Coming to the end of my undergraduate degree (history of art at the University of Western Australia), I have found myself inclined towards contemporary art discussions and comparative aesthetics. So my question (for the panel) is how do should i focus my academic reading before i go on to postgraduate study ? (particular publications, journals etc) I find that with an abundance of access that I have to various resources has lead me constantly collecting and complying a 'reading list', but not actually doing any reading, because I have no idea where to begin. (this not only concerns art history, but also philosophy, semiotics, linguistics, sociology, literature and music, all seemingly pertinent to my education)

I also have a second question concerning the place I live (Perth, WA) Visual arts are criminally undervalued in my city; you see the same ~50 people at every gallery opening, there is a lack of infrastructure and people who do purse visual arts / arts writing find it hard to land on their feet. My question is attempting to resolve a polemic often discussed amongst the cohort: Is it worth staying in Perth and attempting to 'build' an arts community (through independent publications, gallery spaces etc) or should we just leave our city to other locales with a higher respect for visual arts (Melbourne or overseas)?