This week, I have been preoccupied with our arts and culture coverage. The importance of public interest and accountability journalism goes without saying, but just as vital is how we cover culture in its broadest sense, from popular culture, ideas and trends, to theatre, visual arts and opera.
Perhaps we Melburnians kid ourselves, but we are wedded to the idea that we live in the culture capital of Australia. We’re readers, art gallery goers, comedy festival nuts. There’s an understanding deep in this city that arts and culture are central to life, helping people make sense of the moment we are living through. Some of that is national and international – the outstanding television in recent years, the #metoo influence on the arts – but some of it is local, what inspires and challenges us in this town, this state.
Our online guide to best things to do and see in Melbourne in July covers everything from sports to theatre and music gigs, to free, family-friendly festivals.Credit:various
We have well-respected newspaper sections such as Spectrum, and the digital world has given us new ways to present engaging journalism to our readers and subscribers. It is through culture coverage, too, that Victorians debate the conundrums of our time, and those discussions can be uncomfortable.
Our arts coverage is not just about cheerleading the latest show, but about questioning representation in culture, prodding our big and small institutions about what they are doing and why, exposing our readers to new ideas. We pride ourselves on independent arts coverage, and we will critique and present different views on behalf of our readers.
We have been interviewing this week for a new Age arts editor. I am sorry Nick Miller is leaving us in a few weeks. Nick is a fine writer and thinker. But it does give us a chance to think again about what we want from our coverage more broadly, and the ideas that have trickled through are exciting.
How can we be sophisticated and authoritative, but also engaging enough to encourage new and younger readers? How does Melbourne’s cultural life survive and thrive in new ways post pandemic? Are our traditional institutions nimble enough, ambitious enough?
At The Age, our arts coverage needs to do more than promote great new shows, although that matters, too. I think of it as similar to any other news round – we must break news, explain and discuss policy, and explore trends. Stories can be consumer-friendly, like this one on the Arts Centre changing its ticketing policy after a tourist was refused a single ticket to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Outrageous!
This week, Karl Quinn interviewed new federal Arts Minister Tony Burke, who said Australia’s cultural institutions were in a state of disrepair and would take years to recover. We will keep the new government to account as to what they do, not just what they say.
We have to get the basics right, too. A few months ago, we launched an online monthly guide to what is on in Melbourne. The July guide is just up.
It would depress me if Melburnians didn’t think The Age was the number one home to find out what to do and see. Not just a long list of events, but an authoritative, curated guide, linking to our reviews and interviews. A must-read primer to help you plan your month.
This month, it’s everything from the free, family-friendly Firelight Festival at Docklands, to the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival at Cinema Nova, to an extensive NAIDOC Week program at the Ian Potter Centre. (I know these are hardly surprising picks, and they are not cheap, but do see Hamilton and The Picture of Dorian Gray if you can. They are outstanding).
The online guide complements our weekly Culture Fix newsletter which shares our top picks of what to see and do around town and highlights the best of our arts and culture journalism. You can sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday afternoon.
I can’t say too much about this yet, but later this month we will launch a new culture podcast, hosted by Osman Faruqi, our culture news editor. Osman has been with us only a few months, and he’s a powerhouse of ideas and energy.
The Age is a partner with the Melbourne Writers Festival. Last year, the in-person element of the festival was cancelled because of bloody COVID, so I am excited to see what artistic director Michaela McGuire comes up with when lovers of books and ideas can gather in person at this year’s festival in September. Already, she has revealed some of this year’s international guests, which we reported here.
I am looking forward to seeing Mohsin Hamid, who wrote the fine The Reluctant Fundamentalist. His upcoming novel, The Last White Man, has been compared to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
Last year, we relaunched The Age Book of the Year, organised by our indefatigable books editor, Jason Steger. The winner was Robbie Arnott’s second novel, The Rain Heron. He’s a young writer of great talent.
This year, we are expanding the Book of the Year to include fiction and non-fiction prizes, and the winners will be announced on the opening night of the festival in September. I am tempted to take a few days off work just to wander around the festival, but we’ll see.
If you have any thoughts or ideas about our arts and culture coverage, do let me know. And if you can, get out and enjoy what’s on this weekend. Melbourne is the arts and culture capital of the nation, and all that….
Gay Alcorn sends a newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive her Note from the Editor.
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