More than 100 staff working at the Art Gallery of NSW and their supporters gathered at the Domain on August 27 to protest NSW Labor’s plan to cut 51 jobs from the gallery workforce.
It was the first walk-out by members of the Public Service Association of NSW (PSA) at the gallery in 10 years.
They chanted “No more cuts” and carried placards with arts minister John Graham’s face photoshopped over the iconic portrait of the Mona Lisa, with the words “Art Attack” emblazoned on the front. Other placards included: “No job cuts: Art for all” and “Art 4 Ever”.
The gallery is being forced to “save” $7.5 million by slashing one-in-eight full-time-equivalent roles.
The August 27 Canberra Times reported PSA organiser Anne Keneally saying: “These are not excess roles; these are not luxuries; these are the people who are the heart and soul of the gallery. They are more than a number.”
She pointed out that the gallery now had two venues, “yet staff will be expected to deliver more with less”.
The draft “restructure” reduces the gallery’s workforce from 382 to 330 full-time-equivalent roles. In June, Labor announced cuts of one quarter in its Create NSW arts funding agency staff.
“Is the art gallery a place for art or a party venue for government photo ops?” Keneally asked the rally.
The Australian Financial Review asked how Chris Minn’s government can “find $50 million for [an upgrade of] Leichhardt Oval” but not $7 million to support the world’s 25th most-visited cultural institution.
A PSA organiser Claudia Bianchi told the rally: “These cuts show a lack of respect towards the cultural sector. This truly is an ‘art attack’.”
Arts Hub reported PSA assistant general secretary Tony Wright saying on August 27: “Our members have had a gutful … these are public-facing roles [and] there’s only one manager included in these cuts … The public will notice these cuts. If you enjoy the gallery, then you need to know that the amount of exhibitions and their quality is in the firing line.”
[For more information and to support the campaign, visit www.psa.asn.au.]