“He had a genuine love of the arts and the Giving Voice book will live on as true testament to his extraordinary life-long commitment to the Arts in Victoria in all its diversity. He will be sadly missed”

– Jill Morgan AM, CEO

We pay tribute to Paul Clarkson AO and wish to acknowledge his generous contribution and time in marking the foundation of Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) and its role in the arts in Victoria. Paul worked closely with our current MAV CEO, Board of Management and former Board Chairs alongside former colleague Sue Hammond (dec), in realising Giving Voice. Giving Voice is a remarkable history of Multicultural Arts Victoria and highlights the organisation’s advocacy for systemic change for our talented artists and community in Victoria.

Amongst Paul’s many achievements, he led the Ministry of the Arts (now Creative Victoria) through the creation of Australia’s first state cultural policy and the opening of major projects including the Arts Centre Melbourne and the Melbourne Spoleto Festival (now Melbourne Festival). This was during his time as Director of the Ministry of Arts from 1980 to 1995.

From 1995 to 1997, he was Victorian Administrator of Opera Australia and has served as an arts consultant throughout his life. He held a number of positions on the boards of management of arts organisations and was the Chairman of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival and a Director of the John Truscott Design Foundation.

From 1996 to 2010 he was an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University where he lectured on cultural policy. He also authored of Melbourne International Arts Festival 1986–2005: the first 20 years.

Image: Paul Clarkson, photo courtesy Georgia Metaxas