Kim Ho

A few days ago, while embarking on my groggy morning Twitter scroll, I came upon the nominees of the 2018 Helpmann Awards. These announcements, usually one of the highlights of my creative year, rattled me for all the wrong reasons. Category after category was filled with all-white, majority-male artists. It genuinely felt like I’d awoken in the ’50s, amidst some kind of monocultural permafrost. The Helpmanns’ lofty intent to “recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in Australia's live performance sectors” suddenly appeared susceptible to bias, eerily reminiscent of George Brandis’ (widely reviled) proposal for a “National Programme for Excellence in the Arts”.What is our criteria for artistic “excellence”? It’s inevitable that our individual tastes will inherently reflect our own lived experiences. But if those in positions of power entrench those biases within our commonly accepted standards of quality, we run the risk of further marginalising certain people, their voices and stories.These questions arise at a time when some of the biggest arts and entertainment awards are grappling with their historical biases. The Academy Awards responded to the 2015 #OscarsSoWhite controversy by inviting a record 774 new members from 57 countries. The celebration of Hamilton, The Colour Purple and Eclipsed at the 2016 Tony Awards led to the hashtag #TonysSoDiverse. So why is our Australian equivalent lagging behind? I am certainly not suggesting that any arts organisa

A few days ago, while embarking on my groggy morning Twitter scroll, I came upon the nominees of the 2018 Helpmann Awards. These announcements, usually one of the highlights of my creative year, rattled me for all the wrong reasons. Category after category was filled with all-white, majority-male artists. It genuinely felt like I’d awoken in the ’50s, amidst some kind of monocultural permafrost. The Helpmanns’ lofty intent to “recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in Australia's live performance sectors” suddenly appeared susceptible to bias, eerily reminiscent of George Brandis’ (widely reviled) proposal for a “National Programme for Excellence in the Arts”.What is our criteria for artistic “excellence”? It’s inevitable that our individual tastes will inherently reflect our own lived experiences. But if those in positions of power entrench those biases within our commonly accepted standards of quality, we run the risk of further marginalising certain people, their voices and stories.These questions arise at a time when some of the biggest arts and entertainment awards are grappling with their historical biases. The Academy Awards responded to the 2015 #OscarsSoWhite controversy by inviting a record 774 new members from 57 countries. The celebration of Hamilton, The Colour Purple and Eclipsed at the 2016 Tony Awards led to the hashtag #TonysSoDiverse. So why is our Australian equivalent lagging behind? I am certainly not suggesting that any arts organisa