At the close of business yesterday, the South Australia Government released a statement. It announced that it would be helping to fund to the new cultural centre at Sir Hans Heysen’s historic Hahndorf home to the tune of $1 million from the 2016-17 State Budget.
The proposal to transform the property known at The Cedars into a world-class cultural centre came under scrutiny recently when it was the recipient of Catalyst funding.
Read: Another Catalyst grant…and it smells like pork
What irked the sector was that the $1 million The Cedars received from Catalyst funding was to go towards the purchase, and maintenance, of the Heyson family home, money which indirectly will go into the pockets of the family who currently run it as a private museum.
The Cedars is currently run by four of Heysen’s grandchildren at their own expense. The Hans Heysen Heritage Foundation, led by Heysen’s grandson Peter Heysen, has been only recently established as an appeal to raise funds to acquire The Cedars (from the family) and create a new cultural centre.
The refurbishment is also being funded by a $1.5 million contribution by the Mount Barker District Council, and corporate and private donors also contributing.
The artist’s grandson Peter Heysen confirmed the property’s ownership would be transferred from the family to the Hans Heysen Heritage Foundation to secure the building’s future.
Located in the Adelaide Hills, The Cedars – claims the State Government today – is set to become a ‘tourism hub’.
SA Minister for the Arts Jack Snelling said: ‘The addition of a new cultural centre will help The Cedars become an artistic pilgrimage for visitors from around the globe and emulate the success of Tasmania’s Museum of New and Modern Art.’
An art gallery, cellar door, shop and café, as well as spaces for functions and concerts, have been proposed as part of the new centre.
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis added in a statement: ‘The arts industry brings significant cultural and economic value to South Australia and the $1 million committed to develop The Cedars will help add even greater value…It is just one example of how the State Government is helping to facilitate new opportunities for the continued development of the South Australian arts industry.’
It’s a curious mixed message when two contemporary arts organisations that have played a significant role in the arts ecosystem of South Australia for more than 40-years – Australian Experimental Art Foundation (AEAF) and the Contemporary Art Centre for South Australia (CACSA) – were stripped of their organisational funding last month by the Australia Council for the Arts.
Read: If you work in the arts it’s time to leave Australia
As Steve Eland, Director of AEAF remarked: ‘AEAF is the longest running publicly-funded independent visual arts organisation in Australia – it began when Senator Brandis was driving around on his ‘P’ plates aged 17.’
What the “financial removal” of these two organisations does is strip the contemporary tier from a State’s cultural engagement while advocating traditional practice and a tourist dollar in its place.
Snelling added: ‘During the last financial year, almost 800,000 people visited the Art Gallery of South Australia – a record attendance which proves how popular, accessible and innovative arts attractions can be.’
The new Cedars Centre is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
Before then, Adelaide may loose two arts organisations in the wake of those funding preferences.
