[lesm]

After reading through so many dispiriting tales of neglect I count myself fortunate indeed to live on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Within a population of 4,500 we have a large arts community of painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, print-makers, writers etc., some of them finalists at the Waterhouse and Archibald, some well-known interstate and overseas. Many exhibit regularly interstate. We have a local newspaper that devotes a full page every week to the arts and many articles and pages throughout the year cover the numerous art festivals we have here. There are several galleries selling local artwork and there's a significant annual 10-day festival known as Arts Feast, where artists link up with local wineries, restaurants, coffee shops and similar food outlets, creating exhibitions and food treats in each venue. Any artist has free and welcome access to the local radio station. The State government has begun to take an increasing interest in what's happening here, as our tourist numbers contribute large sums to the state coffers. Last year one of the major gallery owners hired the Wine Centre in Adelaide and set up an exhibition of the best of the Island's art. It was a phenomenal success and was invited back this year, where artists again received high praise and great sales. (On a personal note might I mention with all modesty that one of my photos (sorry, digital) made the front cover of the Adelaide Review, a statewide paper devoted to the arts).
The point of all this is not to make you feel green, but to encourage people to work at the local level. By all means, those who can, try and tackle the large corporations, the ABC etc., but there's great mileage to be made from working at the local level and expanding gradually.