Art For The Masses
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Sunday, September 05, 2010 at 3:58 PM.
I was driving along Wellington Street when the wife noticed this when we pulled up at the lights. I just felt the need to whip out the phone to snap this. How cool is that?
On another note, if you're in Melbourne, you would have heard of the plans to change the rules and regulations for busking in the city. Here's a blurb I got from the "Don't Kill Melbourne Busking" Facebook page. Please have a read and comment on the website. Let's do our part to keep Melbourne's art scene alive!
Don't Kill Melbourne Busking
Melbourne's legendary busking scene is under serious threat.
At the moment, the permit system for buskers strikes a balance between the need for some regulation, and the obvious cultural and democratic importance of encouraging free artistic expression.
A new policy is being proposed however, which seriously restricts the rights of buskers and their ability to make any money from their artistic expression.
"Highlights" of the new policy include:
1. Forcing buskers to audition for a permit. City of Melbourne bureaucrats acting as cultural arbiters.
2. Hitting buskers with a $200.00 annual fee for the "privilege" of SELLING THEIR CD'S!
3. After 12 months, hitting buskers with ANOTHER fee of $50.00 just to audition again, and to have access to what is already public space...
4. Restricting set times to 30 mins and total performance time to 2 hours per day, irrespective of whether the busker has made enough in that time to eat or pay the gas bill...
5. Allowing only "professional buskers" to play in Bourke St. Mall. Presumably this would exclude local band Bonjah (who made their start busking) as well as clearly untalented and unsuccessful acts as Simon & Garfunkel (who also started their career busking), and indeed other "non-professional buskers" such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder etc.
This policy is a complete joke, but if it it is enacted, it will no longer be a very funny one. The last few years has seen a steady erosion of the Melbourne public's right to use public, common spaces for genuine, spontaneous expressions of street culture. It started by persecuting cyclists, and is now becoming a comprehensive attack.
The full war plan is available at:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/industries/retail/streetactivity/Pages/Busking.aspx
and you can have your say at:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/getinvolved/StreetActivity/Pages/StreetActivityComment.aspx
If you believe in the right of artists to make a living from what they do, if you believe in the right of the public to public space, if you believe in freedom of artistic and cultural expression, fight this ridiculous policy before Melbourne's vibrant busking scene becomes a collective memory... (read less)
______________________________________________________
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
On another note, if you're in Melbourne, you would have heard of the plans to change the rules and regulations for busking in the city. Here's a blurb I got from the "Don't Kill Melbourne Busking" Facebook page. Please have a read and comment on the website. Let's do our part to keep Melbourne's art scene alive!
Don't Kill Melbourne Busking
Melbourne's legendary busking scene is under serious threat.
At the moment, the permit system for buskers strikes a balance between the need for some regulation, and the obvious cultural and democratic importance of encouraging free artistic expression.
A new policy is being proposed however, which seriously restricts the rights of buskers and their ability to make any money from their artistic expression.
"Highlights" of the new policy include:
1. Forcing buskers to audition for a permit. City of Melbourne bureaucrats acting as cultural arbiters.
2. Hitting buskers with a $200.00 annual fee for the "privilege" of SELLING THEIR CD'S!
3. After 12 months, hitting buskers with ANOTHER fee of $50.00 just to audition again, and to have access to what is already public space...
4. Restricting set times to 30 mins and total performance time to 2 hours per day, irrespective of whether the busker has made enough in that time to eat or pay the gas bill...
5. Allowing only "professional buskers" to play in Bourke St. Mall. Presumably this would exclude local band Bonjah (who made their start busking) as well as clearly untalented and unsuccessful acts as Simon & Garfunkel (who also started their career busking), and indeed other "non-professional buskers" such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder etc.
This policy is a complete joke, but if it it is enacted, it will no longer be a very funny one. The last few years has seen a steady erosion of the Melbourne public's right to use public, common spaces for genuine, spontaneous expressions of street culture. It started by persecuting cyclists, and is now becoming a comprehensive attack.
The full war plan is available at:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/industries/retail/streetactivity/Pages/Busking.aspx
and you can have your say at:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/getinvolved/StreetActivity/Pages/StreetActivityComment.aspx
If you believe in the right of artists to make a living from what they do, if you believe in the right of the public to public space, if you believe in freedom of artistic and cultural expression, fight this ridiculous policy before Melbourne's vibrant busking scene becomes a collective memory... (read less)
______________________________________________________
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
0 Responses to “Art For The Masses”
Post a Comment