Artists to suffer under restrictions?

Press, 3 November 1983, Page 8

Artists to suffer under restrictions?

The Government’s new restriction on Project. Employment Programme schemes may bring to ‘an ’■ end the Arts Employment Scheme in Christchurch, according to its co-ordinator, Mr Martin McPherson. s • . Forty-three, painters, artists, performers, and other : creative artists: are < employed on six projects coordinated by the Arts Employment Scheme. Some will , finish next week, while others have another four to five < months. After that; under the new. Government policy, they will be referred - to P.E.P, projects only if. they have been registered as unemployed for a mini- - mum of six months. ■ ' Mr McPherson said that & there was little full-time

permanent work available for the sort of artists who were doing P.E.P. work. The scheme would now try to get grants and continue to market 1 the skills of the artists. “What I am worried .

about is. the people whose only source of work is P.E.P. schemes. If they have to wait six months they will lose heart and either go overseas or go on the dole,” he said. ' One group which will be out on its own from next week is the stilt theatre group, Splinter, which has been on P.E.P. work for six months. It will soon begin a road tour of the North Island, attempting to retain viability using its own skills and experience. The 26-week stand-down ■ period may kill the Artwork P.E.P. scheme, its chairman, Mr Hamish Keith, warned yesterday. • Mr Keith believes the Government overlooked the effect the wait would have

V on, unemployed performers, painters, and other artists ■<; who frequently only find work on short-term projects. Artwork has employed about 180 people in the last . 16 months.

It has 11 P.E.P. projects running, placing artists in schools, painting murals, and working with disadvantaged children and other community schemes. Artwork depended on a pool of specialised talent, which could dry up, Mr Keith said. “The skills that these people have, have to be used.” ■ — . Many of the Artwork schemes lasted only two months, while other types of P.E.P. schemes, last for six months. He feared economics would force artists to avoid the short-term Artwork schemes and bpt for the longer-term projects, rather than spend the rest of the time unemployed. l -