L-R: Postwest, November 1994, research bulletin; Postwest, No. 12, 1996, cover image by Kaye Shumack; Postwest, No.16, 2000, cover image by Gordon Beattie

The 25 years represented in Space YZ, was a period of growing confidence and optimism in the arts sector, strongly supported by the university, local government, and then the state government. The sector developed over this time a language beyond disadvantage in its advocacy, impressing upon governments the quality and strength of arts practice and programming in the region, and calling for equity in arts funding for the significant work of western Sydney artists and arts organisations.

In what was seen as an expression of confidence in the region, the NSW state government launched its Strategy for the Arts in Western Sydney in 1999. This built on a number of previous state and federal government attempts to intervene/invest in arts development in the region and responded to years of activism by artists, local government, and activists. While previous policy interventions were very much embedded in a community arts framework, this new strategy aimed to build professional infrastructure and practice that was inclusive of the communities of the region and nurtured the careers of artists. UWS was identified as an important partner in this Strategy.

This strategy recognised the central role of local government in supporting the arts and sought to further stimulate this through offering incentive funding to local government for arts development investments. Significantly, with the Premier (Bob Carr) as Minister for the Arts, the State government invested over $20 million in local government arts infrastructure in the region. To this day, however, local government remains the biggest investor in the arts in western Sydney by far.

There were some undeniably influential and passionate advocates in the region, many of whom were UWS alumni, and it’s no accident that many were arts leaders based in local government arts institutions. Their role in shaping attitudes to the arts sector in western Sydney should be acknowledged.

Among them, Kon Gouriotis, now editor of Artist Profile, was a tenacious lobbyist and strategist during his tenure as Director of the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. Preceding his time at Casula Powerhouse he was part of a collective of mainly UWS graduates who established the Street Level artist space and gallery in Penrith and then Blacktown. Street Level operated until 1995 and some key drivers in addition to Kon included John Cheeseman (who became Director of Blacktown Arts Centre), David Cranswick and Kathy Cleland.

Joining Kon at Casula Powerhouse during that time was Lisa Havilah, who went on to lead a significant transformation of Campbelltown Arts Centre and became a high profile advocate for western Sydney, both during her time in the region and then in her subsequent role as CEO of Carriageworks from 2012 to 2019.

John Kirkman, (the inaugural Director of Casula Powerhouse), then Director of the Penrith Regional Gallery was an important member of this band of ‘influencers’, with his innovative and scholarly curatorial program at Penrith providing exciting new insights into western Sydney cultures and artists. His considered approach contributed substantial gravitas to the story about the arts sector in the region.

The late historian Katherine Knight, although not working from local government, or a producing organisation, was exceptional in her relentlessly tenacious advocacy for the arts in western Sydney. Katherine published the Artswest newsletter for 20 years and was a tireless advocate for western Sydney over three decades. Katherine’s history of arts activism in western Sydney, Passion, Purpose & Meaning – Arts Activism in Western Sydney (Halstead Press, 2013) forms a worthy companion to this website. 

Advocates such as these seized on the positive political environment during the early years of the 21st century to push the significance of arts practice in western Sydney, strengthening the state government’s commitment at this time. While on the one hand the sector asserted the importance of local practice and its presentation within the region, work originating in western Sydney began to make its way into mainstream programming. More recently the reach and influence of western Sydney artists is exemplified through UWS alumna Brook Andrew’s artistic directorship of the Biennale of Sydney, with his NIRIN program in 2020 pulling personnel and artists from western Sydney, and notably situating the Biennale in the region with the inclusion of the Blacktown Native Institution site and its Dharug custodians as artists.

This is as much a recognition of the undeniable importance of work made in western Sydney, as it is an acknowledgement that the inclusion of these artists strengthens the programming of Sydney CBD-centric arts institutions.

Still outstanding is the proper recognition of and investment in the First Nations artists of the region who have for tens of thousands of years been practising and, more recently, reclaiming culture, and contributing to the contemporary cultural life of the region and beyond. There are many who have been advocating for decades for an Aboriginal cultural centre in the region, a dream yet to be realised, along with appropriate dedicated resources for First Nations self-determination.

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I live on Jerrinja Country and pay my respect to Elders past and present. I acknowledge the generosity and sovereignty of the Dharug, Gundungurra and Dharawal Nations, their Elders past and present, who welcomed me to their Country when working in western Sydney.