“Is the government favouring the Powerhouse and directing a lot more funds to the Powerhouse? No, that’s definitely not the case,” he said.

The Public Service Association has accused the Minns government of abandoning the gallery, and other parts of the sector, launching a public campaign under the banner of “Art Attack” with the face of Arts Minister John Graham superimposed on the Mona Lisa to highlight job cuts at the gallery and Create NSW, as well as funding cuts to regional galleries and the Australian Design Centre.

Hours before budget estimates, the government announced it had at least partially restored funding to some arts organisations that had missed out on four-year funding grants in April.

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Regional organisations make up half the successful organisations of the two-year funding round, with 31 regional arts and cultural organisations securing an investment of $7.5 million over two years. This includes 10 regional art galleries funded with a combined investment of $1.8 million.

Thirteen organisations which previously had to apply for annual funding would now be shifted to the two-year funding rounds.

The Australian Design Centre at Darlinghurst lost $300,000 a year in the previous funding round. It was awarded $150,000 for each of the next two years. It still cannot rule out closure at the end of the year.

“Create NSW advised yesterday that ADC was successful and would receive $150,000 per annum over two years. While this funding is fantastic, and we are grateful to receive it, it is $150,000 per annum, short of what we currently receive and have been receiving for a decade,” its executive director Lisa Cahill said.

“This substantial reduction in funding combined with rising costs over the past decade, and the uncertainty it creates for our future, is unsustainable. It is effectively setting us up to fail, after successfully operating for 61 years.

“Potentially NSW will be the only state without a dedicated craft and design organisation. That means that the thousands of makers, designers and craftspeople we have supported will be left without a national platform, and audiences around Australia, where we currently take touring exhibitions, will not see their work.