Data

Explanatory note: Cultural sector interviews

Australian Cultural Fields researchers conducted a range of semi-structured interviews (26 in total) with key government, industry and agency professionals to enhance our knowledge of the changing dynamics of Australian cultural fields since 1994, although often encompassing earlier periods. The interviewees are individuals with deep experience and expertise in their respective fields.

Following the completion of the project, several interviewees gave their permission for these transcripts to be uploaded to the ACF project website for wide public dissemination and reasons of posterity.

Interviews were recorded and professional transcribers turned them into text. In reviewing the transcripts, interviewers checked both audio and text for accuracy as much as was feasible. There is some variation in transcription style and notation, and in many cases further editing was undertaken in consultation with the interviewee (and, in one case, the person responsible for their estate).

The interview material was checked by the interviewers, interviewees (and, as noted, a representative in one case) and other members of the Australian Cultural Fields research team for clarity and accuracy. Often these transcripts are conversational in nature, and no attempt has been made to correct the inevitable non-sequiturs, grammatical errors etc. of ‘organic’ oral communication. Some interview sections were deleted at the request of the interviewees or because of potential legal implications. These deletions are flagged where it is necessary to preserve the overall coherence of the interview. The views expressed in the interviews are those of the interviewees.

These interviews were conducted with approval of the Western Sydney University Human Research Ethics Committee (H11025). Subsequent approval to publish the transcripts to the ACF website was given following a research ethics amendment request. Some cultural sector interviews were not published according to the wishes of the interviewee (or their representative).

We extend our sincere gratitude to the interviewees and their representatives for permission to share these transcripts, and for their assistance in preparing them to be uploaded to the ACF website.

Australian Cultural Fields researchers are confident that these qualitative data, alongside other data analysed in our many research publications, constitute an enduring resource for future cultural research and debate in Australia and beyond.

Art Field

Edmund CAPON, former Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales (interviewed 22 February 2017 and 2 March 2017) (opens in a new window)

Tamara WINIKOFF, Executive Director, National Association for the Visual Arts (interviewed 9 September 2015) (opens in a new window)

Literary Field

Beverley COUSINS, Fiction Publisher, Random House Books (interviewed 20 April 2016) (opens in a new window)

Sport Field

Greg BLOOD, Sport Information Consultant, Private Company (interviewed 16 November 2015) (opens in a new window)

John EVANS, Professor of Indigenous Health Education, University of Technology, Sydney (interviewed 8 June 2016) (opens in a new window)

James FERGUSON, former Executive Director, Australian Sports Commission (interviewed 16 November 2015) (opens in a new window)

Sport Field; Media Field

Tracey HOLMES, Journalist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (interviewed 14 November 2017) (opens in a new window)

Kyle PATTERSON, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs, TEG Pty Ltd (interviewed 14 November 2017) (opens in a new window)