For 20 years Daniel Thomas lived and worked in Sydney. In the 2 decades since he has left he has remained a frequent visitor, but he still sees Sydney from afar.
Sydney thinks of itself as the centre of the country, the only part that matters, but in the lucrative art market, Sydney is subsidiary to the old moneyed city of the south -- Melbourne.
Since their inception, galleries and museums around the world have entertained the principles of marketing, but perhaps never so consciously as now. Of all Australian arts institutions, the Art Gallery of New South Wales has been most aware of the need to market its image.
Editorial by guest editor Joanna Mendelssohn. What after all is different about Sydney? I have tried to give some idea of the debates which are not always expressed in writing - the incestuous nature of the mighty arts organisations; the way that words influence or corrupt understandings of art; and the limits on public debate because of fear of the consequences.