TL;DR
Sandra Gattenhof and John Nicholas Saunders argue that creative arts degrees are in a self-perpetuating polycrisis brought on by low secondary schools arts subjects enrolments, fewer students enrolling in high-cost university creative arts and arts and humanities degrees and the closure or reduction of creative arts degrees by universities as a result. They say urgent policy change is needed to redress the impact.
Sandra Gattenhof and John Nicholas Saunders argue that creative arts degrees are in a self-perpetuating polycrisis brought on by low secondary schools arts subjects enrolments, fewer students enrolling in high-cost university creative arts and arts and humanities degrees and the closure or reduction of creative arts degrees by universities as a result. They say urgent policy change is needed to redress the impact.
A recent paper authored by Professor Sandra Gattenhof and Dr John Nicolas Saunders and published in the Australian Journal of Education on Friday 30 January 2026 looks at declining arts education and the likely impacts that will have on the Australian economy.
Arts & culture in polycrisis
Through desktop research drawing on” academic literature, industry reports, Australian government policy, public commentary, and statistics harvested from publicly available Australian federal government and state government databases”, Gattenhof and Saunders scope the narrative for what they describe as "a polycrisis for arts, culture, and creativity in the Australian context." That polycrisis is linked to:
