Art funders and art institutions talk a big game about access and inclusion, but are the arts really for everyone? Earlier this year, we put the question to a panel of directors from Brisbane Festival, Queensland Ballet, Queensland Art Gallery, and the Indigenous Art Code. This time, we’re bringing in the art historians and cultural-studies theorists. Joining us for round two are Susan Best (Griffith University), Simon During (University of Queensland), and Andrew McNamara (QUT).

Are the arts for everyone? Who wants the arts to be for everyone? Do any artists make their art for everyone? How is populism shaping art and artists? If the arts are for everyone, why are the humanities struggling?

This panel coincides with the launch of the latest issue of Town Hall, our free biennial newspaper. Among other things, our fifth issue addresses the legacy of William Robinson, profiles Seren Wagstaff and Sancintya Mohini Simpson, and interviews Canadian slop-meister Jon Rafman. We look back on a time when the Olympics cultivated minds as well as bodies, explore our love-hate relationship with the corset, and celebrate Mono’s twenty years of sonic inquiry. Plus we consider Vic Hislop, the Hervey Bay shark hunter who supplied sharks to Damien Hirst, and Brucesploitation, the film genre that posthumously cashed in on the name of Bruce Lee.

Registrations essential.