent and professional conversations well before the end of 2025 about the next steps for the chamber and its best role in the arts sector," Mr Hasluck said.
"These involve a range of options, including a particular focus on a pure advocacy model to ensure that the sector has a strong ‘collective voice’ to WA and Federal Governments, the private sector and media about the big issues that matter to everyone.
"These issues include equitable federal funding for WA, including our regions, tax regimes, local infrastructure, the coordination of long-term workforce capacity in this state, and Perth’s potential to be the arts capital of Australia."
Mr Hasluck said the chamber had found it difficult to secure the additional funding required to strengthen its operations, partly due to a weaker private sector economy.
He also said many potential funders were interested in backing specific programs rather than an organisation.
The chamber had discussed these issues with the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The support received from the department had been appreciated, he said.
The chamber's most recent annual report shows it had revenue of about $560,000 in FY24, but more than $460,000 had come from grants. It booked a surplus of $7648 for the year.
In FY23, the chamber had about $638,000 in revenue (almost $500,000 from grants) and recorded a surplus of $45,609.
It had net assets of $106,827 at the end of FY24, most of which was in cash or cash equivalents.
The chamber identified five priority steps it believed would help to transform the sector ahead of the recent state election, all of which focused on funding mechanisms and programs.
