On how the arts help create order out of chaos, allowing us to make sense of the world, and why we need to recognise the vital role of artists and figure out how we can create more liveable incomes for these national treasures.
A conversation:
“What is it exactly that artists do?”
“Artists bring something into the world that did not previously exist.”
“But what has art got to do with that? I invented a new way to scramble eggs, does that make me an artist?!”
“When you take something from your imagination, remake it into some tangible form and put it out into the world, you are asking people to interact with the world in new ways.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Does my new egg recipe make me an artist?”
“The imagination is a powerful thing. When we imagine something, we are creating something new. A new solution, or a new way of seeing, the third way. What begins in our imagination can become a catalyst, remembering that what we say out loud gives permission for others to follow. By first imagining and then making your new egg scramble, you have invited the possibility for others to try something new. Just as violence creates positive conditions for more violence, art, the opposite of violence, creates positive conditions for imagining new solutions – from how to create a more just world to how to cook an egg.”
“Ok…”
“The American writer and teacher Elaine Scarry calls it a fragment of world alteration, and says that these fragments that each of us make, when put together, can become a total reinvention of the world. So, every time each one of us imagines something better, and then brings it to life, we all, fragment by fragment, make a contribution to bringing to life a new world, hopefully one that is more just, more fair, more kind. I’ve had your eggs, they’re good!”
“Thanks. But I’m still wondering about the term artist.”
“I think that the artist’s role is to demonstrate the possibility of the imagination in action, allowing us to see something in a new way, to show what’s possible on a larger scale, to lead the way. From little things, big things grow, right?”
“Ok, so like the idea that the more I learn the more I realise I have to learn.”
“Yes, every time I learn something new, my world grows and as my world grows, new opportunities and new ways of seeing myself become apparent. Artists help our world grow.”
In 2020, the conservative Morrison government increased the cost of Arts and Humanities degrees by more than 116% to discourage people from studying these disciplines. At the same time, they significantly decreased the cost of other degrees deemed more likely to lead directly to a job. It became a popular defence of the prime and other ministers, and so therefore too the conservative media, to use the example of the over educated barista as reason enough to limit access to arts degrees. The argument was that the average barista working at the cafe you stop at on your way to your very important job, the person responsible for making your morning coffee, most likely has a graduate degree in the arts.
This was being sold as a bad thing and proof that arts qualifications did not lead to high paying career opportunities or allow you to climb the corporate ladder. This they insisted, was what we should all be striving for.
Were they right?
Many of us might not be interested in an Art Gallery, or a classical music performance, but it is rare that we are not, in some way, daily relying on the creative output of artists. When we are lost for words, we turn to the work of poets and songwriters to help express our grief or our joy. And the work of musicians and composers serves us when we need to relax, to dance or to cry. We might discover new worlds via a good book, a graphic novel, or a comic, a movie or TV show. And children learn about the world through the magic of picture books and the playful creations of performing artists.
Quite simply, when we are bored, tired, sad, wanting to learn or in need of an energy boost, most of us turn to a product that came to life because of the imagination of an artist. And it is through these expressions that we can see reflections of ourselves, and of those we don’t know so well, helping our worlds to grow.
In the context of art education at school or university, we are not simply learning how to paint, to act, to write, or play an instrument. Sure, that’s part of it, learning mastery of the tools. And humanities students in history, geography, civics and economics, are also learning subject specific tools, techniques and strategies. But beyond that, learning through both the arts and humanities is fundamentally about learning how to think critically, how to assess, decode, decipher, and untangle.
The official Australian Curriculum document for the Humanities states its purpose is to “…provide a broad understanding of the world we live in, and how people can participate as active and informed citizens with high-level skills needed now and in the future.”
The purpose of Arts education in the Australian Curriculum is just as clear. “The arts are core to the development of creative, confident, compassionate and resilient individuals who can think and reflect critically, celebrate and challenge ideas … and work towards making a difference in sustaining and reimagining their own and their communities’ futures.”
In schools, when we are teaching lessons focussed on future pathways, students learn that the essential 21st century skills sought after by most employers match those core skills learned through arts and humanities education – communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, problem solving, creativity, flexibility, adaptability to change, teamwork, collaboration, and work ethic.
It is possible that your barista, or your cleaner, or supermarket checkout operator has that low paying job while trying to balance their tenuous and even less well paid, or no paid, work in the arts sector – a sector which contributes more than $67.4 billion annually to the Australian economy.
Undertaking studies in the arts and humanities are not frivolous luxuries. Fostering creative and critical individuals enriches our culture and contributes to building the wealth of the nation. Yet despite the change of government in August 2025, the high cost of Arts and Humanities degrees remains, awaiting change.
I like that my barista is interested, intelligent and well read. And I would like to start a conversation about how we can better support artists, those people who help to make meaning in our lives, to break away from unsustainably low incomes and disparaging rhetoric about their worth.
Dani Burbrook © 2026
Notes on this essay:
While thinking about the role of artists in society, I recently re-read Sarah Sentilles brilliant book Draw Your Weapons. Among other artists and writers, this lead me to the work of Elaine Scarry, specifically The Body In Pain. These writers inspired the “conversation” in my essay.
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