Local government elections aren’t normally of national significance. When it’s a capital city mayoral election, however, all of Australia takes notice.

Lord Mayors lead programs, budgets and square kilometres that encompass their state’s major public spaces, galleries, museums, festivals and performing arts centres, as well as the sites of their major events. Artists of national and international renown present work there to audiences from around Australia and across the globe. World leaders meet there, key political decisions are announced there, and impactful political protests are held there.

With Melbourne going to the polls from next week, no lord mayoral candidate can be a serious contender without taking a strong, clear and ambitious position on the arts…

 

>>> Read on in the Daily Review

L-R: Rohan Leppert, Sally Warhaft, Esther Anatolitis, Ken Ong, Katie Sfetkidis, Jennifer Yang. Photograph by Marcel Feillafe.