The Arts
Maynard Keynes – arguably the greatest economist of the 20th century – once wrote that “the civilizing arts … in fact use up an infinitesimal quantity of materials in relation to their importance in the national life and the comfort they can give to the individual spirit”. I was fortunate to have been Chair of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board from 2006 until 2011, and also briefly on the Australian Business Arts Foundation Board, in 2010 and 2011. I am currently Chair of Ten Days on the Island, Tasmania’s bi-ennial statewide multi-arts festival, and a supporter of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) Foundation, the Bell Shakespeare Company and the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Rebuilding the performing arts: an economist weighs in
Publications, The Arts | 21st August 2021The Arts Hub’s article on Saul’s recent keynote address to Australian Performing Arts Market’s ‘Gathering’
The Economics of International Mobility
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Video, The Arts, The Australian Economy | 12th August 2021Virtual presentation to the Australian Performing Arts Market ‘Gathering’ on 12th August 2021, looking at trends in (and consequences) of international mobility of goods and services, capital and people, both pre- and post-Covid, and the consequences of Covid for the performing arts. Scroll down to view the recording.
Arts and regional economies
The Arts | 22nd October 2018Remarks as part of a panel discussion on ‘The Place of Art in the Art of Place’, Burnie Theatre, NW Tasmania, 22nd October 2018
A discussion about ‘stealth’
The Arts | 9th June 2017Panel Discussion | University of Tasmania | 9th June 2017 Panel discussion with Saul Eslake, Dr Alysia Bennett of Monash University’s School of Architecture, and the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, the Right Reverend Dr Robert Condie, hosted by ABC Radio Hobart’s Ryk Goddard at the University of Tasmania’s Art School, as part of Hobart’s ‘Dark […]
Interview with The Australian’s Arts Editor Matthew Westwood
News, Tasmania, The Arts | 10th March 2017Matthew Westwood| The Australian | 10th March 2017 Discussing government funding for the arts, and the 2017 Ten Days on the Island festival
The Arts, Economists and the Economy
Tasmania, The Arts | 4th November 2016Talk at the opening of the exhibition of works by 2016 graduating students at the Tasmanian College of the Arts, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 4th November 2016
The Resources Boom and its Legacy
The Arts | 9th June 2011Address to a luncheon hosted by the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF), Adelaide, 9th June 2011
‘Renaissance Man’: Keynes, Contemporary Economic Problems and the Arts
The Arts | 11th June 2009Address to a luncheon hosted by The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce and The Australian Business Arts Foundation, 11th June 2009