Critical Failure

Why Australian arts criticism is failing us all.

In the first week of September we’re programming a series of events looking at the state of arts criticism in Australia, under the thoroughly prejudicial name of Critical Failure. Too often we hear the cries of scepticism about the quality of local creative output, but what is the truth about the environment into which that output is released? If a film is Australian is it more likely to be over-praised or over-criticised? Are local productions held to the same standards as international? What role does the Cultural Cringe play? Tall Poppy Syndrome? Does the web offer a possibility for a new, more democratic critical environment for the arts in Australia? And what does all this mean for the creation of art locally: what chance does local art have to flourish in an environment where it is too rarely judged on its own terms?

With four panels across four art forms – Theatre, Film, Books and Visual Arts – we review the state of critical culture in Australia and cast a critical eye over Australian reviewing. Featuring some of the finest thinkers and practitioners in the local art scene, this will be a thought-provoking week of discussions that take critical engagement to the next level.

Videos of Critical Failure Sessions

• Film Criticism
• Book Criticism
• Theatre Criticsim
• Visual Arts Criticism

This event is produced in partnership with ABC Radio National.