The Australian political party becomes the first in the country’s history to raise its election funds exclusively via crowdfunding.

The arts are rarely a priority issue when it comes to election campaigns, but after a year of furious activism and national outcry over the damage caused to the sector during the Abbott-Turnbull administration, arts and culture have become a political bargaining chip. Last week Shadow Minister for the Arts Mark Dreyfus pledged to restore the reduced funding to the Australia Council if Labor were elected, but for those looking for an even more vocal advocate, the Australian Arts Party is readying itself to enter the Governmental melee in July. 

The party promises to make the arts a priority in Australia, and to this end they have been fundraising to finance an election campaign. With one day still to go on their Pozible crowd-funding call, the Arts Party has already reached its $35,000 target with new donations still coming in. The Party claims to be the first in Australian political history to have raised its campaign funds exclusively through crowdfunding. With over 330 financial backers already, the goal of the campaign is to get a million votes for the arts at the upcoming election. 

Going beyond its target ensures the presence of standing Senate candidates in all states of Australia at the upcoming federal election. The Party has ten candidates ready to stand in the polls. Founded in October 2013 by actor Nicholas Gledhill and producer PJ Collins, the Arts Party aims to “encourage the creative, cultural and educated life of every Australian”, with a focus on access to arts and culture, support for creatives, education and community access, as well as more conventional policies. Support for the Party has swelled over the past year in particular, in the wake of the former-Arts Minister George Brandis’ drastic and damaging changes to Federal Arts funding in the 2015/16 Budget.

The success of the Arts Party crowdfunding campaign proves the concern and passion for the arts from the Australian people – and ensures that there will be a voice for artists at the election in July.