Like other cultural festivals, the Biennale of Sydney generates a stack of print, what with its catalogues and guides – substantial publications – as well as a host of pamphlets and postcards and flyers, not forgetting all the maps, signage, banners and print advertising as well. For a brief, intense period, an event such as the Biennale is a queen bee of print, busily disseminating a plethora of paper products.
For example, according to the organisers, about 30,000 of these mini-guides were produced in the lead-up to the 19th Biennale and distributed through the Avant Card network.
This is all part of the modern economy of print. As governments and corporations cut back on the amount of print they deliver to customers – because print is seen as a cost – mass cultural events which are largely funded by tax-payers and large corporations (the Biennale receives over 60 per cent of its funding from these sources) become a means by which these organisations can promote themselves in the print media.
Nobody is going to look twice at a brochure put out by a government department, council or corporation, but supporting an event such as the Biennale in print, when people are actively looking for information, is a sure-fire means of garnering positive attention.
