Volunteers to keep fighting to manage the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries

Two petitions are circulating in Bunbury to reverse decisions made by the Bunbury City Council over the management of the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries.

The Council recently voted to suspend funding of the Bunbury Regional Art Management Board (BRAMB) on the 30th June and to suspend the Collection committee immediately.

The petitions call for BRAMB to continue its work and for the Western Australian Government to ensure that funding continues for a regional arts service.

Board member Treslyn Smith says that the Board feels strongly that the Council decision wasn't the correct one, fearing that funds for the Galleries will be cut.

Smith told the ABC "the Board was set up to take advantage of funding opportunities that the City couldn't."

Explaining that the Board sources some $200,000 in grants each year, Smith cites the example of funding that it has for an indigenous arts officer, which would not be available to the Council.

Currently, the Council and the WA Art Gallery contribute two thirds of the budget, with grants making up the remainder.

Funding from the State Government will continue, Mayor Gary Brennan told ABC South West mornings last week, explaining "the funding will continue and the governance will be operated through the administration of the City of Bunbury."

The City aims to develop a new creative city strategy which will involve visual arts and performing art, a museum, as well as an arts precinct in central Bunbury.

Mayor Brennan described the strategy as "a new approach to a whole raft of things", adding that the decision would be a streamlined, "efficient and effective way of doing business."

However, Smith believes that the Council decision is "bureaucracy gone mad. It's about control. It's about thinking that volunteers havent any expertise or even valuing them."​

For more information go to www.brag.org.au/

12th April 2011 - BUNBURY ARTS SCENE TO BENEFIT FROM $9.97 MILLION ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE EXPANSION

Share your news. If you have industry news that you’d like us to include in Australasian Leisure Management, or if you have any ideas of new industry topics that you’d like us to focus on, then please just contact us at leisure@ausleisure.com.au with details. We rely on industry contributions, and remember, our content is not paid for advertorial.