❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding government support for the arts and concerns about plagiarism in publicly funded art awards, specifically the 2008 Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award. The Minister condemns plagiarism but emphasizes the responsibility of individual organizations to prevent it.
AnsweredQoN 3981Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In relation to Government support for the arts, I ask:
(a) does the Minister support Western Australian arts funding being used for exhibitions, prizes or awards that condone plagiarism or copyright violation;
(b) does the Department have any guidelines or contract conditions regarding plagiarism or copyright violation;
(c) has the Minister or his department provided any guidance or advice to Lotterywest, Tourism Western Australia, the Royalties for Regions Division of the Department of Regional Development and Lands or any other government department and/or agency regarding plagiarism or copyright violation; and
(i) if not, why not;
(d) does the Minister support as best practice the Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award’s current ‘Open Art Exhibition Application for Entry’ form which includes a signed declaration that the submitted artwork is entirely the work of the submitting artist, has not been previously exhibited and is not a direct copy of published photos or other artists’ work;
(e) is the Minister aware of plagiarism allegations, first detailed in the ‘Inside Cover’ column in
The West Australian
newspaper earlier this year surrounding the winning entry in the 2008 prize Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award (RAS), ‘Going to Town’ by artist Mirella Pica which was found to be a copy of another artist’s work, which had been previously published in 2007;
(f) what is the Minister’s vision for artists who feel they have been victims of plagiarism and publicly funded bodies who award prizes to plagiarised work;
(g) regardless of whether the department is directly funding the RAS art awards, as the RAS receives public funding, will the Minister recommend to the government that future RAS funding, regardless of which agency is the conduit, be conditional on respect for copyright and ethical intellectual copyright;
(h) has the Minister made formal or informal contact with the RAS over the issue of the 2008 prize and will he demand that the RAS adhere to its own art award guidelines; and
(i) can the Minister table all correspondence on this issue received and sent within his ministerial and electorate office, and his Department?
(a) does the Minister support Western Australian arts funding being used for exhibitions, prizes or awards that condone plagiarism or copyright violation;
(b) does the Department have any guidelines or contract conditions regarding plagiarism or copyright violation;
(c) has the Minister or his department provided any guidance or advice to Lotterywest, Tourism Western Australia, the Royalties for Regions Division of the Department of Regional Development and Lands or any other government department and/or agency regarding plagiarism or copyright violation; and
(i) if not, why not;
(d) does the Minister support as best practice the Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award’s current ‘Open Art Exhibition Application for Entry’ form which includes a signed declaration that the submitted artwork is entirely the work of the submitting artist, has not been previously exhibited and is not a direct copy of published photos or other artists’ work;
(e) is the Minister aware of plagiarism allegations, first detailed in the ‘Inside Cover’ column in
The West Australian
newspaper earlier this year surrounding the winning entry in the 2008 prize Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award (RAS), ‘Going to Town’ by artist Mirella Pica which was found to be a copy of another artist’s work, which had been previously published in 2007;
(f) what is the Minister’s vision for artists who feel they have been victims of plagiarism and publicly funded bodies who award prizes to plagiarised work;
(g) regardless of whether the department is directly funding the RAS art awards, as the RAS receives public funding, will the Minister recommend to the government that future RAS funding, regardless of which agency is the conduit, be conditional on respect for copyright and ethical intellectual copyright;
(h) has the Minister made formal or informal contact with the RAS over the issue of the 2008 prize and will he demand that the RAS adhere to its own art award guidelines; and
(i) can the Minister table all correspondence on this issue received and sent within his ministerial and electorate office, and his Department?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 October 2010
Responded by
Minister for Culture and the Arts
Response time
29 days
(a-g) The Minister does not support the rewarding of plagiarism or copyright violation under any circumstances and is aware of the plagiarism allegations surrounding the winning entry in the 2008 Royal Agricultural Show Open Art Award. While the Department of Culture and the Arts, Art Gallery of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia and ScreenWest have guidelines and conditions in place to protect artists from copyright violation, it is the responsibility of individual organisations to implement guidelines and procedures to avoid and/or deal with instances of plagiarism or copyright violation. Ultimately, this is a legal issue to be taken up by the artist/s involved.
(h) The Minister did not have any formal or informal contact with the RAS over the issue of the 2008 prize.
(i) [Please see tabled paper no. ].
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
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(h) The Minister did not have any formal or informal contact with the RAS over the issue of the 2008 prize.
(i) [Please see tabled paper no. ].
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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