Eyebrows raised as little-known WA couple snags big arts funding grant

A major federal arts grant program has allocated more than $620,000 to a couple planning to hold a weekly night of original Australian music in Manjimup, prompting questions over how and why so much money was granted to an organisation with no track record in the arts industry

Joy and Gregory Hamlyn run Mudstone Spa retreat close to Pemberton and Manjimup, about four hours’ drive south of Perth.

The Hamlyns received $621,600 in the latest Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) funding round for their venture Gatsby Skyline Showcase of Entertainment and Art.

The RISE fund was designed to help reactivate the arts and entertainment sector following the impact of COVID.

To date $160 million of the $200 million has been allocated, with WA receiving just over $14 million.

The latest round of grants to WA was just over $1.77 million – the grant to the Hamlyns represented one-third of that total — and about $6,000 for each proposed concert.

Joy Hamlyn told ABC Radio Perth that the money would be used to run a ticketed, weekly night of original Australian music in a venue they leased from the Shire of Manjimup, scheduled to open in July 2022.

Will audiences show up?

But critics say without experience of producing arts events in WA and connections to promoters, agents and producers, the couple’s proposal is simply not viable.

Many have questioned how they plan to attract an audience of 200 to pay to go to a weekly gig in a small regional town with a population of about 4,000 people.

Margaret Seares is the former Chair of the Australia Council, the official arts funding and advisory body to the federal government.

She said questions needed to be asked about how the decision was made to allocate a third of all the latest round of funding for WA on something that was yet to be tried and which didn’t appear to have a well-known track record.

“There needs to be some form of peer review so the people that make the funding decisions are confident this is a capable organisation [and] that it has shown its capability to others who are prepared to speak on its behalf,” Professor Seares said.

“Anyone who has worked in the arts knows there is a lot of interest and people will come to many free events, but when ticket prices come in to play, to get a regular clientele every week in a small town who are prepared to buy tickets, that is where a feasibility study needs to be very thoroughly vetted.”

Professor Seares said anyone who was granted public money to produce arts events needed to be able to properly prove that they knew how to attract an audience, and their claims also needed to be vetted by third parties with knowledge of the local industry.

“Anyone can make guesses or wish lists of how many people they might wish to get but that’s where a track record is important so you know how many people they can feasibly get as fee-paying ticket buyers,” she said.

“When I was at the Australia Council each grant would be sent out to a panel of arts board or a group of peers and they would assess the application on its merit, and also see how it sits within the local community, so they could provide people sitting in Sydney, for instance, some insight into the nature of that local community.

“One would hope that has been the process that has arrived at this grant.”

Experience queried

Ms Hamlyn admitted she had no commercial experience in the West Australian arts sector and had never run a ticketed event before.

But she said the couple had privately financed musical gigs for New Year’s Eve events at Mudstone Spa Retreat involving up to six artists performing for between 40 and 120 people.

Paul Sloan, a Perth-based event producer, festival director and booking agent for acts including Spacey Jane and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds said while he supported anyone committed to putting on live music, he said if this was private money, the venture would never attract investors.

Mr Sloan said attracting an audience of 200 every week to Manjimup was simply not realistic.

“In a town like Manjimup you’d be lucky to get 100 people at a gig unless it’s a special event like a festival that draws people to the town; the Truffle Kerfuffle for example,” he said.

“If you put this to the pub test: Would any private promoter trying to make money spend $6,000 for a standalone show in Manjimup? It’s not a wise investment.

“For quality bands to tour the regions, especially with a properly produced show, it is imperative there are multiple shows.”

‘You’ll end up over-paying bands’

Mr Sloan said the funding was not enough for bands of scale to tour to just Manjimup.

“For example, for a South-West Highway tour you’d need to connect the dots with Bunbury, Albany and two shows in the middle for any band of scale to tour,” he said.

“So what you’re left with is a $6,000 budget for bands that would cost between $100 to $600 in a normal setting, otherwise you end up overpaying bands.

“It’s an underdeveloped market and while the funding may develop the market, you’re trying to implant a weekly show with emerging talent.

Very ambitious plans

Shelagh Magadza, the executive director of the WA Chamber for Arts and Culture and former artistic director of the Perth International Arts Festival, said it was a lot of money to be experimenting with.

“What is the capacity of this organisation to deliver a project if it hasn’t worked in this area before?” Ms Magadza said.

“I had no knowledge of Joy or Gregory Hamlyn prior to the funding announcement.”

She said arts grants were highly competitive and successful applicants should have to meet the highest standards of accountability.

“Not only does the money have to benefit the creative industry but it also needs to benefit community. Is there a demonstrated audience for something of this magnitude?” Ms Magadza said.

“If not, what are they going to do to attract an audience? It is quite ambitious what they are proposing.

“I don’t want people to underestimate what running a creative business takes. It takes a level of skill and network and business acumen, especially in areas like this where there are clear challenges in terms of location.”

Word of mouth will build-up

Ms Hamlyn said she had limited existing networks with established promoters, music agents or arts organisations and instead planned to rely on relationships she had developed through musician Dan White over the past eight years.

She said they were hoping to develop relationships with more established organisations like Fringe Perth but were yet to begin those discussions.

She said about 65 per cent of the total funding would go directly into the pockets of artists with the additional funding to support associated activities including artist accommodation, reimbursement for travel and administrative and marketing costs.

In a statement, Federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said “RISE has a critical role in restarting arts and performance activity as the vaccine rollout progresses”.

“We want to see venue doors thrown open to audiences; we want to see the curtains going up, and we want to see performers coming on stage to a welcoming roar of applause,” he said.