VIRUS IS KICKING OUR ARTS
MANY Geelong artists have “fallen through the cracks” during the coronavirus pandemic, facing big financial losses and an unclear future.
Prolific acting couple Amanda and Bert LaBonte lost two-thirds of their family income due to the crisis.
The Hamlyn Heights pair, who have two sons, turned to casual gigs — including nannying and factory work — to help pay their mortgage.
They have also been working in paid virtual online creative ventures.
After restrictions announced in March forced performances to be cancelled, Mr LaBonte immediately lost months worth of work across multiple major Australian productions, and was not eligible for JobKeeper.
Mrs LaBonte said as a cast member of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, she felt “very fortunate” to access JobKeeper while the production was halted, due to the show’s long run.
She is also founder and co-artistic director of Essential Theatre, which had to cancel performances. She said she was hopeful the company’s vineyard productions could resume this summer and potentially tour.
An online petition, which has garnered thousands of signatures, was created this week calling on the Federal Government to extend the JobKeeper payments to arts and entertainment sector workers currently ineligible.
Due to the casualised nature of some creatives’ careers, they do not meet JobKeeper guidelines.
A spokeswoman for Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said almost two out of every three people in the creative and performing arts sub-sector received a JobKeeper payment in April. She said d work was being done “beyond the e broad strokes of JobKeeper and Job- Seeker” looking at sectors that could d need longer term support.
Geelong Arts Centre (GAC) chief ef executive Joel McGuinness said he knew many independent artists who ho had their “entire livelihoods decimated”.
Theatres are closed under coronavirus restrictions, but from June 22 will be allowed up to 50 seated people per separate space. People not from the same household should be seated at least 1.5m from others, and the one person per 4sq m rule will apply.
But Mr McGuinness said there were logistic and financial challenges.
“You need more staff for less people,” he said.
While he could not say whether GAC would open from June 22, it was planning for gradual reopening as soon as practical and safe.
“We hope that in 2021 we will be able to have a theatre season and audiences as close to normal as possible,” he said.
He said, as a State Government agency, GAC was grateful it had been able to retain its permanent staff.
“Getting our livestreams up and running was something we could get people involved in, and we could also pay independent artists,” he said.
Casual staff of GAC were paid for four weeks when restrictions hit, and were later included in a State Government package supporting casual public sector employees to get back to work, including through redeployment.