Inquiry into regional development and decentralisation … · complex system of interactions...

AMPAGFinal Submission RegionalDevelopmentandDecentralisationSept2017.docx 1

Committee Secretariat contact: 15 September 2017

PO Box 6021

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 4108

Fax: +61 2 6277 4773

[email protected]

Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation

Dear Chair,

The Australian Major Performing Arts Group, or AMPAG, is the umbrella group for Australia's major

performing arts (MPA) companies, which inspire millions through theatre, circus, contemporary

dance, classical ballet, classical music, opera, musicals and comedy.

The companies in the group (see Appendix 1) engage with regional communities in a multitude of

ways including touring performances, workshops and educational activities. They also take a

leadership role in the development of audiences and in fostering a vibrant and sustainable

cultural sector through collaborations with small to medium performing arts companies on the

development or presentation of works.

AMPAG submits that a consideration of ‘best practice approaches’ to regional development

must take into account the invaluable contribution the arts can make, both socially and

economically.

The arts value proposition

The arts sector is often misconstrued as playing a limited ‘entertainment’ or ‘leisure’ role in the

community, peripheral to core developmental concerns. However, the positive contribution of

the arts to social and economic activity is far more complex.

The arts increase wellbeing, connectedness and vibrancy in communities, improve health, and

have the capacity to effectively engage marginalised or disadvantaged groups including youth

and the elderly, as well as stimulate stronger education outcomes and civic engagement.

The arts contribute to the development of higher-order thinking, creativity and insight that can

stimulate innovation and inspire people with new ways of seeing our world and each other. In the

drive to build a resilient creative and innovative workforce the capacity of the arts to underpin

creativity and interconnections across communities has huge potential that is yet to be fully

realised.

Inquiry into regional development and decentralisationSubmission 124

mailto:[email protected]


A study published in October 2015 by the European Commission on the spillover effects of the arts,

culture and creative industries, evaluated surveys, analyses, case studies, literature reviews and

other research. It found:1

Knowledge spillovers Industry spillovers Network spillovers

Stimulating creativity and

encouraging potential

Improved business culture and

boosting entrepreneurship

Building social cohesion,

community development and

integration

Increasing visibility, tolerance

and exchange between

communities

Impacts on residential and

commercial property markets Improving health and wellbeing

Changing attitudes in participation

and openness to the arts

Stimulating private and foreign

investment

Creating and attractive

ecosystem and creative milieu,

city branding and place making

Increase in employability and

skills development in society

Improving productivity,

profitability and

competitiveness

Stimulating urban development,

regeneration and infrastructure

Strengthening cross-border and

cross-sector collaborations

Boosting innovation and digital

technology

Boosting economic impact or

clusters

Testing new forms of organisation

and new management structures

Facilitating knowledge exchange

and culture-led innovation

Attitudes to the arts among regional Australians

The Australia Council’s report on its 2016 National Arts Participation Survey, Connecting

Australians,2 reported that most regional Australians believe the arts have a ‘big’ or very big’

impact on:

• their sense of wellbeing and happiness (57% up from 52% in 2013)

• their ability to express themselves (67% up from 60% in 2013)

• their ability to think creatively and develop new ideas (65% up from 57% in 2013)

• helping them deal with stress, anxiety or depression (57%, similar to 58% in 2013)

• shaping and expressing Australian identity (57% up from 44% in 2013).

Three in four regional Australians believe the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life (71%)

and are an important way to get a different perspective on a topic (71%), while two in three

believe that the arts impact their understanding of other people and cultures (62%) and allow

them to connect to others (62%).

Overall, the survey found that people in regional Australia are almost as likely to acknowledge

positive impacts of the arts (84%) than those in metropolitan areas (86%). The small points of

difference lie in people’s perceptions of access and levels of attendance. For example:

• 45 per cent of people living in the regions agreed that ‘there are plenty of opportunities to get

involved in the arts’, compared with 51 per cent of people in metropolitan areas

• 69 per cent of regional dwellers had attended the arts – music, visual arts, dance/theatre,

literature events or festivals – compared with 73 per cent of people in metropolitan areas.

1 Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, Cultural and creative spillovers in Europe: Report on a preliminary evidence review, October 2015

2 Australia Council for the Arts, Connecting Australians: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey, June 2017. Interactive

dashboards at www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/connecting-australians/ Accessed 12 September 2017



Regional communities are also increasingly seeking to create works that might also tour inter-

regionally and to city settings to tell stories that build connectivity and insights. The level of

creative participation among regional Australians has risen, from 38 per cent in 2009 to 48 per

cent in 2013 and again in 2016, according to Connecting Australians data. This is a similar level of

participation to people living in metropolitan areas (46 per cent in 2016).3

As well as enhancing social cohesion and building vibrancy in communities, the arts can stimulate

opportunities for growing tourism and associated economic activity. 42 per cent of regional

Australians thought the arts had a ‘big’ or ‘very big’ impact on bringing customers to local

businesses.

Arts and culture – industries for the 21st century

According to ABS estimates:4

• cultural and creative activity contributed $86.0 billion (6.9%) to Australia's Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) on a national accounts basis in 2008-09 and 5.6% to Australia’s Gross Value

Added (GVA)

• there were an average of 972,200 people whose main employment during 2008-09 was in a

cultural or creative industry or occupation.

Leading Australian media industry academic, Distinguished Professor Stuart Cunningham of

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) referred in August this year to work by economics

strategist Andrew Charlton from AlphaBeta based on analysis of 4.2 million job advertisements

over the past three years:

He found a 212 per cent increase in jobs demanding digital literacy, a 158 per cent rise in jobs

demanding critical thinking and a 65 per cent rise in jobs demanding creativity.

Many unskilled and repetitive jobs are under threat, as are some in the engineering,

accountancy and science disciplines. However, jobs that require the human touch – creative

and emotional intelligence – are much less vulnerable. Being so resilient in the face of

automation, they will be the jobs that will grow over the next 20-plus years.5

Similarly, a 2013 Oxford University study by Frey and Osborne, The Future of Employment: How

susceptible are jobs to computerisation?, examined 702 occupations and found that 47 per cent

of employment is at risk. They conclude by stating that:

… as technology races ahead, low-skill workers will reallocate to tasks that are non-susceptible

to computerisation – i.e., tasks requiring creative and social intelligence. For workers to win the

race, however, they will have to acquire creative and social skills. 6

The creative sector is a major player in the economy: it generates secondary economic activity; it

provides employment; and the skills developed in this sector have the capacity to influence the

creative innovative culture of other businesses. In regional Australia, the future prosperity of the

workforce will be enhanced by people’s capacity to adapt, adopt and connect with innovation

within and beyond their own towns. A creative arts-rich education and cultural life supports the

development of both the skills and interconnections needed.

3 Australia Council for the Arts, Connecting Australians: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey, June 2017. Interactive

dashboards at www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/connecting-australians/ Accessed 12 September 2017

4 ABS 5271.0 - Australian National Accounts: Cultural and Creative Activity Satellite Accounts, Experimental, 2008-09

5 https://www.qut.edu.au/creative-industries/about/news/news?news-id=108517

6 http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf, p. 45



There are many examples of Australian regional communities where arts, culture and creative

industries already significantly strengthen the local economy. Bendigo, Northern Rivers, Arnhem

Land, Central Australia and Bunbury are just a few. There are also examples of major arts and

cultural developments in regional Australia where economic activity and opportunities grow in

tandem with cultural vibrancy – as is the case with the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)7 in

Tasmania. And the development of UKARIA8, an arts foundation and cultural centre set in the

South Australian landscape around Mt Barker Summit and the Twin Peaks, has brought renewed

energy to, and connections with, the local town of Mount Barker. Festivals such as Four Winds in

Bermagui are not simply attracting visitors, their annual programmes also building local capacity.

The positive impact of arts and culture in the regions has been highlighted in a ground-breaking

report from Deakin University, Economic Regeneration Stats and Stories – Theme 2, The Impact of

the Arts in Regional Australia:

Against a backdrop of rural and regional decline, the arts are being used as cornerstones of

economic regeneration, framed around tourism to generate income in uncertain times for

regional communities. They provide non-traditional means of income, linking cultural tourism to

economic growth and attracting particular demographic groups with disposable income.

Arts events and festivals are a major driver of physical renewal, providing an increase in

regional tourism, with 57% of first-time visitors to the region giving an event as their main reason

for visiting. Similarly, three-quarters of event attendees would not have gone to the destination

on this occasion if not for the event.

While the arts are part of the tourism experience, they are not only about making money.

Gentrification has noticeable effects on housing market renewal and public consumption

within the gentrified area. As this theme suggests, the arts are about regenerating community

and activating the local economy by hiring services, attracting audiences, increasing tourism

with visitors staying in hotels and B&Bs, eating in cafes and restaurants and going shopping in

local stores.

Additionally, the transformation of derelict industrial precincts contributes to boosting the

regional economy that improves the vitality and quality of rural and regional environments. A

complex system of interactions containing both socio-economic and physical factors aid

adaptive efforts of economic regeneration and enhance interactions between community

members.9

The report summarised the economic benefits across four key areas:

• place making,

• encouraging investment,

• growing the economy and

• improving lives.

This analysis, combined with the national research into jobs skills of the future, point to the

importance of including arts, culture and creative industry strategies in any regional economic

development framework

7 https://mona.net.au/

8 http://www.ukaria.com/

9 ECONOMIC REGENERATION STATS AND STORIES - THEME 2 THE IMPACT OF THE ARTS IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA 2015 Deakin University

http://d33dlkmx851fuz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stats-Stories-2-Economic-Regeneration.pdf



Health, wellbeing and resilience

The initial report of the Productivity Commission study Transitioning regional economies lists a

range of issues that can affect the future strength of a regional community, including the social

fabric, people’s sense of being left behind, people’s mobility, community cohesion, remoteness,

adaptive capacity, skill levels and industry diversity.

AMPAG’s submission (Appendix 2) recommended that the commission consider the clear body of

evidence for the ability of arts and culture to introduce elements that, if nurtured within regional

communities, can contribute to delivering better longer-term prospects for the regions and for the

individuals within them.

In the health context, extensive research has highlighted the transformative impact of the arts,10

and the National Arts and Health Framework11 was developed in 2013 to guide local, state and

federal policy coordination to support strategies in this area.

NSW, for example, has launched the Health and The Arts Exchange,12 hosted by the NSW

Government’s Agency for Clinical Innovation, to facilitate the exchange of information and

ideas, and provide key resources and contacts to maximise the benefits of an arts-integrated

health system. The Exchange is a key element of the NSW Health and The Arts Framework,

implementing recommendations of the Health and The Arts Taskforce Report, and

complementing the National Arts and Health Framework and Create in NSW: NSW Arts and

Cultural Policy Framework.

The National Framework is available at www.arts.gov.au/national-arts-and-health-framework, and

AMPAG recommends that the committee draw on this framework in its own deliberations.

Culture and arts infrastructure has been convincingly demonstrated to be a core part of the

structure, function and economic viability of societies and local communities, not an indulgence

in times of plenty.

National Rural Health Alliance

Education and capacity building

A recent Australian study13 of the impact of the arts on young people found that students who

participate in dance, drama, music, and visual arts showed more positive academic and

personal wellbeing outcomes than students who were not as involved in the arts.14 Conducted

over two academic years and involving 643 students from 15 primary and secondary schools, this

was one of the largest studies into the role of the arts on student outcomes ever conducted.

Historically the arts have tended to be pushed to the side when other educational priorities crowd

in – when literacy and numeracy agendas become more important. But what this research shows

10 For example: Putland, C. (2012) Arts and Health – A guide to the evidence, Background document prepared for the Institute for

Creative Health; and Fenner, P., Rumbold, B., Rumbold, J., Robinson, P., Harpur, S. (2012) Is there compelling evidence for using the

arts in healthcare? Health policy evidence brief, Deeble Institute, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals’ Association

11 https://www.arts.gov.au/national-arts-and-health-framework

12 https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/ie/health-arts-projects

13 The role of arts participation in students’ academic and non-academic outcomes: A longitudinal study of school, home, and

community factors. 2013, Martin, Andrew J.; Mansour, Marianne; Anderson, Michael; Gibson, Robyn; Liem, Gregory A. D.; Sudmalis,

David,

14 https://ifacca.org/en/news/2013/09/27/role-arts-participation-students-academic-and-nona/


http://www.arts.gov.au/national-arts-and-health-framework


is that active participation in the arts can create positive outcomes in those areas. According to

one of the study’s authors, Associate Professor Michael Anderson of the University of Sydney:

… arts education should be at the centre of the curriculum because it has benefits across all

areas of learning … My advice to schools would be to consider putting arts at the centre of the

school experience and not at the periphery—and to think about how the arts can be

strengthened in schools using what’s available through the Australian Curriculum.

Many of Australia’s competitors are responding to this kind of evidence by adopting a STEAM

(science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, as opposed to STEM) approach to

education and innovative frameworks to gain competitive advantage. A recent UK report for

Nesta, for example, found that ‘firms combining arts and science skills … outperform those firms

that utilize only arts skills or science skills’.15

AMPAG‘s submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment,

Education and Training Inquiry into innovation and creativity: workforce for the new economy

(Appendix 3) outlines the positive impact on student’s overall education engagement and

outcomes as well as the problem-solving and soft skills gained thought an arts-rich approach to

school education, as well the resilience and expanded thinking arts engagement can support in

the broader population.

The committee subsequently recognised the importance of creative skills and engagement in its

report, recommending ‘that the National Innovation and Science Agenda explicitly recognise the

importance of STEAM, creative digital skills, the creative industries and the arts more generally’

(Recommendation 10).

This approach should begin in schools and be embedded in primary and high school curricula

through to tertiary education and innovation hubs or incubators. It offers great potential for

building capacity and resilience in regional communities.

The major performing arts companies are actively engaged in arts education and contribute

significantly to the development of the national curriculum for the arts. Although the companies

work hard to attract philanthropic support to help facilitate regional access and skills

development, we are aware of a level of unmet need as well as barriers to expertise that can

arise in some regional and remote education settings.

The major performing arts companies in regional Australia

AMPAG’s submission to the 2016 Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to

rural and regional Australia (Appendix 4) provides detailed examples of regional engagement

across a broad range of activities, including through:

• touring mainstage works

• developing performances specifically for regional touring

• touring performances that include participation from regional or remote performers

• live engagement in arts education in regional and remote schools and community centres

• online arts education and behind the scenes experiences

• television and radio broadcast of MPA productions.16

15 THE FUSION EFFECT: The economic returns to combining arts and science skills. A report for NESTA. Dr Josh Siepel, (SPRU, University of

Sussex), Dr Roberto Camerani (SPRU, University of Sussex), Dr Gabriele Pellegrino (SPRU, University of Sussex), Dr Monica Masucci (Dept

of Business and Management, University of Sussex) 16 It should be recognised that the ABC is often the only service delivering classical music and radio programs on books and arts to

remote communities.



The Inquiry achieved bipartisan agreement that:

… the Federal Government, when assessing the effectiveness of its funding, [should]

encourage the educative role that performing arts companies play, and maintain adequate

funding for the Australia Council for the Arts’ Playing Australia Fund. It also recommended that

the National Touring Status (NTS) arrangement is retained and extended to additional

performing arts companies.

AMPAG supports these recommendations and argues adequate funds have not been allocated

for this purpose.

The level of government financial support through the Playing Australia Fund has fluctuated over

the last eight years but has generally remained at its 2008 value. In 2008–09 it was worth $6.06

million, rising to $7.4 million in 2013–14 before dropping back to $6.2 million in 2014–15. Clearly, its

value in real terms has greatly reduced yet recognition of the importance of arts access,

engagement and making in regional Australia has grown in that time.

The level of funding to the Playing Australia program is insufficient to broaden the nature of tour

activities and/or to increase the number of companies with NTS responsibly.

AMPAG recommends:

• an increase in the Playing Australia Program of a minimum of $8 million allocated evenly over

four years from 2017–18 to 2020–21 to support additional strategic performing arts access and

engagement in regional Australia.

• an increase in the number of performing arts companies operating with National Touring

Status.

In conclusion

Consideration of best practice approaches to regional development should acknowledge the

contribution the arts can make, in particular to:

• an improved quality of life for regional Australians – including positive impacts on health and

wellbeing

• vibrant, more cohesive and engaged regional communities – through enhanced people to

people links, shared understanding, and stronger intra and intercommunity connections, and

• developing the capabilities of regional Australians – including through stronger educational

outcomes focused on creativity and innovation to gain competitive advantage

• growing and diversifying of the regional economic and employment base – from local arts

practice as well as through cultural tourism, events and place making.

Any framework for building and developing regional communities is more likely to achieve

sustained improvement in liveability and community resilience if it includes an integrated long-

term commitment to an arts and cultural strategy that links into health, social, education and

economic plans.



Appendix 1. Major performing arts companies

Designated as ‘major’ by government, AMPAG members have proven track records in, among

other things:

• demonstrated commitment to engaging with audiences in regional communities;

• demonstrating a leadership role in the development of audiences including young and

disadvantaged audiences, multicultural audiences and more equal access for people with a

disability;

• fostering a vibrant and sustainable cultural sector, including building the sector’s economic

and artistic potential through collaborations with small to medium performing arts companies

on the development and/or presentation of works.

The major performing arts (MPA) companies are:

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra South Australia

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra New South Wales

Australian Chamber Orchestra New South Wales

Bangarra Dance Theatre New South Wales

Bell Shakespeare New South Wales

Belvoir New South Wales

Black Swan State Theatre Company Western Australia

Circus Oz Victoria

Malthouse Theatre Victoria

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Victoria

Melbourne Theatre Company Victoria

Musica Viva Australia New South Wales

Opera Australia New South Wales

Opera Queensland Queensland

Orchestra Victoria Victoria

Queensland Ballet Queensland

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland

State Opera South Australia South Australia

State Theatre Company of South

Australia

South Australia

Sydney Dance Company New South Wales

Sydney Symphony New South Wales

Sydney Theatre Company New South Wales

The Australian Ballet Victoria

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Tasmania

West Australian Ballet Western Australia

West Australian Opera Western Australia

West Australian Symphony Orchestra Western Australia



Appendix 2: AMPAG’s submission to the Productivity Commission Study– Transitioning regional

economies

Provided as a separate PDF

Appendix 3: AMPAG’s submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on

Employment, Education and Training Inquiry into innovation and creativity: workforce for the

new economy


Appendix 4: AMPAG’s submission to the Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live

production to rural and regional Australia



1

Transitioning Regional Economies Inquiry

Productivity Commission

Locked Bag 2, Collins St East

Melbourne Vic 8003

31 July 2017

Dear Sir/ Madam

Re: Transitioning Regional Economies Inquiry

The Australia Major Performing Arts Group, AMPAG (see appendix 1) understands the purpose

of the inquiry is to; ‘devise an analytical framework for assessing the scope for economic and

social development in regions which share similar economic characteristics, including

dependency on interrelationships between regions.’

The study seeks to establish a framework to identify not only those regions under distress, that

lack resilience, but to measure characteristics or elements that, if nurtured or created, could

deliver better longer-term prospects for the region and most importantly for the individuals

within it.

AMPAG submits that measuring characteristics of arts and cultural making and engagement

across regional communities will provide valuable insight into factors impacting communities’

social and economic resilience and adaptability.

The initial report proposes a framework consisting of three areas of inquiry;

1. Economic performance over time

An analytical framework for assessing the scope for economic and social

development in regions, examining prospects for, and inhibitors to, change to the

structure of regional economies.

2. Single economic metric of relative adaptive capacity

A summary of the complex set of factors, including the skills and education of

regional workforces, access to infrastructure and services, availability of natural

resources, financial resources available to business owners and individuals, and the

diversity of industries. A relative measure, derived using data across all regions.


2

3. Framework for economic and social development

A policy framework to assess the scope for economic and social development in

regions and the factors that may inhibit adaptation to changing circumstances.

Governments should focus on the people who reside in regions — both urban and

non-urban — rather than the geographical areas themselves.

The arts sector is often misconstrued as an ‘entertainment’ or ‘lifestyle’ leisure sector. The

reality is very different—performing arts are labour-intensive, generating significant

employment and stimulating secondary economic activity. However, the positive

contribution of the arts to social and economic activity is more complex.

Arts and Culture- diversity of impacts

The arts increase wellbeing, connectedness and vibrancy in communities, improve health,

have the capacity to effectively engage marginalised or disadvantaged groups as well as

stimulate stronger learning outcomes in students. They contribute to the development of

higher order thinking, creativity and insight that can inspire people with new ways of seeing

our world and each other. In a race to build a resilient creative and innovative workforce the

capacity of the arts to underpin creativity and interconnections across communities is yet to

be fully realised.

A study published in October 2015 by the European Commission on the spillover effects of

the arts, culture and creative industries, evaluated surveys, analyses, case studies, literature

reviews etc. It found:1




Improved business culture

and boosting

entrepreneurship


community development

and integration

Increasing visibility,

tolerance and exchange

between communities

Impacts on residential

and commercial property

markets

Improving health and

wellbeing

Changing attitudes in

participation and

openness to the arts

Stimulating private and

foreign investment


ecosystem and creative

milieu, city branding and

place making

Increase in employability

and skills development in

society


profitability and

competitiveness

Stimulating urban

development,

regeneration and

infrastructure

Strengthening cross-

border and cross-sector

collaborations

Boosting innovation and

digital technology

Boosting economic

impact or clusters

1 Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, Cultural and creative spillovers in Europe: Report on a preliminary evidence

review, October 2015


3

For this reason, AMPAG recommends incorporating assessment of arts and culture

characteristics of regional communities and the impact from arts and cultural policy

interventions on regional capacity, in the develop an economic metric of relative

adaptive capacity.

Recent inquiry findings:

The House of Representatives Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to

rural and regional Australia report released in May 2016 found that;

‘The performances and interactive programs delivered by these groups (MPAs) are

highly valued by these communities, and often have a profound impact on

audiences and participants. They can also be an important source of inspiration for,

and have a long-lasting impact on, students and local professionals. These groups,

and the other performing arts companies, play a crucial role in shaping and

reflecting Australia’s cultural identity.’

In addition, the recently released report by the House of Representatives Standing

Committee on Employment, Education and Training Inquiry into innovation and creativity:

workforce for the new economy, recognised the importance of creative skills and

engagement. Recommendation 10 states:

‘The Committee recommends that the National Innovation and Science Agenda

explicitly recognise the importance of STEAM, creative digital skills, the creative

industries and the arts more generally.’

AMPAG’s submission to the Inquiry drew on a wide range of research into the role and

impact of arts on creativity and on our capacity to respond to new economic realities and

to develop more innovative business environments. We recommend this research to the

Commission. (see appendix 2 AMPAG’s submission into this Inquiry– provided as a separate

file).

The submission also outlines evidence confirming that arts in education significantly

contributes to student welfare, school engagement and shapes the innovative capacity of a

communities’ future workforce and in turn economic outcomes.

Creative Industries

AMPAG recognises the significant proportion of GDP generated by the creative industries

not, only in Australia, but internationally (see appendix 3). There are numerous regional

Australia examples that illustrate the way in which creative industries have contributed to

new regional economic and social prosperity.


4

Regional Arts Australia

AMPAG endorses the views put forward by Regional Arts Australia to the Inquiry in response

to the Initial report summarised here–

• Culture should be a fundamental element of policy development for regional

Australia.

• Arts, Cultural and Creative industries are big business and important drivers of the

economy including providing important economic drivers for regional communities

• Research about the cultural sector has remained undiscovered by the Commission.

The Initial report lists a range of issues that impact the future strength of regional

community including; social fabric, people’s sense of being left behind, mobility of

people, community cohesion, remoteness, adaptive capacity, skill levels and industry

diversity. There is a clear body of evidence that both arts and culture carry

characteristics or introduce elements that, if nurtured or created within regional

communities, can contribute to delivering better longer-term prospects for the region and

for the individuals within them.

AMPAG recommends the Commission investigate and include ways that the framework

for regional economic and social development can incorporate arts and cultural social

and economic measurements.

For further information contact

Bethwyn Serow

Executive Director

AMPAG

Tel 02 92535351

www.ampag.com.au


5

Appendix 1

Who We are

The Australian Major Performing Arts Group, or AMPAG, is the umbrella group for Australia's

major performing arts companies (MPAs) who inspire millions through theatre, circus,

contemporary dance, classical ballet, classical music, opera, musicals and comedy.

MPAs engage regularly with regional communities through performance tours, education

programs, arts development workshops and programs, online and arts broadcasting services.

In 2015:

• 4.1 million Australians attended a performance, school activity or workshop by an

MPA company.

• The MPAs employed more than 10,900 people—including 6,800 artists and creatives.

This represents around 25 per cent of performing arts employment in Australia.

• MPA companies had a turnover of $504 million, of which 66 per cent was from non-

government sources.

Major performing arts companies

1. Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

2. Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

3. Australian Chamber Orchestra

4. Bangarra Dance Theatre

5. Bell Shakespeare Company

6. Belvoir New South Wales

7. Black Swan State Theatre Company

8. Circus Oz

9. Malthouse Theatre

10. Melbourne Symphony

11. Melbourne Theatre Company

12. Musica Viva Australia

13. Opera Australia

14. Opera Queensland

15. Orchestra Victoria

16. Queensland Ballet

17. Queensland Symphony Orchestra

18. Queensland Theatre Company

19. State Opera South Australia

20. State Theatre Company of South Australia

21. Sydney Dance Company

22. Sydney Symphony Orchestra

23. Sydney Theatre Company

24. The Australian Ballet

25. Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

26. West Australian Ballet all

27. West Australian Opera 28. West Australian Symphony Orchestra


6

Appendix 2

AMPAG submission to :

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training –

Inquiry into innovation and creativity: workforce for the new economy,

provided as separate electronic file.


7

Appendix 3 Cultural Times – the First Global Map of Cultural and Creative Industries


8


Innovation, creativity and the new economy: Strengthening Australia’s

approach to the Innovation Framework through the Arts

The arts, learning through the arts and valuing artistic processes and practices

are essential in the pursuit of creativity and innovation advantage in our 21st

century workforce.

Successfully transitioning to an innovation economy requires a shift in

Australia’s policy settings to centralise the role of the arts in developing

creative, innovative and connected individuals that together form our

workforce.

The issue

The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) report released in

June last year warns1

Innovation is not just based on research, science or technology, or even on

entrepreneurial skills. Managerial and marketing skills, organisational, social,

economic and administrative knowledge, and intellectual and creative

capacity are also required to successfully translate new opportunities, ideas

and discoveries into innovation.

However, the arts have been siloed from the country’s innovation

framework—this means Australia is not reaping the full benefits of a creative

and inventive workforce.

Business leaders and academics around the country have voiced the need

for creativity in the workforce. The Minister for the Arts, the Hon Mitch Fifield,

has advocated for putting the A into STEM ‘because if we want to have a

culture of innovation, a culture of creativity feeds directly into that’.

Learning and participating in the making of art fosters higher order agile

thinking, emphasises outcomes, supports social skills development and

collaborative working processes.

In addition there is a large body of well-established evidence that learning

through the arts at school can lift student results in academic subjects such

as maths and English.

Peter Taylor (Professor of STEAM Education and Director of the Transformative

Education Research Centre (TERC) in the School of Education at Murdoch

University) asserts that

… early research studies on ground-breaking STEAM curricula in the US have

demonstrated that learning activities integrating science, technology and the

arts successfully engage minority and disadvantaged students, resulting in improved literacy and numeracy competencies (Clark, 2014; Stoelinga, Silk,

Reddy & Rahman, 2015).

1 ‘Skills and capabilities for Australian enterprise innovation’, ACOLA June 2016, p4


2

www.ampag.com.au

However, government leadership and public discourse on the valuable role

the arts can play in developing an innovative workforce—and the growth

potential of the broader creative industries themselves in the new economy—

is missing.

International comparisons

While the Global Innovation index 2015 reveals Australia is in 10th position in

regards to inputs (research, business sophistication, human capital,

infrastructure), it is ranked 24th in output (knowledge and technology

creativity) which highlights the significant inadequacies in our current

approach.

A recent UK report for Nesta2 found that ‘firms combining arts and science

skills … outperform those firms that utilize only arts skills or science skills’.

Many of Australia’s competitors are adopting a STEAM (science,

technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, as opposed to STEM)

approach to education and innovative frameworks to gain competitive

advantage. This approach should begin in schools and be embedded in

primary and high school curricula through to tertiary education and

innovation hubs or incubators.

Creative Industries—generating jobs in the new economy

Globally, the creative industries are worth US $2.25 trillion and estimated to

employ over 29 million people3. (See global activity appendix 1.)

In 2014 the ABS published its first experimental measures of the economic

contribution of the cultural and creative industries and found it contributed

$86 billion (6.9%) to Australia Gross Domestic Product on the national

accounts 2008–09 and 5.6% to Australia’s Gross Value Added with almost 1

million people employed.

These industries grew at 2.8 per cent a year from 2006 to 2011, 40 per cent

faster than the economy as a whole.

How the arts can contribute

Many unskilled and repetitive jobs are under threat, as are some in the

engineering, accountancy and science disciplines. However, jobs that require

the human touch – creative and emotional intelligence – are much less

vulnerable. Being so resilient in the face of automation they will be the jobs

that will grow over the next 20-plus years.4

A study published in October 2015 by the European Commission on the

spillover effects of the arts, culture and creative industries found marked

2 originally, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts NESTA 3 Cultural Times – 2015 the First Global Map of Cultural and Creative Industries, Ernst & Young prepared for

CISAC — the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers http://www.worldcreative.org/ 4 https://www.qut.edu.au/creative-industries/about/news/news?news-id=108517


http://www.worldcreative.org/

3

www.ampag.com.au

impacts across business and industry—such as improved productivity,

increase in skills and employability and boosted entrepreneurship etc.5

Many other reports, including an Italian report for the Creative Capital

Conference 2013, have found that harnessing the creative capital of arts

makers and producers presents obvious investment opportunities.

In addition countries that are able to position their workforce as highly

creative and innovative will be better placed to attract capital investment,

business partnerships and country-to-country cooperation and collaboration.

Arts sector training

Graduate and vocational training courses in the performing arts attract and

nurture students with creative aptitude, some of whom will become elite

performers and others who will then progress into aligned jobs in the creative

industries and creative jobs in the broader sector.

The analysis of two international databases of tertiary education professionals

(Reflex and Hegesco) in 2013 shows that arts graduates are among the most

likely to have a highly innovative job five years after graduation.

Fifty-four per cent of arts graduates have a highly innovative job dealing with

some type of innovation. They rank second for product innovation, and they

come fifth and seventh for innovation of technology and innovation of

knowledge.6

This study also suggested that study in the arts ‘develop a bundle of skills that

matter for innovation’.

AMPAG’s recommendations

Government adoption of STEAM

The Australian Government should:

play a leadership role in encouraging the community to value

and engage with the arts

encourage active participation and exposure to new ideas and

insights through the arts to challenge and inspire new thinking in

our workforce

evolve the Innovation agenda from a STEM approach to STEAM

(A for Arts) recognising that siloing of arts and creativity limits the

crossover of artists’ skill sets and innovative approaches into

both academic learning and in developing new ways to

address economic challenge

5 Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, Cultural and creative spillovers in Europe: Report on a preliminary

evidence review, October 2015 6 Art for Art's Sake? The Impact of Arts Education, Winner Ellen, Goldstein Thalia R, Vincent-Lancrin Stéphan

2013, p17


4

www.ampag.com.au

consider how the role of the Chief Scientist could be

complemented with the creation of Chief Social Scientist to

ensure a holistic STEAM ecosystem in which public policy is

developed

reinstate performing arts performance courses onto the eligibility

list for the VET student loan scheme, recognising the performing

arts industry needs highly developed craft skills

establish a strategic arts working group to evaluate the most

effective way arts and a STEAM agenda can progress policies

to support an outcomes-focused creative and innovative 21st

century workforce.

Optimising tertiary graduates’ innovative skills begins in schools

The primary and high school curriculum should move to a STEAM-

based approach to optimise academic results and higher order

thinking, collaborative work practices and social skills.

Tertiary teacher training—creative upskilling

School teachers should be empowered to deliver the Arts Curriculum

through affordable ongoing professional learning in the arts

accompanied by professional recognition of the value of superior arts-

based teaching skills.

Pre-service teachers need adequate training to ensure they can

effectively implement a world class Arts Curriculum and use a

successful STEAM approach to whole-of-curriculum delivery.

Developing ways for arts skills to cross over into other industries

A STEAM approach to tertiary education should build cross-disciplinary

networks and opportunities on campus and through work placements

during study.

Governments around the country should encourage greater diversity

in skill sets in incubators including building opportunities for arts

students, graduates and other arts workers to develop capacity to

work and contribute in these environments.

In partnership with tertiary incubators or other programs with industry

links, governments should develop pathways to connect artists to

businesses seeking to increase their creative and innovative capacity.


5

www.ampag.com.au

Appendix 1: Cultural Times – the First Global Map of Cultural and Creative Industries


1

Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and

regional Australia

Submission from the

Australian Major Performing Arts Group

WHO WE ARE

The Australian Major Performing Arts Group, or AMPAG, is the umbrella group for Australia's

major performing arts companies who develop and deliver cultural content at the elite level

and support cultural capacity and performing arts access across the country.

FROM: Bethwyn Serow TO: House of Reps Standing Committee

Executive Director on Communications and the Arts

AMPAG PO Box 6021

P0 Box 1965 Parliament House

Sydney NSW 1225 CANBERRA

T: +61 2 9253 5351 T: +61 2 6277 4386

E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

5 February 2016





2


3

The Inquiry

The House of Representatives Committee on Communications and Arts, under its power to

inquire into the annual reports of government agencies, will inquire into the importance of

public and commercial broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and

regional Australia, including the arts, news and other services.

The inquiry was initiated from the following reports:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Annual Report 2015

Special Broadcasting Service Corporation Annual Report 2015

Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report 2014–15

Australian Communications and Media Authority Annual Report 2014–15

Committee members

Chair

Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Mackellar NSW

Deputy Chair

Mr Tim Watts MP: Australian Labor Party, Gellibrand VIC

Mr Laurie Ferguson MP: Australian Labor Party, Werriwa NSW

Ms Nola Marino MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Forrest WA

Mr Graham Perrett MP: Australian Labor Party, Moreton QLD

Mr Keith Pitt MP: The Nationals, Hinkler QLD

Ms Melissa Price MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Durack WA

Mr Rowan Ramsey MP Liberal Party of Australia, Grey SA

Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP: Australian Labor Party, Calwell VIC

Mrs Lucy Wicks MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Robertson NSW


http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=SE4

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=193430

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=8T4

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=HWP

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=HVP



http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=HWS

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=00AMT


4

Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 5

IMPORTANCE OF ARTS ACCESS FOR REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES ..................................... 8

Are the regional and remote arts centres able to access what they want? ..................................... 10

Regional presenters’ programming priorities ................................................................................... 10

THE ROLE AND REACH OF THE MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES ............................................ 11

MPAs’ regional remit ........................................................................................................................ 11

The role of MPAs in live performance programming for regional and remote arts centres ............ 12

Level of MPA regional engagement in 2014 ..................................................................................... 13

FUNDING AND STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO MPAs’ REGIONAL TOURING ............................................. 15

How is regional engagement with the MPAs currently funded? ...................................................... 15

Key government initiatives that affect MPAs’ capacity to tour ........................................................ 15

Government arts education funding ................................................................................................ 17

Other market conditions that affect the capacity of MPAs to tour .................................................. 18

Key factors that affect access ........................................................................................................... 18

THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MPA WORK AND HOW IT IS VALUED IN REGIONAL

AUSTRALIA ............................................................................................................................................ 20

Behind the statistics .......................................................................................................................... 20

The multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities ..................................................................... 20

1. Touring of mainstage works ............................................................................................... 20

2. Touring of shows specifically developed for regional touring ........................................ 21

3. Touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation ...... 23

4. Live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community

centres .......................................................................................................................................... 26

5. Television and radio broadcast of MPAs ........................................................................... 30

6. Online arts education and behind the scenes ................................................................... 33

AMPAG RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................. 36

Appendix 1: News article—Artshub, 3 February 2016 ..................................................................... 37

Appendix 2: News article—The Leader, 2 December 2015, 4 pm .................................................... 39

Appendix 3: AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES................................................ 40

Appendix 4: Excerpt from the Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report 2015 .......................... 41

Appendix 5: Excerpts from national and state touring research reports ......................................... 42


5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is strong evidence that the participation and engagement in the arts is good for the

social cohesiveness of a community and the general wellbeing of people—and new

measurements show the arts may be worth $66 billion to Australia’s wellbeing.

All over Australia a healthy creative life plays a key role in developing our soft

infrastructure—the ideas, the networks and conceptual frameworks that give shape,

direction and confidence in community planning.’ —Lindy Hume, Artistic Director,

Opera Queensland

There is a significant demand for touring productions in regional areas. In fact, in regard to

productions, genres or artforms that presenters would like to program but were unable to,

programming the major performing arts companies or large scaled productions were

highest, followed by dance.

In 2015 the major performing arts companies (MPAs) as a group reached close to four million

people through their performances and arts programs—in metropolitan and regional

locations. Paid attendances at MPAs’ performances, workshops and seminars in regional

and remote Australia totalled 235,000 in 2014–15, with ‘live reach’ totalling 319,000.1

In 2014 MPA companies estimated that 10 million people watched or listened to a broadcast

or screening of an MPA company performance. The Australia Council estimates the MPAs as

a group reached 16 million people in 2014–15.

However, the MPAs’ contribution is not only realised through tickets, hits and turnover. It is

also important to recognise the qualitative characteristics of work performed by MPAs.

Most MPA companies work in regional, remote and at risk communities, connecting with

constituents and making a lasting impact—not only with performances that stir the heart,

spirit and mind, but with a legacy of cultural infrastructure that is greatly valued in regional

and remote communities (see appendix 1—article from artshub on the cultural and

economic stimulus provided by expenditure on a 700-seat theatre in the Riverina).

Companies such as Opera Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Ballet,

Bangarra, Bell Shakespeare and Circus Oz have dedicated national programs for regional

engagement, while state companies often build tours around individual opportunities for a

particular work. Therefore, the level of regional and remote MPA activities varies from year to

year. In this submission we outline the multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities:

touring of mainstage works

touring performances specifically developed for regional touring

touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation

live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community

centres

television and radio broadcast of MPAs

online arts education and behind the scenes.

1 It’s important to note that the ratio of audience numbers to costs is relative, depending on the type of art work.

Live performing arts naturally reflect very different cost structures to those of the digital online works or visual arts

where, once the work is created, there are negligible ongoing costs. Performances, on the other hand, demand an

assembling of new resources with every show.


6

The benefits go both ways. For the companies themselves, touring to regional and remote

areas broadens engagement, builds audiences and often offers emerging artists further

performance opportunity. For the communities themselves, it draws them together, instilling a

love of performing arts in young people, often offering employment and training

opportunities and a chance to experience performing arts of the highest calibre.

The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 30 June 2015 was

23,781,200 people2. In 2011 over 85 per cent of Australians lived in urban areas and nearly 70

per cent lived in our capital cities. Proportionately, the attendance and access of regional

urban and remote audiences to MPA live performances and associated activities is

significantly below that of their city counterparts. Given the results of the Australia Council

survey on community values and the feedback from the APACA survey, it seems that

regional communities are less able to access MPA work than they might necessarily like.

There are logistical and financial barriers that place limits on this activity. MPAs often tour

larger works which generally require larger casts, sets or technical setups. This means they

generate higher performance costs and associated logistical costs including transport and

accommodation. Venues’ capacity can vary from 200 to 1200 seat—so box office earnings

vary dramatically—yet overheads for a performance are constant.

In the face of diminishing funds through the Federal Government’s touring fund, Playing

Australia (which in 2008–09 was $6.06 million, rising to $7.4 million in 2013–14 before dropping

back to $6.2 million in 2014–15), companies are increasingly relying on private sector support

to fulfil their regional touring obligations.

One Federal Government pilot program, which draws its funding as a proportion of the

Playing Australia allocation, has awarded National Touring Status to two MPA companies. It

has given those two companies (Bell Shakespeare and Sydney Dance Company) multi-year

certainty around their capacity to tour, which in turn provides regional and remote venues

and their communities greater certainty and capacity to forward book and plan. It also

enables the companies to enter into longer term partnerships with presenters and in some

cases philanthropists to build audiences and opportunities for deeper engagement.

However, state governments have also reduced their level of funding for MPA arts education

initiatives, which are a crucial part of their regional engagement strategies. MPAs’ highly

respected arts education programs offer students and educators skills, resources, and

structured performing arts learning as well as authentic opportunities for students to

experience high quality professional performances. They can play an important partnering

role with schools, an approach encouraged through the national arts curriculum.

The arts industry complements the provision of the Arts curriculum in schools through

programs and partnerships. The industry increasingly provides specialist services for

schools, as appropriate, through experiences such as visiting performances,

demonstrations and exhibitions, artists in residence, teacher professional development

and access for students and teachers to specialised facilities in galleries, concert halls,

theatres and other arts venues.3

Some access can be facilitated through new resources created for the ABC Splash service,

digital classroom incursions and accessing online clips and complementary resources. The

majority have a range of digital pathways; however, there are limitations to what can be

2 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Jun%202015?OpenDocument 3 The Australian Curriculum, http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/implications-for-teaching-assessment-

and-reporting


http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/implications-for-teaching-assessment-and-reporting


7

supplied online. The experience and impact of live performance and participation is quite

different to the more passive recorded viewer-type interaction—and some regions have

limited online capacity. MPAs often incurred residuals and performance costs associated

with streaming recorded content that can limit the extent to which recorded performances

can be made available.

Regional communities have a clear interest and recognition of the value of live performance

and arts education, the opportunities to participate and engage are significantly lower than

their metropolitan counterparts.

Funding and planning certainty are key to regional engagement. AMPAG therefore calls on

the government to:

1. Increase the Playing Australia fund by $2 million per year. Any increase in Playing

Australia should be accompanied by creating flexibility in eligibility guidelines

– to remove barriers to alternative ways of touring that may be more efficient for

artists, arts companies and audience reach and engagement

– to broaden the activities the fund is capable of supporting.

2. Extend the National Touring Status funding approach to all MPA companies that

regularly tour regional Australia.

3. Increase the support for regional education activities and streamed, digital access for

regional and remote areas, to lift their participation and engagement in arts

activities, and ultimately benefit all education and community outcomes.

4. Model the potential benefits, likely take up and associated costs and optimum

criteria associated with the creation of a regional live performance and live

performance broadcast to regional venues subsidy and risk offset scheme.

5. ABC radio and television provides an important conduit for regional audiences to

experience performances by Australia’s leading performing arts companies as well as

capacity for regional artist and performances to reach a national audience. It is a

greatly valued collaborator and commissioner of original innovative performing arts

content. Its contribution to the performing arts cultural life of regional Australia should

be recognised and valued.

6. Include regional access and engagement with the arts as a standing item on the

annual Meeting of Cultural Ministers’ agenda.


8

IMPORTANCE OF ARTS ACCESS FOR REGIONAL AND REMOTE

COMMUNITIES

This review seeks to understand the importance of cultural engagement for regional and

remote communities.

The Committee Chairman, the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, said, ‘It is important that rural and

regional Australians have good access to television and radio broadcasts, online content

and live productions. People should be able to access and enjoy the arts, and have reliable

and relevant news and other services no matter where they live in Australia.’

There is strong evidence that the participation and engagement in the arts is good for the

social cohesiveness of a community and the general wellbeing of people.

The Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life tells us that people care about the arts:

85 per cent of people agree that the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life

90 per cent agree that ‘people can enjoy both the arts and sport’ and that ‘artists

make an important contribution to Australian society’

89 per cent agree that the arts should be an important part of the education of every

Australian.

New measurements in wellbeing show that the arts may be worth $66 billion to Australia’s

wellbeing.4 This is on top of their economic value. Based on this wellbeing model, the amount

of money required to produce an increase in life satisfaction equivalent to arts engagement

is $4,349 per person per annum.

The Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life identified the importance placed on the arts in

regional Australia as follows:

Creative participation has risen among regional Australians, from 39 per cent in 2009

to 49 per cent in 2013. Now people living in regional areas creatively participate at

about the same level as those in metropolitan Australia: 49 per cent in regional

Australia; 47 per cent for those living in metropolitan areas.5

While this growth trend may not continue at such a rapid rate, we can expect to see

creative participation in regional Australia rise in coming years.

Yet some survey findings for regional Australians reveal more limited opportunities to attend

and participate in the arts than for people in metropolitan areas—66 per cent of people

living in regional areas attended at least one arts event in the previous 12 months, compared

to 74 per cent of people living in metropolitan areas.

Regional attitudes to the arts differ only marginally from those of people living in metropolitan

areas but the points of difference lie in their perceptions of arts experience and opportunity:

66 per cent of people living in the regions agree that ‘there are plenty of

opportunities to get involved in the arts’, compared with 75 per cent of people in

metropolitan areas

59 per cent of regional dwellers see the arts as having a big impact on ‘helping us

manage stress, anxiety and depression’, compared with 55 per cent of people in

metropolitan areas

46 per cent of regional dwellers perceive the potential of the arts in ‘bringing visitors

to our community’, compared with 42 per cent of people in metropolitan areas.

4 Australia Council’s 2013 Arts Participation Survey, Daniel Fujiwara and Rachel Smithies

5 Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life


9

Arts helps activate and build vibrancy in communities and can stimulate opportunities for

growing tourism and associated economic activity.

A 2013 report from the UK’s Local Government Association identified five key ways that arts

and culture can boost local economies:6

attracting visitors

creating jobs and developing skills

attracting and retaining businesses

revitalising places

developing talent.

Touring and creating live performances within regional communities often requires the

coordination of a number of organisations. Just as public broadcasters are important

partners in delivering major performing arts recorded content to regional and remote

communities, community arts centres, more often than not owned and managed by the

local shire or council, are crucial partners in delivering live performance.

A study published in October 2015 by the European Commission on the spillover effects of

the arts, culture and creative industries evaluated surveys, analyses, case studies, literature

reviews etc.7 While its findings are not specific to regional centres, they certainly are relevant

to all areas of cultural activity.




Improved business culture

and boosting

entrepreneurship


community development

and integration

Increasing visibility, tolerance

and exchange between

communities

Impacts on residential and

commercial property markets

Improving health and

wellbeing

Changing attitudes in

participation and openness

to the arts

Stimulating private and

foreign investment


ecosystem and creative

milieu, city branding and

place making

Increase in employability

and skills development in

society


profitability and

competitiveness

Stimulating urban

development, regeneration

and infrastructure

Strengthening cross-border

and cross-sector

collaborations

Boosting innovation and

digital technology

Boosting economic impact or

clusters

Testing new forms of

organisation and new

management structures

Facilitating knowledge

exchange and culture-led

innovation

The Cultural Development Network works directly with regional councils across Australia and

has advised AMPAG that ageing demographics is a major issue in many regional areas. We

are yet to see how this plays out with regard to arts engagement and participation—but it is

certainly something that should be factored into future regional arts policy.

6 UK Local Government Association, Driving growth through local government investment in the arts, March 2013 7 Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, Cultural and creative spillovers in Europe: Report on a preliminary evidence

review, October 2015


10

Another recent (Jan 2016) UK study prepared for the Arts Council of England highlights how

arts and cultural activities could potentially help to tackle key social issues such as loneliness

and isolation. It found that three-quarters (76%) of older people (over 65) say that arts and

culture is important to making them feel happy; however, at least half of older people

selected each of the options tested. Almost seven in ten (69%) say that arts and culture is

important in improving their overall quality of life; three in five say that it is important in

making them feel healthy or in encouraging them to get out and about (60% for each); and

(51%) say that it is important in helping them to feel less alone.8

While these UK results are neither Australian nor regional they do demonstrate how the

relationship between older peoples’ health and connectivity to community can be

strengthened through arts access and engagement. The committee may choose to observe

or further investigate the link between aged welfare and the arts within a regional Australian

content.

Are the regional and remote arts centres able to access what they want?

The Australia Performing Arts Centre Association (APACA) members’ survey on the

satisfaction levels and performing arts sector touring needs in March 2015 provides valuable

insight.9 A slight majority of presenters who responded to the survey were located in regional

and remote areas. Bearing this in mind, of the presenters who responded:

16% programmed 8–12 shows per year

44% programmed more than 13 shows per year.

This suggests there is a significant demand for touring productions.

When asked about the importance of particular types of productions the four top priorities

were:

1. productions from your state (56%)

2. productions created in your community (46%)

3. major performing arts companies’ productions (41%)

4. interstate production (39%).

Regional presenters’ programming priorities

In regard to productions, genres or artforms that presenters would like to program but were

unable to, programming the major performing arts companies or large scaled productions

were highest, followed by dance.10

The Leader, Wagga Wagga’s local newspaper, reporting on the Civic Theatre’s 2016 season

announcement, reinforces this interest (see appendix 2 for full article).

Wagga has spoken and the Civic Theatre has answered—the Australian Ballet will

return to the city in 2016.

It is just one of the 12 impressive shows to comprise the Civic Theatre’s 2016

Subscription Season.

“The number one requested thing has been the Australian Ballet and we have them,”

Civic Theatre manager Carissa Campbell said.11

8 http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-news/new-research-finds-arts-and-culture-helps-combat-

l/#sthash.7H4gogXZ.dpuf 9 Performing Arts Touring Needs, APACA, March 2015 10 Respondents reported a lack of ability to source and afford classical dance as well as some contemporary

dance; however, there was also a strong notion of the difficulty of finding an audience for contemporary dance.


11

THE ROLE AND REACH OF THE MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS

COMPANIES

AMPAG represents the 28 major performing arts companies (MPAs) that serve as state and

national flagships companies across theatre, circus, classical music, opera and dance. They

derive their income through both earned income from box-office and associated sales, and

private and government contributions (see appendix 3—company list).

In 2015 the MPAs as a group reached close to four million people through their performances

and arts programs.

However, the MPAs’ contribution is not only realised through tickets and turnover. It is also

important to recognise the qualitative characteristics of work performed by MPAs.

Committed to artistic excellence, they produce works of scale; they employ leading artists

and creators; and they develop new works that reach large audiences.

With additional support through government funding, presenter bookings, philanthropists and

corporate sponsors and co-productions they extend their reach in many other ways,

including special commissions, fellowships and training opportunities and, importantly,

regional touring. This includes a commitment to high quality performing arts education and

community engagement and building access in disadvantaged areas. They also reach

audiences across Australia, including in regional areas, through content created for

broadcast on radio and television and online with streamed and interactive digital content.

They build creative capacity and contribute to the vibrancy of place in metropolitan cities

and regional and remote communities.

MPAs’ regional remit

The MPA funding criteria set in 2011 includes the expectation that MPAs will ‘demonstrate

commitment to engaging with audiences in regional communities’.

Already, before the release of the updated MPA 2011 criteria, most MPA companies were

working in regional, remote and at risk communities, connecting with constituents and

making a lasting impact—not only with performances that stir the heart, spirit and mind, but

with a legacy of cultural infrastructure that’s greatly valued in regional and remote

communities (see appendix 1—article from artshub on the cultural and economic stimulus

provided by expenditure on a 700-seat theatre in the Riverina).

One MPA company, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), is located in ‘regional

Australia’ and tours almost exclusively within regional Australia. Its federal support is included

in the regional initiatives funding breakdown of the Australia Council’s 2015 annual report

(see appendix 4).

The TSO is Tasmania’s iconic arts organisation and engages with, mentors and enhances the

entire community, performing in venues from child care centres and aged care facilities to

concert halls and schools. The company also collaborates with other Tasmanian arts

organisations across multiple disciplines and has an extensive list of symphonic recordings

created in collaboration with the ABC. These recordings play an important role in the TSO’s

profile internationally, within mainland cities and in regional Australia.

Another MPA, Bangarra, has toured and developed work in regional Australia since 1991.

I believe that the Rekindling program has changed the lives of all those involved from

students, parents, teachers and community. —Katrina Johnston, Aboriginal Health

Worker/community Elder, Theodore Qld

11 See full report appendix 2


12

Opera Queensland has developed a highly engaged and dynamic model to collaborate

with communities throughout the state, auditioning and training community choruses to

perform alongside its professional artists.

It was great fun and fostered a sense of community and joint purpose—-harmonies

are something you cannot create alone. People were taken gently out of their

comfort zones and possibilities created. Thank you. —participant in Project Puccini,

Opera Queensland

When the MPAs were first established a number of the companies were designated flagship

national touring companies. This formal designation no longer applies and there is no specific

funding for regional and remote touring for the MPAs; however, as noted above, the funding

criteria expects regional engagement.

The companies that previously carried a national touring remit continue today to undertake

regional and remote touring as a regular part of their operations. Companies such as Opera

Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Bangarra, Bell

Shakespeare and Circus Oz have dedicated national programs for regional engagement.

Many of the state MPAs program performances along with their education programs within

their state tours and when the occasion allows build around individual opportunities for a

particular work. Therefore, the level of regional and remote MPA activities can vary from year

to year.

The role of MPAs in live performance programming for regional and

remote arts centres

TSO’s iconic cultural government status, in a state that is classified as being wholly regional,

highlights the important community support and social connectivity the orchestra brings to

the state. It is also a major collaborator with MONA arts festivals and other major public

events in the state, supporting the state’s cultural reputation and tourist appeal.

Enterprise Marketing and Research Services survey in January 2014 reported 95% of

Tasmanians were aware of TSO and 91% see TSO as a source of pride. —TSO 2015

Annual report

Works toured into regional and remote communities by MPAs are often considered as

‘tentpole’ events. As APACA found in its survey, they are in demand by regional venues.

There is an appetite for more regional access to MPAs’ content. As recognised performing

arts companies, they deliver works of scale and carry a national or state reputation, which

helps to deliver market ‘cut through’ for the venues.

Presenting a show of [Bangarra’s] calibre and scale attracts a significant number of

visitors to come to the regional centre in Warragul which is of benefit to our visitor

economy as well as helping us to build audience for our broader program.

—Manager, West Gippsland Arts Centre

The benefits for the companies themselves in touring to regional and remote areas are

valuable, not just in terms of broadening engagement, building audiences, instilling a love of

performing arts in young people, but also in terms of the impact on individual performers. For

Opera Australia the regional touring gives further performance opportunity to chorus

members able to perform principal roles and ensemble principals on long-term contracts to

round out their performing year. It also provides performance opportunity to young artists as

part of their formal training.

However, there are logistical and financial barriers that place limits on this activity. MPAs

often tour larger works which generally require larger casts, sets or technical setups. This

means they generate higher performance costs and associated logistical costs including

transport and accommodation. Many regional venues are owned by local government and

in more remote areas venues are staffed by part time workers or volunteers. Venues’

capacity can vary from 200 to 1200 seat—so box office earnings vary dramatically—yet


13

overheads for a performance are constant. Regional and remote venues are limited by the

extent to which they can afford to program multiple large scale works. They generally

program these works as ‘features’ or ‘centrepieces’ in an annual program with

complementary programming built around these bookings.

Increasingly MPA companies are deepening their engagement, with touring artists

participating in additional community outreach activities (often free of charge or

significantly subsidised by the MPA) during the technical set-up period of their visit. Ensemble

companies have trained their artists with skills to present community activities and education

workshops. The map below draws on data collected by the Australia Council and illustrates

national live performances, arts education and arts workshops undertaken by the MPAs in

2014 (http://www.ampag.com.au/touring-interactive-map.htm).

Key: mainstage (red), education programs (green) and workshops (blue).

Level of MPA regional engagement in 2014

MPAs report on a calendar year and the Australia Council reports on a financial year—

therefore, there are two summary references generated by the Australia Council in relation

to MPA engagement.

The Australia Council’s annual report notes that paid attendances at MPAs’ performances,

workshops and seminars in regional and remote Australia totalled 235,000 in 2014–15, and a

further 122,000 paid attendances were recorded for key performing arts organisations’

regional and remote activities.

The annual report does not provide details of other ways in which the MPAs provide free arts

engagement opportunities for regional and remote communities such as school visits,

broadcasts and online content.

The table from the Australia Council publication, Trends from 2014 MPA company annual

reporting, (produced in October 2015) and based on individual MPA annual reports, shows

total engagement by MPAs in regional areas as follows:


14

There is a stark difference in access results for cities compared to regional centres, although

some regionally based people gain access through visiting major cities.

Total regional ‘live’ reach for the MPA companies in 2014 was 319,000 attendances, a result

that is above attendances in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and closely behind 2010 results when

education attendances spiked. However, there is greater depth of engagement in 2014

schools activity compared to the previous four years, shown by an increase in the total

number of school visiting hours and growth in workshops, including a number of teacher

training initiatives. This table does not include access to MPA arts content through digital

portals.

The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 30 June 2015 was

23,781,200 people12. In 2011 over 85 per cent of Australians lived in urban areas and nearly 70

per cent lived in our capital cities. Proportionately, the attendance and access of regional

urban and remote audiences to MPA live performances and associated activities is

significantly below that of their city counterparts. Given the results of the Australia Council

survey on community values and the feedback from the APACA survey, it seems that

regional communities are less able to access MPA work than they might necessarily like.

This raises questions of access and opportunity for regional and remote communities to

engage with MPA works.13 Later in this submission we consider the qualitative characteristics

of MPA work and how it is valued in regional Australia.

Below we outline the funding and structural barriers that prevent greater regional access to

MPA work and how they could be overcome.

12 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Jun%202015?OpenDocument

13 (It should be noted that a proportion of city attendances comprises visiting interstate and regional visitations.) [?]


15

FUNDING AND STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO MPAs’ REGIONAL TOURING

MPAs have built relationships in regional Australia as well as touring knowledge and

infrastructure over many years but expertise and experience is not enough. Without

adequate regional touring support MPAs’ capacity to tour regionally is severely limited.

Currently state governments focus on touring companies based in the state, providing some

support for intra-state regional touring or engagement. Interstate touring is predominately

supported through federal policies. The level of support and approach varies from state to

state as does overall coordination between the approaches taken by state and federal

governments.

How is regional engagement with the MPAs currently funded?

Major performance works tend to be made and performed in the cities (although there are

notable exceptions such as TSO, Bangarra and occasional productions by state theatre

companies). Once a work is created, regional touring ensures that it has greater longevity

and provides the best possible return on the initial investment made by the government,

private sector and other partners.

Although it is not always the case, regional touring is often facilitated by the Playing Australia

fund. Regional touring is funded through a combination of presenter fees, box office returns

to presenters, the state touring funds, philanthropy, corporate sponsorship and the Playing

Australia Fund. MPAs regularly touring did so under three-year in principle agreements until

2009 when public administration rules limited the governments’ capacity to provide

indicative funding commitments for future or multiple years.

Key government initiatives that affect MPAs’ capacity to tour

Playing Australia Fund

Playing Australia, worth $6.2 million in 2014–15, is a federal grant administered by the Australia

Council through a peer assessment process. The project by project nature of the fund

introduces elements of instability and lack of predictableness that can limit the extent to

which MPA companies will seek to tour their work. Grants are available to support the net

touring costs associated with a national tour—namely interstate net touring costs, including

freight, transport, accommodation and travel allowances outside the company’s home

state as well as a contribution towards tour coordination expenses.

The fund has not increased in actual value for many years. In 2009–10 it was worth $6.3 million

and has been oversubscribed for many years. It has been the role of state governments to

help offset touring costs of companies touring within their home states. The resulting

unpredictability in funding has limited the extent to which some of our larger companies will

seek to tour.

Playing Australia funding

2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

$6.06m $6.3m $6.3m $6.65m $ 6.8m $7.4m $6.2m

Playing Australia has not served as a funding source for orchestra regional engagement

since the 1990s. Full orchestra tours are less likely to tour multiple regional centres and rarely

tour over state borders. Playing Australia is specifically for interstate engagement and for

tours to multiple towns.

With barriers to Playing Australia eligibility, and the high costs associated with taking a full

symphony to regional Australia, opportunities for orchestras to partner with regional venues

are low. Orchestras then tend to self-present and rely on a combination of ticket sales and

corporate sponsorship to help fund the engagement.


16

Naturally presenters who are often thinly resourced are busy maximising returns on work they

can afford to book. The opportunities for knowledge sharing, developing longer term

audience engagement and community development are dormant to a large extent.

National Touring Status

There is a level of pre-allocated funds within the Playing Australia program earmarked for four

companies awarded National touring status in 2014 for three years. This was a pilot program

aimed at building touring capacity and impact in regional Australia. It has provided multi-

year certainty around their capacity to tour, which in turn provides regional and remote

venues and their communities greater certainty and capacity to forward book and plan.

Two of the companies with National touring status—Bell Shakespeare and Sydney Dance

Company—are MPAs. This status has reduced red tape by removing the requirement for

companies to lodge individual applications for support for each tour. It also provides

certainly and the ability to plan their touring while still delivering high quality work monitored

and reported annually. AMPAG understands similar benefits have also been leveraged in

awarding NTS to the two other respected non-MPA companies, Circa and Patch Theatre.

Bell Shakespeare—For Bell Shakespeare, National Touring Status (NTS) affords both the

producer and the presenter the ability to plan seasons over the triennium. Under the current

annual Playing Australia Program this is not possible.

Many venues have indicated a desire to build their subscription seasons and audiences

around a Bell Shakespeare flagship presentation, thus anchoring their annual offering and

building audience loyalty year on year. This is only possible if venues can be sure that the tour

will go ahead, and as a company with NTS, Bell Shakespeare can provide that certainty for

regional presenters, delivering the same productions as are presented in capital city venues,

which also adds to programming appeal.

NTS makes Bell Shakespeare a more stable and thus more attractive proposition for

corporate partners, trusts and foundations, and individual donors across the country.

Corporate sponsorship is an increasingly volatile environment and being able to offer

certainty around the company’s national reach adds to its capacity to secure support.

Bell Shakespeare also has its productions placed on the Victorian school curriculum and

data demonstrates that if a production is selected, schools attendance increases on

average by 60 per cent at each venue. With the certainty NTS provides, Bell is also able to

plan and provide student workshops, briefings, residencies and other community

engagement projects in connection with the production at each venue, as a further

audience engagement tool.

The certainty that a successful NTS application would provide allows Her Majesty’s to

more securely market to both the general theatre going public and schools in the

Ballarat region. It can also allow the more certain inclusion of Bell Shakespeare

produced works on the Victorian English and drama syllabus. This would increase the

value of attendance at Bell Shakespeare productions and the engagement Her

Majesty’s can also build with the education audience. —Graeme Russell, Theatre

Manager, Her Majesty’s, Ballarat

Sydney Dance Company—Each year Sydney Dance Company undertakes a multi-state

regional tour and over a 2-year cycle visits every state and territory. Sydney Dance Company

has a full-time ensemble of 16 dancers. Like Bell Shakespeare the productions it tours

regionally are the same ensemble and have the same high level production values that tour

to capital cities and internationally.

Its regional tours are supported by high level marketing and media assistance and the

company works closely with its regional presenters to assist them with their presentation of the

work. For instance, the company has found that some of the South Australian regional


17

venues had the theatrical hardware but not always the skilled technicians to operate it. On a

recent tour to regional South Australia, SDC conducted skills development workshops in

several theatres to upskill local crews in technical delivery. This skills development in turn

supports future regional employment and benefits the regional touring circuit generally.

The multi-year certainty that the NTS provides has meant SDC and Country Arts SA can plan

and build longer term relationships. Between 2014 and 2015 overall attendances to SDC

performances undertaken as part of its funded regional touring grew substantially. In 2014 it

recorded 6403 attendances, while in 2015 there were 8747. The company attributes this

37 per cent increase in part to greater commitment to touring and capacity for long-term

planning, gained through its National Touring Status.

SDC has successfully leveraged the touring funding provided by the National Touring Status

through Playing Australia to attract significant philanthropic support to enable it to extend its

workshop program to include pre and post tour workshop visits from teaching artists.

In 2014 Sydney Dance Company reached 1002 young people and their teachers in

conjunction with the company’s regional tour. In 2015, the first year of its multi-year touring

funding, SDC secured multi-year philanthropic funding to extend its reach, leveraging the

government’s touring investment and nearly doubling the number of young people and their

teachers to 1936.

National Touring status has enabled greater flexibility in tour planning and the capacity to

confirm return seasons which SDC could then support with deeper marketing and audience

engagement strategy and resources.

Previous research studies that have focused on regional performing arts touring sector have

also identified the benefits presenters, their communities and the performing arts companies

(see appendix 5).

Government arts education funding

State and federal governments provide a level of arts education program support greatly

valued by the MPAs. These grants are often tailored to specific initiatives and therefore vary

greatly between companies. They play an important role in creating capacity within the

MPA companies to provide regional arts education and workshops. There is concern this

funding is under increased pressure, yet arts education has proven benefits to students’

overall potential to thrive academically and socially, as well as building individual students’

capacity to be expressive and creative (see Musica Viva example on page 19).

State governments, for example, have reduced their level of funding for MPA arts education

initiatives, which are a crucial part of their regional engagement strategies. MPAs’ highly

respected arts education programs offer students and educators skills, resources, and

structured arts learning as well as authentic opportunities for students to experience high

quality professional performances. They can play an important partnering role with schools,

an approach encouraged through the national arts curriculum.

Some access can be facilitated through new resources created for the ABC Splash service,

digital classroom incursions and accessing online clips and complementary resources via

MPA websites. The majority have a range of digital pathways; however, there are limitations

to what can be supplied online. The experience and impact of live performance and

participation is different to the more passive, recorded content/viewer interaction and some

regions have limited online capacity. MPAs often incurred residuals and performance costs

associated with streaming recorded content that can limit the extent to which recorded

performances can be made available.

The arts industry complements the provision of the Arts curriculum in schools through

programs and partnerships. The industry increasingly provides specialist services for

schools, as appropriate, through experiences such as visiting performances,

demonstrations and exhibitions, artists in residence, teacher professional development


18

and access for students and teachers to specialised facilities in galleries, concert halls,

theatres and other arts venues.14

Other market conditions that affect the capacity of MPAs to tour

Regional touring is not a money making activity for the MPAs. Touring Australia carries

particular challenges—the distances are great, requiring freight, travel and

accommodation costs on top of the costs associated with preparing and presenting

the actual show. Without funding support to offset these costs, regional touring for the

MPAs is often unaffordable to regional venues.

As large companies MPAs operate with long lead times. They must plan and secure

their programming and resources as well as contract their artists, schedule rehearsals,

and where relevant undertake design work and schedule manufacturing activities

well in advance. Greater efficiencies can be achieved when touring activities are

coordinated with the planning cycles of the company. The delay between

mainstage city seasons and regional tours leads to additional remounting costs.

Performing arts companies can incur additional recorded performance costs if they

upload and make available online past performances for public access (see arts

education above). Industrial conditions vary across different company structures and

artforms; therefore, the extent that this limits capacity to supply content online varies

with the issue primarily associated with performers contracted for individual shows

rather than ensembles. In the case of theatre those same recordings can be viewed

in-house for education/research purposes without charge.

Key factors that affect access

1. Regional and remote audiences though appreciative and engaged are often much

smaller than metropolitan audiences and therefore generate lower average box office

returns. This places financial demands on presenters.

2. The capacity for regional venues to be able to afford the presenter fees associated with

larger scale works is under increasing strain. Local governments are operating under

increased fiscal restraint. The risk profile of running a cultural centre is often at odds with

the general local government low appetite for risk. Organisations such as Regional Arts

Victoria have put in place a fund to offset risk for certain arts initiatives to build local

engagement.15 This could be considered as a starting point in the design of a fund that

could underwrite or offset the risk in larger scale or more ambitious regional live

performance initiatives such as Opera Australia’s new Australian family opera The

Rabbits or a Circus Oz tour and major locally based community development initiative.

3. Ensemble companies’ capacity to perform live is limited by real time—there are only so

many days in a year.

4. MPAs’ development of ancillary arts content for broadcast on radio, television and

online often relies on third party partnerships, for example, the ABC, SBS or special

project funding and repeat use can attract additional loadings on performance fees

and creatives’ residuals.

14 The Australian Curriculum, http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/implications-for-teaching-assessment-

and-reporting 15 Regional Arts Victoria: Guarantee Against Loss Category supports single presentations of professional inbound

Australian shows where the artist is new to the community and is performing original work.

This funding is managed by Regional Arts Victoria and is available to Volunteer Presenters and community managed

presentation organisations that are registered with Regional Arts Victoria's Registered Presenters Network.




http://www.rav.net.au/performing-arts-touring/creative-catalysts/registered-presenters/

19

5. ABC TV programming of arts content has declined between 2013–14 and 2014–15;

however, it has invested in high quality unique work in partnership with MPAs including

the new opera from Opera Australia, The Divorce.

6. In 2015 ABC Radio reduced the number of orchestra and opera recordings it will

undertake. While this has not affected all MPA classical music companies, the long-term

impact is yet to be known and there is a concern it will reduce regional audiences’

access to classical music performances from a number of states as well as regional

performances being broadcast nationally.

7. State education funding of MPA arts education initiatives into regional Australia has

declined in recently years. For example:

Musica Viva: NSW state government cuts of $250,000 p.a. plus $25,000 p.a. from

Queensland as of 2013 meant Musica Viva has had to cut staff and eliminate live

professional development for teachers nationally. Teachers, the key link in the education

chain when it comes to music, were moved to online-only professional development

courses, which met the need for information, but robbed the regional areas of that

critical peer learning and networking with colleagues from across the region.

Private sector support has been the only way in which regional touring has been able to

continue for Musica Viva In Schools. However private sector support, though greatly

valued, is also subject to competing interests and market forces. The increased reliance

has led to Musica Viva employing a full-time staff person to ensure that it can identify,

apply, service and acquit sufficient private sector funding to sustain the program

(currently 25 separate funding agreements in addition to the 10 other state funding

agreements).

With the reversal of the mining boom, the vital support of Rio Tinto in WA is only

contracted to the end of 2016, after which the future is uncertain. On the Eastern

seaboard (NSW, Queensland, Victoria), this has translated to a loss of about 18 per cent

since 2012 in regional students able to access MVIS. Some of this has been regained in

2015 in Queensland and Victoria through private sector support, a direct result of staffing

behind that funding search. It still means that Musica Viva’s regional touring in Victoria is

now every alternate year, undermining the necessity for music education to be

sequential and developmental.

Bell Shakespeare’s extensive education touring no longer has any state government

support, and relies on federal funding to support all regional Actors At Work tours.

Without this federal funding and associated corporate support, the company would not

be able to reach regional and remote schools with the Actors At Work program.

Similarly, funding cuts in Queensland have required Queensland Theatre Company and

Opera Queensland to raise funds through philanthropy to retain their regional reach.

8. For MPAs regional engagement is not funded as part of the companies’ base funding—

rather it is accessed as project funding. The MPAs are funded differently to the majority

of smaller companies within the arts sector. Resulting from the Nugent review in 2000 the

MPAs’ funding structure seeks to provide stability through commitment to a predictable

annual base fund. It is designed to avoid regular activities relying on project funding—

yet in the case of touring they do rely on project funding.

9. Already designated by federal and state governments as leaders of excellence in their

particular artforms, when applying for tour funding these companies are assessed again

through a peer assessment process, with peers changing from one funding round to the

next. The peers then assess the quality or desirability of the project. This brings uncertainty

and forces a project-by-project approach at odds with MPAs’ operational structures.

10. All regularly touring MPAs would prefer to operate under a national touring status type

approach (see below). It also facilities regional venues’ ability to plan and secure major


20

tour productions The capacity to book return seasons ahead of time facilitates greater

opportunities to market back into the community during the initial tour. Certainty and

the ability to forward plan and to secure multiple visits are also major factors that can

contribute to effective audience development and community impact.

11. Often the availability of sophisticated technical resources is limited in regional venues, as

is the availability of technical staff to support the staging of a work of scale.

THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MPA WORK AND HOW IT IS

VALUED IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

Behind the statistics

While the 2014–15 Australia Council Annual Report identifies the level of live paid

performance activity we recognise this inquiry is seeking qualitative feedback on the

importance and value placed on this activity by regional and remote communities.

We therefore take this opportunity to:

outline the particular activities and characteristics of MPA regional and remote

engagement across each of the three areas:

live,

broadcast,

online,

consider key factors that enhance or restrict these activities,

provide feedback from regional and remote Australians on the impact MPAs can

make on their lives and their communities.

The multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities

The multiple ways in which MPAs reach regional and remote communities include:

1. Touring of mainstage works

This means the work touring regional Australia is the same work and often the same cast as

presented in metropolitan major venues by the same company.

Examples

Bangarra—regularly tours the country, for example, it opened its world premiere season of

Lore in Sydney in 2015, before travelling to Canberra, Wollongong, Brisbane and Melbourne;

Kinship played in 10 country towns in communities in NSW and Queensland throughout

October and November 2015.

Bell Shakespeare’s Othello—will tour to 27 venues all over Australia as part of the company’s

2016 national tour.

It is significant to note the ownership and community pride achieved by Bell within the

local and regional area. All too often the country areas are forgotten when large

shows go on tour. —Michelle Pearce, Manager, Orange Civic Theatre

Belvoir’s Food—toured to 19 venues around Australia in 2014.


21

Circus Oz—between 2013 and 2015, Circus Oz toured throughout every state and territory of

Australia, performing in more than 50 Australian venues. From Big Top performances, to

traditional theatres, to performing under the Australian sky on football ovals in Arnhem Land,

Circus Oz reached close to 250,000 people. Circus Oz strongly believes that audiences

across regional Australia should be able to experience the same spectacular show and the

same talented ensemble as those living in capital cities.

Queensland Theatre Company’s Black Diggers—(a co-production with Sydney and Brisbane

Festivals) played at both Sydney and Brisbane Festivals in 2014, and was filmed live from The

Playhouse QPAC and streamed direct to nine regional venues across Queensland. It then

travelled to Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne and Bendigo in 2015, mostly

involving the same cast and technical/creatives in each season.

(http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/10583#)

Sydney Dance Company—tours all around Australia, for example, 17 venues outside of

Sydney in 2016.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra— Each year the SSO ensures tours symphonic music to regional

areas of New South Wales through concerts for the general public, as well as schools

concerts and orchestra workshops. Essentially the full orchestral ensemble—55 to 65

musicians-travel into regional NSW, depending on the venues and repertoire. This gives

audiences the full orchestral experience.

Sydney Theatre Company’s The Long Way Home—(a co-production with the Australian

Defence Force) played in Sydney and Adelaide (as a co-pro with State Theatre Company of

South Australia)—after premiering in Sydney in February 2014, the production toured to

Darwin, Brisbane, Wollongong, Townsville, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Tasmania Symphony Orchestra—The TSO provides a full orchestra subscription series each

year in two regional centres, Launceston and Hobart.

The West Australian Ballet—tours every second year to a number of regional cities and towns

(depending on state government funding). In 2013 the company toured Romeo and Juliet to

Geraldton, Mandurah, Bunbury and Albany, attracting audiences of 4,000 over 10

performances, with other engagement activities reaching almost 7,000 people. In 2015 Ballet

at the Quarry toured to Mandurah and Bunbury, and Embraceable You: Ballet on the Beach

to Karratha, reaching almost 5,000 people in audience and other participation.

2. Touring of shows specifically developed for regional touring

While the quality of work should be high it is unrealistic to translate that ambition into a

demand that all regional shows be of the scale or scope of major city performances.

Sometimes prohibitive costs and logistics, venue size or availability of a particular ensemble

make extensive touring a mainstage work impractical.

MPA regional engagement consists of a mix of touring mainstage work that is the same

production across cities and regional locations (examples above) and the creation of work

developed specifically for touring. For example, Bangarra owes much of its creative force to

the stories and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in regional and

remote areas. Therefore, regional touring forms a vital component of Bangarra’s work in

cultural exchange, creation and performance. Every new work that Bangarra creates is

designed to be adaptable to tour regionally and remotely, demonstrating its commitment to

regional audiences.

MPA companies are well aware of regional communities’ desire for the work toured by

performing arts companies—and the accompanying engagement opportunities—to be of a

high quality. They don’t want to be underestimated or served with a ‘B grade’ version of

work compared to that presented in the main cities. Shows tailored for regional touring that


22

differ to major city offerings can still be of a very high standard and may have more flexibility

in relation to the venues they can fit into, mobility and associated on-costs.

The MPAs’ key focus is on artistic excellence—and their tours in regional Australia meet their

high standards of artistic excellence and professionalism.

Examples

ACO Collective (formerly known as ACO2—is the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 17-piece

string ensemble which delivers the ACO's regional touring and education programs Australia-

wide. ACO Collective combines ACO musicians with young professional musicians at the

outset of their careers, creating a combined ensemble with a fresh, energetic performance

style. These young professionals have all participated in the ACO's year-long Emerging Artists’

Program.

ACO Virtual—the ACO’s immersive, interactive, multi-media installation—tours to regional

galleries and museums across Australia for a period of typically 2–8 weeks. It gives audiences

the experience of standing among the virtual ACO musicians as they perform and the

unique opportunity to interact or even play along with the orchestra through a specially

developed iPad app. Since its launch in 2013, over 44,000 people have experienced ACO

Virtual, including over 25,000 in regional Australia.

Fabulous—brilliant way to bring music to the country. —Regional Queensland

audience member, 2015

I think that the exhibition, in a relatively small community, generated a buzz of word of

mouth which translated to a larger audience than we would have been able to

achieve without it. Both the exhibition and the performance were wonderful.

—Stephen Champion, Manager, Bathurst Entertainment Centre

Opera Australia—creates an opera production specifically for touring every two years.

Performers and creatives developing the company’s touring work are the same creatives

and performers working on their mainstage works destined for Australian major metropolitan

venues Award-winning creative duo Michael Gow and Robert Kemp have created a new

production, The Marriage of Figaro, to begin touring in 2016. A chamber orchestra and

chorus of local children will accompany some of Opera Australia's finest singers.

The Opera Australia crew, with local community support, did an incredible job

transforming the recreation centre into a fully-fledged, professional theatrical stage. It

truly was an awe inspiring spectacle to enter the venue and see the magnificent

stage and set. The show itself was wonderful and Opera Australia's community

engagement program, the use of local school children appearing on stage to sing

chorus lines, was exceptional, giving the young participants an opportunity of a

lifetime. —spokesperson, Shire of Pilbara, WA

Queensland Ballet—presents Tutus on Tour each year in multiple venues across regional

Queensland. Charters Towers to Mount Isa to Goondiwindi and many places in between, it

presents a program of classical and contemporary short works and repertoire excerpts.

Presented in small, intimate spaces, audiences gain up-close experience with Queensland

Ballet and uncover the intricacies of choreography, technique and rehearsal through

information sessions with the dancers and artistic team. The company also offers locals the

chance to get involved in creative movement and dance workshops.

Queensland Symphony Orchestra—Every year the QSO spends a significant amount of time

on the road travelling to communities that rarely have the opportunity to see the state’s

largest performing arts company live in concert. The QSO musicians also hold a range of

small ensemble performances and educational events throughout Queensland.


https://www.aco.com.au/about/acovirtual

https://opera.org.au/on-tour/regional-tour/childrens-chorus

23

QSO visit regional centres including Cairns, Gladstone, the Gold Coast, Innisfail, Ipswich,

Mackay, Moranbah, Mount Isa, Rockhampton and Townsville.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra—While on tour, the SSO supports the regional conservatoriums

through workshops for teachers and students. In 2014 the SSO conducted music workshops

for students at the School of the Air in Broken Hill, reaching hundreds of students and their

families over the internet.

Also in 2015 the SSO’s three-day annual Playerlink program brought SSO musicians to Bathurst

to mentor 70 young orchestral musicians from across the state, who don’t have access to an

orchestra in their region. Playerlink will head to Wagga Wagga in 2016. Along with the main

orchestra, the SSO Fellowship ensemble travels annually to regional NSW giving chamber

music performances in towns such as Berri, Bellingen, Nowra and Goulburn.

The Australian Ballet—tours regional Australia each year as The Dancers Company. It is now in

its 25th year. The Dancers Company showcases the skills of graduates from the Australian

Ballet School with guest appearances by the Australian Ballet artists. They take a modified

staging of The Australian Ballet’s repertoire to regional areas. Accompanying public

programs provide dance students in regional areas with the rare chance of tuition by former

principal dance artists, while an interactive series titled ‘Discovering Dance’ aims to demystify

classical dance for those experiencing the art form for the first time—especially children.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s—Their 15-piecechamber orchestra, EChO, comprises

one of each instrument from the full orchestra and performs classical, jazz and popular music

in diverse locations. WASO’s On the Road ensembles can travel further than a full orchestra,

comprising up to four musicians. The instrumental combinations are unique to each tour, and

the repertoire performed is fun and accessible.

3. Touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation

Today regional and remote communities are seeking more than just fly in/fly out touring. They

are often looking for genuine collaboration with Australia’s MPAs. And as far as resourcing

and capacity allows, it’s part of the MPAs’ role to share their resources in this way and

empower others.

Australia’s culturally ambitious communities are full of ideas for collaborations with our major

performing arts companies, both face-to-face and with digital technologies.

This also provides valuable professional training and capacity building within the regions.

So, by supporting government investment in Australia’s MPAs, government and

philanthropists are delivering real value to regional Australia and putting community activity

at the very heart arts engagement.

Examples

Australia Chamber Orchestra’s Picton Strings—This ensemble of school students from the

Wollondilly Shire area began in 2011 with a three-year mentoring program in partnership with

the Wollondilly Shire Council and Classics at Picton. Each year the ACO facilitated workshops

and held a residency in Picton, and performed concerts for the community performing

alongside the Picton Strings. When ACO began the program, there was just one string

ensemble—now there are three ensembles under the umbrella of the Picton Strings. The

ACO's Music & Art Program was also piloted at Picton Public School, and the program is now

an integral part of the school’s curriculum, as well as the ACO’s broader community

engagement program.


http://66.252.76.102/education/education/touring

http://66.252.76.102/education/education/touring

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The involvement of the ACO in our school has been a wonderful and unique

opportunity for our students, teachers and broader community. … The staff and

students have the amazing opportunity to work with world class performers whose

passion is passed onto staff and students. … Students and staff have learnt so much

from the ACO and also our visiting artist, who has been very inspirational. Teaching

skills have developed and growth shared with others. —Lyn Fraser, Principal, Picton

Public School

Bangarra’s residencies—Bangarra’s relationships with communities are at the heart of the

company, and most years they go back to Country, to recharge spiritually, share stories,

songs and dances that often become the basis for main stage productions, and hold dance

workshops for local children.

In 2016 Bangarra will hold a two-week cultural exchange program, visiting Yirrkala and

Dhalinybuy in North East Arnhem Land, and for the first time, the Tiwi Islands. The company

also tours regionally on a three-year cycle, ensuring it visits all states and territories during this

period and where possible, taking stories back to their area of origin—for example, in 2016

Bangarra will tour Frances Rings’ work Terrain to the area around Lake Eyre in South Australia,

which inspired the production.

Black Swan State Theatre Company—Black Swan has established a network of ‘regional

ambassadors’ around Western Australia to encourage and strengthen the established links

between the company and regional communities. The ambassadors are skilled in a variety of

areas with a mix of background from community and government—and are an integral part

of Black Swan’s regional engagement strategy.

Circus Oz—While on tour, Circus Oz offers professional development opportunities for local

artists, circus students and technicians through:

Masterclasses and showcase performance opportunities for local circus artists and

students: Circus Oz works with local social circus and physical theatre groups

throughout the regional tour to provide masterclasses and performance opportunities

in conjunction with the Circus Oz show. This activity also demonstrates the possibilities

of a performing arts career.

These workshops provided a valuable opportunity for our students to gain an insight

into the skills and abilities of professional Australian touring Circus artists and to be

exposed to their repertoire, training methods, and also importantly just to meet the

artists … This felt like a real exchange in many ways. Both students and OZ cast had

an opportunity to get to know each other and talk all things circus. A shared culture

and interest in our chosen art form” – Scott Grayland, Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Training

Director

Capacity building for regional venues: Local technicians are given the opportunity to

learn new skills and techniques alongside our experienced production crew,

providing future benefits for all touring companies. This can also include additional

intern opportunities for local students.

Additional benefits included the up-skilling of permanent and casual crew by working

with the super professional team at Circus Oz. —Manager, Lighthouse Theatre

Warrnambool

Opera Australia’s Regional Children’s Chorus—The chorus in Opera Australia’s 2014 and 2015

touring production of The Magic Flute incorporated a Regional Children’s Chorus program

involving 757 children in 37 towns in 50 performances with an audience of 20,000. It was a

collaborative process that encouraged teamwork, focus participation and confidence as

well as a love of music. This was accompanied by a Regional Student Scholarship program.

The impact on regional communities is bigger than just these performances—for example,

students in Bendigo and Armidale used their new skills and were cast in the children’s


25

ensemble of Tosca at Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne. Bathurst recorded

increased numbers attending their own community choir with both children involved with the

program and adults who were in the audience.

The 2016 Regional Children’s Chorus program will give 24 children aged between 9 and 14

years in each community visited on the regional tour the chance to perform as the Chorus

in The Marriage of Figaro. The tour, venues to be announced, runs from 15 July to 6

September 2016.

The inclusion of the Children’s Chorus added interest and excitement to the

performance and many parents that we do not normally see at performances of this

type were in the audience. We believe that this provided a great opportunity for

‘non-opera going’ people to participate in opera. —Penny Hargrave, Manager, Arts

Culture & Events, Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre

Project Puccini—Opera Queensland—In 2014 Opera Queensland developed a unique

community engagement approach to its regional tour of Puccini’s La Bohème that

demonstrated the appetite and value regional and remote communities place on live

performance and, importantly, participation in live performance. Project Puccini

incorporated the training and rehearsal of community choirs to perform as the chorus in a full

presentation of La bohème in their town. It unleashed creative adventures and new

audiences, delivering a sense of community ownership. It also facilitated discovery of artistic

talent with a number of regional artists gaining further professional performance

opportunities as a consequence of their involvement in the project. Local choruses were

disciplined and prepared—‘in tune, in time, in Italian’—and for many it was ‘the best

experience of their lives’.

… I’ve lost count of how many people have told me that this project has renewed

their love of music, has been the best experience of their lives, has given them new

confidence, that they cried their eyes out, that they had no idea opera could be so

moving, what singing with their community has meant to them, that they’ve learned

so much, how they loved acting in their costumes, the discipline of singing in Italian

and with QSO, in a professional production with “real” singers. —Lindy Hume, Artistic

Director, Opera Queensland

It really lifted me out of the depression, it's helped me get my voice back and I've

actually made some really great friends.’ —Helen Coleman, Ipswich singing teacher

Project Rossini—Opera Queensland—In 2016 Opera Queensland will work with eight

Queensland communities to find and train local performers for a tour of Gioachino

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The eight communities are Gold Coast, Fraser Coast

(Maryborough), Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba.

During Project Rossini, more than 250 Queenslanders will learn to sing opera, dance the

fandango, sing in Italian and perform in a new international touring production of The Barber

of Seville. They will take to the stage in their local theatres alongside Queensland’s best

singers and with the support of an ensemble of musicians from the Queensland Symphony

Orchestra.

State Theatre Company of South Australia—Hothouse Theatre based in Albury Wodonga

entered into a 50:50 co-production of This Is Where We Live with the State Theatre Company

of South Australia in 2015. After its mainstage season in Albury Wodonga and a week at the

Space Theatre in Adelaide, the play—described as a darkly poetic insight into regional

Australia—spent the next three weeks in regional South Australia, touring as part of the

company’s education program.


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It’s a successful model of working for both parties—and especially for regional

audiences. … We’re giving our audiences in Albury a much better bang for their

buck. —Hothouse’s then Artistic Director, Jon Halpin

Sydney Theatre Company—In 2012 Sydney Theatre Company led the New England Project,

a new approach to STC’s Theatre in Communities work, combining artistic, education and

social engagement priorities. Through this project, school students in collaboration with STC

developed a new Australian play, In a Heart Beat. Schools involved included The Armidale

School, Duval High School, Armidale High School, O’Connor Catholic College, Inverell High

School and Presbyterian Ladies College. Students and members of the community took part

in 34 workshops over several months in developing the play. The production reached 647

New England community members and 724 students.

Following the season in Armidale, Sydney Theatre Company worked with Playlab to publish

the final script written by Jo Turner (concept by Susanna Dowling and Jo Turner). STC

documented the play building process that has been distributed via a short documentary

and by publishing a book outlining the process to enable other communities across Australia

to engage in a similar process using the New England Project as a model.

West Australian Ballet—In June 2015 WAB undertook a special project in partnership with the

City of Karratha, presenting a full-length evening of dance at Hearsons Cove, Embraceable

You: Ballet on the Beach. Alongside the performance by the company, a piece was

specially created for 11 local dancers aged 11 to 15 to perform at the start of the evening.

After an audition process, the selected dancers undertook over 30 hours of rehearsals over 6

weeks. The performance was a sold-out event.

I had only been in ballet classes for 10 weeks when I auditioned for Ballet on the

Beach, and I wasn't sure how ballet would suit me. After the time I have spent with

the WA Ballet I have learnt so much and I now know that Ballet is one of my favourite

styles of dance. … I can't wait for the WA Ballet to return to Karratha, Thanks again.

—student, Karratha

4. Live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community centres

All MPA companies provide arts education programs in regional towns across Australia. There

are also exchange opportunities for teachers and students in higher years to visit the

companies as part of a master classes work experience and to link through online forums or

portals.

I live in a town in the middle of NOWHERE! This workshop (Belvoir) was AWESOME!

—student, Gloucester High School

Examples

Australian Chamber Orchestra—The ACO works with regional presenters and communities to

offer a range of education activities that best suit each community they visit. Opportunities

include:

ACO Collective Schools’ Concerts: free 60-minute, interactive concerts, especially

designed for either primary or secondary school students to introduce them to the

magic of the string orchestra. These concerts are presented either in a local schools

or performing arts venues, depending on the preference of the regional presenters

and the schools. They are accompanied by free educational resources for teachers

to use before and after the orchestra’s visit.


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Thank you so much ACO Collective for visiting our school this week. It truly was an

amazing experience that most of have never had and in some cases never ... will

again. Inspiring, amazing, brilliant! —Nic Wardlaw, St Mary’s District High School, St

Mary’s, Tasmania

ACO Collective String Workshops: give students from across the region visited by ACO

Collective that play string instruments the opportunity to become part of the

orchestra for the day. Throughout the workshop the students are coached by ACO

Collective musicians.

Bangarra Dance Theatre—The company develops and delivers programs of cultural

education and creative learning for young Indigenous people in urban, regional and remote

areas. In 2016 the program will travel to regional Victoria for the first time—working with Elders

and youth in Heywood and Horsham—and into Yarrabah in Queensland and Broome in

Western Australia.

Very proud of Bangarra for bringing the program here (NthQld) the Students brought

tears to my eyes performing stories we’d shared. —Richard Barkley Elder

It was extremely exciting to see that nine students who participated in Rekindling in

2014 then went on to be accepted into NAISDA Dance College and another four into

ACPA (Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts). I’m sure we’ll see even more

success stories like that in the future as we encourage these kids to embrace their

talent and their heritage. —Artistic Director Bangarra Stephen Page

Bell Shakespeare—Eight new actors come on board each year as The Players; they perform

the in-theatre schools shows and tour the country as part of the company’s travelling

ensemble. They present Actors At Work, shows to primary and secondary schools, reaching

55,358 students in 2015. Bell Shakespeare also run a Regional Teacher Mentorship for 30

regional teachers annually, Regional Teacher Forums, Artist in Residence programmes in

regional and remote schools and communities, complimentary workshops for regional

students seeing the national touring production, subsidised programmes for regional schools

and scholarships for regional student actors.

Since the residency we have witnessed a marked improvement in student

engagement and focus. They take more responsibility for their work and are setting

higher expectations for themselves. I believe that this is thanks to the Bell Shakespeare

Residency. I truly see that it has changed my students’ perceptions of themselves and

their own capabilities. —Teacher, Collarenebri Central School, QLD

Belvoir—The company offers all secondary schools in regional NSW its full range of practical

theatre workshops in both performance and design, which are delivered on site in regional

schools by tutors, who are professional actors, directors, playwrights and designers. Belvoir’s

Theatre Enrichment Program supports senior English and Drama students in regional NSW by

giving them the confidence, language and tools to describe and evaluate a text in

performance. Each year 150 students from regional NSW attend a schools performance at

Belvoir St Theatre and participate in a series of pre and post show experiences with trained

educators and key Belvoir artists.

We are so far from access to professional workshops and productions. The cost and

time to get anywhere is extremely prohibitive. Students in regional areas need equity

in access to workshops like this, so they can complete the HSC on an even playing

field with students from metropolitan areas. Please keep offering these opportunities

to regional students!! —teacher, Emmanuel Anglican College, Ballina

Due to our school’s isolation, we only have limited access to professional live theatre

sets in proper playhouses. This means that this experience was not only an incredible


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learning experience for our students, but also an incredible LIFE experience. —

teacher, Coomealla High School

Circus Oz—The company has worked with many schools over the years with far-ranging

objectives, from simply learning some new physical skills, to developing leadership skills

through experiential learning. The company has also run two extended School Residency

Programs with regional schools over the past couple of years, supported by Arts Victoria and

the Australia Council.

These programs encourage not only student development, but also the development of

teachers and artists, emphasising a strong artistic outcome. It incorporates a pro bono,

community workshop component into its touring activities, primarily focused on younger

people, but also for specific groups such as those with disability, giving a range of regional

community members a chance to actively engage with the circus arts. The delivery of

regional workshops accompanied by a show is generally facilitated in partnership with

sections of the local community, which can include the venue, local councils, and or

schools.

Just a brief one to say a massive THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity to hook up

our young mob with the tech run, shows and a brilliant community circus session. All

the kids from Bagot, Minmirama, Knuckey Lagoon and 15 Mile had big smiles on their

faces when I caught up with them this week! The kids in our workshop program are

equally inspired and now seem to spend more time on their hands then their feet.

—Project Coordinator, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts.

Each 50-minute educational show for schools is rounded off with a question and answer

session, where the audience has exclusive interactive session in the venue with the Circus Oz

ensemble. This gives the audience a greater sense of connection and has also been found

to inspire children to pursue artistic endeavours.

Musica Viva—Musica Viva In Schools offers access to live performance for students and

professional development and quality digital resources for teachers, ensuring they have the

skills, inspiration and confidence to teach music in the classroom. This program aims to

increase enjoyment and skill in music for students in metropolitan, regional and remote areas.

For example:

collaboration with the Mt Isa School of the Air Mini Schools network in 2013 and 2014

brought a six-week Composer in the Classroom residency to students in remote

Queensland towns such as Normanton, Bedourie, Cloncurry, Camooweal, Gregory

and Julia Creek

a Musician in the Classroom tour engaged almost 500 students in the remote South

Australian towns of Coober Pedy and Leigh Creek in drumming workshops, music

making, performance and teacher professional development sessions

a teacher training and student performance and workshop tour to Whyalla, South

Australia

a tour of remote WA schools such as Meekatharra, Cue and Wiluna brought

workshops and music classes to over 600 students.

Having grown up in the Geelong region, I understand how difficult it can be to have

access to the arts and culture. We were blown away by the enthusiastic response we

received at all the schools, proving how crucial it is for children in remote areas to

have access to live musical experiences. —Musica Viva Touring ensemble member


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The students enjoyed every aspect including the workshops and performance …

combining performances with workshops is a brilliant service for our area where

access to musicians is very difficult. —teacher in remote Queensland

Opera Australia—offers participation in its Regional Student Scholarship program to all

regional tour presenters at no additional fee. The successful four students receive a

Scholarship prize, which supports their travel and accommodation costs to visit Opera

Australia and to participate in music, acting and movement workshops with industry leaders,

vocal coaching with Opera Australia’s experienced coaches and repetiteurs. They also

receive tickets to see an Opera Australia performance at the Sydney Opera House as well as

an exclusive behind the scenes tour of The Opera Centre Sydney (and the iconic Sydney

Opera House) and the chance to perform an aria for Opera Australia’s Artistic Director,

Lyndon Terracini, at the end of their week’s scholarship.

Queensland Theatre Company—QTC offers scholarships for attendance to its annual week-

long Theatre Residency program. This is a drama immersion camp that has run for over 40

years and has been attended by some of Australia’s theatre greats such as Geoffrey Rush,

Deborah Mailman, and Wesley Enoch.

Over the past 20 years, QTC’s Regional Acting Studio facilitated in-school workshops during

an intensive regional road-trip. In 2016 The Scene Project, a new participatory project for

High School students, will travel to Rockhampton, the Redlands area and metropolitan

Brisbane, providing students and staff with an opportunity to share and view professional

theatre. In 2014 around 940 students enjoyed the schools-focused production Lost Property

Rules, which toured to the Central Highlands centres of Emerald and Blackwater.

Sydney Theatre Company—Since 2012 STC’s landmark School DramaTM program has been

delivered in regional areas. School DramaTM is an artist-in-residence, teacher professional

learning program for primary teachers that helps teachers use drama in their classrooms to

improve student literacy outcomes. During 2012 and 2013, STC worked with three schools in

Broken Hill and during 2015 and 2016, STC partnered with Hothouse Theatre and Murray Arts

and delivered the program in the Albury Wodonga area. Regional delivery of this program

continues to grow and in 2016 School DramaTM will be offered in the Northern Territory.

From the techniques we learnt we realised how Drama can explore themes in more

thought provoking and entertaining ways than simply by discussion. The children we

teach will gain much from the knowledge and skills we acquired at the Drama

Workshop. —Teacher, Albury Wodonga

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra—The orchestra plays a very important role in building

community life across the state. It also tours a slimmed down version of the orchestra, Mini

TSO, to regional centres and schools all around the state.

When I heard the concert I thought I was in a dream. Before the concert I was not

interested in the music but once I heard and saw the Mini orchestra my life changed.

The Mini TSO is heart lifting. I wish I could see them all over again. —Brodie Yr 6 Rison

Dale Public School Tasmania

The TSO performs live concerts under the stars in Launceston and Hobart each year as well as

engages with the marginalised communities.

I must say a very big thank you from all of us for such an amazing day last Friday. You

organised it so well and you have opened the eyes of not only the 5 inmate


30

participants but the 5 staff as well. We are all now such big fans. —Sport and

Recreation Officer Tasmania Prison Service

The Australian Ballet—The Professional Learning Cluster Model for primary school teachers

which provided dance and movement learning opportunities otherwise unavailable in

regional Victoria was very successful. It has led to the development of a ‘teacher continued

development program’ to be piloted in every state and territory in 2016 as a part of the

Ballet’s ‘Out There’ (Samsung) program. This program is a practical session to teach teachers

how to use the company’s web-based resources (Eduhub) to deliver safe and curriculum

supportive dance. In 2016 the Ballet expects to deliver 8–10 Teacher CPD sessions with at

least one in every state and territory in Australia. These sessions will be aimed mainly at school

teachers. The Ballet will launch Eduhub in February 2016. It contains warm-ups, historical

information on ballet, narrative, music, design and choreographic information for students

and teachers as well as lesson ideas tied to the curriculum. Each resource is relevant to the

current 2016 main stage season allowing students to study and see a performance.

West Australian Ballet undertakes—

presentations and dance workshops in public, private and independent primary

schools, secondary schools, and education support centres across Western Australia

week-long in-school residencies in primary schools, involving daily workshops and

concluding with a performance by students and presentation by WAB teaching artists

ballet workshops: specialised classes for students from all local dance schools.

Some of the best teaching I’ve ever seen. I was blown away at fitness, management

and professionalism displayed. It is amazing to me they could get our children

interested’. —Teacher, Greenfields Primary School

5. Television and radio broadcast of MPAs

The national or local broadcasting of arts performances provides additional opportunity for

regional and remote access to major works of scale and accomplishment.

While live performance is important as a dynamic shared experience, it also plays a major

role in developing works and stories that in turn inspire the big and small screen.

In 2014 MPA companies estimated that 10 million people watched or listened to a broadcast

or screening of an MPA company performance. Furthermore, MPA companies had 800,000

friends and their digital platforms received 21 million visits. The Australia Council estimates the

MPAs as a group reached 16 million people in 2014–15.

Broadcast

The capacity of ABC TV and Radio to broadcast recorded works by MPAs is an important

ancillary way in which MPAs extend their reach into regional and remote communities as

well as to metropolitan audiences.

ABC TV and MPAs

A number of MPAs have collaborated in a range of high quality arts projects with ABC TV

over many years including, most recently, the new four-part TV opera project, The Divorce

(see below); and ABC Radio’s recordings of classical music.


31

ABC1 is the ABC’s primary television channel and home to a range of flagship programs

including the arts. Arts and culture comprised 3.6 per cent of ABC TV content genre mix in

2013–1416

which fell to 2.75 per cent in in 2014–15.

Opera Australia—The Divorce, a four-part contemporary comedic opera written and

designed especially for the screen premiered on ABC 1 in 2015. Described as a unique multi-

platform project that reinvents opera for television, film and online audiences across the

country, it was a collaboration between ABC TV Arts, Opera Australia, Opera Conference

and Princess Pictures, and brought together creative talent from multiple genres. The music

by internationally acclaimed composer Elena Kats-Chernin and the libretto by award-

winning playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, were originally commissioned by The Opera

Conference—the national partnership of professional opera companies, Opera Australia, The

State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland and West Australian Opera.

This program was innovative, cross platform and collaborative. It was energetic, fresh and

featured Australian performers. Across the country The Divorce had a very strong viewer

response with a cumulative reach of 1.1 million over the four evenings. Regional viewership

cumulative reach was approx. 311,000 (4% of regional population). The regional total TV

share was proportionately higher at 4.9%. The below table records the viewing reach of

one episode of The Divorce.

Another 126,000 views were recorded on ABC on i-view. Although the location of the viewers

isn’t available it is reasonable to assume a proportion came from regional Australia.

The ABC also extends Opera Australia’s national reach through the broadcast of Handa on

Sydney Harbour.

ABC Radio

The 2014–15 ABC annual report states, ‘ABC Music represents leading classical music artists

and Australian arts companies, including symphony orchestras and classical ensembles. ABC

radio broadcasts on Classic FM are also vitally important in extending access to the state

and national opera companies’ work to all of Australia.

The label contributes to the fulfilment of the ABC Charter’s obligation to encourage and

promote music, drama and other performing arts in Australia.’

In 2014–15 this resulted in the ABC winning the 2014 Australian Independent Records Label

Association (AIR) Independent Music Awards for Best Independent Classical Album And Best

Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu/Sydney Symphony

Orchestra, Gurrumul: His Life and Music.

The 2015 decision by the ABC to reduce the number of classical music performance

recordings undertaken each year has had an impact on the number of recordings made in

some states which may over time limit the diversity of classical music performances

broadcast to regional Australia and for those regional performances to gain audiences

outside their regional areas. This is of concern State Opera of South Australia.

In South Australia, recordings have fallen from anywhere between 1 and 4 broadcasts

of operas and concerts per year (SOSA had four Sunday Live broadcasts in one year,

a couple of years ago) down to zero broadcasts for the foreseeable future. In

conjunction with this, Adelaide ABC retrenched a large number of staff including two

16 ABC Annual report 2013–14 page 46


32

of the three broadcast sound recording engineers (who do all the orchestral and

opera recording, among other things) and one of the producers, leaving just one

producer and one engineer for the whole state.

SOSA understands that the SA producer now needs to service Western Australia as

well. As one person can only do so much this appears the ABC has drastically

reduced the potential and possibility of ABC broadcasts of high quality performances

being heard nationally from SA, WA and NT. While the overall number of annual

broadcasts has been reduced from 300 to 150, the proportional reduction in

broadcasts from South Australia is expected to be far higher than 50 per cent.

SOSA has raised serious concerns about the impact this will have for work of national

standard, which all of these states produce, to effectively go unreported and

unheard by a national audience. Australia’s shared creative engagement is

weakened if the national voice fails to draw from all its diverse regions. —Tim Sexton,

CEO & Artistic Director, State Opera of South Australia

However, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra says that while the trend in classical music

performance recordings over the past few years has been declining, it is encouraged that

the new management of the ABC Classic FM has indicated that the number of ASO

broadcasts will actually increase this year.

Live Independent broadcast17

For isolated regional audiences without regular access to the range of arts events which

capital city residents take for granted, live broadcasts serve as a valuable connector,

functioning beyond simply providing people with access to the work itself.

Examples

Queensland Theatre Company—a performance of Black Diggers was simulcast to nine major

regional centres in Queensland with an attendance of nearly 3,000 including 780 students in

2014. There were follow-up schools workshops in 16 regional schools involving 562 students.

Black Diggers explores the untold and exceptional stories of Indigenous Australian soldiers

who fought for the British Commonwealth without the rights of citizenship. The company

supported the simulcasts with a range of activity including prior visits to some centres by then

company artistic director Welsey Enoch, schools materials and in some cases free

transportation by bus to assist regional communities.

Black Swan State Theatre Company—continued its successful live broadcast project in 2015

with its fifth broadcast, Blithe Spirit. It broadcasted to 11 regional venues (Esperance,

Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Bunbury, Merredin, Margaret River, Carnarvon, Port Hedland, Karratha,

Onslow and Broome) and 35 Community Resource Centres, as well as countless homes on

the Westlink network. The live broadcast is an opportunity for thousands of regional WA

citizens who cannot attend Black Swan performances because of distance or financial

constraints to share a state-wide ‘live’ experience within their own home or community.

Feedback from regional audiences is consistently positive. It’s a special event in each

regional setting. They are sharing and participating in something that is happening live in

Perth drawing a live audience across the state.

The annual live broadcasts of a chosen production provided by Black Swan State

Theatre Company are a godsend for theatre-lovers living outside of Perth. From our

point of view it really is amazing that we can have or take part in a live broadcast

and go to the theatre without having to drive for a day, a seven or eight hour drive to

see something ... just before the play starts, somebody from Black Swan comes on

and he or she welcomes everyone to the live broadcast—Hello to everybody in

17 Independent of public or commercial television services


33

Broome, in Esperance and Kalgoorlie—and you really get this feeling of this

connection right around the state, of all the regional areas having a nice night at the

theatre. And I know for us when they say "hello Esperance" we all cheer, even though

they can’t hear us. It is absolutely fantastic. —Victoria Brown, President of the

Esperance Theatre Guild

Broadcast does not replace live performance but it does help reduce the access barriers

regional communities often face. Broome, Port Hedland and Esperance all hosted Black

Swan State Theatre Company community and school theatre workshops before and after

the live broadcast, providing a richer experience.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra—provides occasional webcasts through Livestream on its

YouTube channel. Regional audiences with adequate online access can also listen to select

concerts on SSO Radio, housed on SoundCloud. In addition to this the SSO has a close

relationship with community radio stations.

The SSO has a number of online education initiatives:

Online teaching resources, including bite-sized lesson plans, are available through the

orchestra’s website.

Online education resource kits to complement the Australian Curriculum are

available via the national Scootle database.

The SSO has created a masterclass series to assist musicians preparing for orchestral

auditions. These videos, in which SSO musicians teach SSO Fellows how to refine

popular audition pieces, are available on the SSO YouTube channel.

In 2015 the SSO’s teacher training program TunED Up was paperless, with the teachers

accessing all course materials via tablets. The SSO will continue to support these

teachers with the provision of online teaching resources throughout 2016.

The SSO also offers audiences around Australia the chance to see behind-the-scenes via its

online news site, Backstage News+. This site features the latest news and backstage videos,

articles and photo galleries from the SSO.

West Australian Opera— has presented its free Opera in the park performance as a live

broadcast to regional centres since 2010. The regional simulcast enables long-time opera

fans, or first-timers just being introduced to the artform, to experience the beauty of live

world-class opera. In 2016 the Opera in the Park will be Gianni Schicchi by Puccini.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra: provides occasional Webcasts live through

Livestream. WASO webcasts feature exclusive footage such as interviews with soloists,

conductors, WASO musicians and staff. Viewers can also interact through a live twitter feed.

These performances are then available on demand on WASO’s Youtube channel. The next

webcast is scheduled for 2 April 2016 form the Perth Concert Hall

6. Online arts education and behind the scenes

The companies’ online presence includes online recorded videos, live streaming of

rehearsals and other resources.

Examples

ACO Music & Art Program— This music and visual art curriculum is for primary school students

in Years 3–6 and their teachers. It is delivered via video conferencing every month over the

course of a school year during which an ACO Collective performance takes place in a

regional centre. The program is supported by a content rich website, full of resources and


https://livestream.com/accounts/14792350

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materials for teachers, students and their families. The artwork of participating students is

displayed in the foyer of the venue of the ACO Collective performance and the

participating students and their families are offered discounted tickets to the ACO Collective

performance in their town.

This program was an overwhelming success, and I received many requests from the

school to repeat it next year. Viewing the artwork, and speaking with the students, I

found they were engaged and stimulated by the music. The City of Greater Bendigo

is a large municipality, and distance can be a barrier to arts participation, so the

online delivery meant that we were able to present this program to one of our remote

schools. In the evening we provided tickets to encourage the students to come to

the performance, and it was a wonderful touch to have them welcomed before the

concert started. —Rohan Phillipps, Arts Officer, City of Greater Bendigo

Bell Shakespeare— delivers an annual live-streamed Q&A from Sydney Opera House for

regional schools; has developed a suite of performance and commentary videos for ABC

Splash online; created a Starting Shakespeare app for primary students and their teachers;

develops a comprehensive suite of free teacher resources each year, accessible from the

Bell Shakespeare website; and connects regional students and teachers from across

Australia via specialised social media networks. The company’s education programs

reached approximately 62,000 students and teachers in 2015.

Musica Viva— digital apps: Key components of MVA’s music education courses are

available online in NSW. The website, musicstaffroom.com, was created to house video

tutorials for self-paced, online videos and other resources for teachers. Additionally, live-

streamed digital seminars hosted by professional music educators and Musica Viva In

Schools musicians were available live and on-demand for teachers. This digital innovation

has received warm feedback from teachers. The online videos allow comprehensive training,

at a time and place that suits them.

Orchestra Victoria— Orchestra Victoria delivered its Remote Access String Quartet Program

for regional high school students, directed by violinist John Noble which culminated in a

Melbourne based joint performance.

I loved to feel a part of a real orchestra. Since last year's workshop I have practiced

so much. Please do it again next year! —Rosebud Secondary College student

[the workshop was] quite challenging, particularly at first, but [the students] rise to the

occasion and discover more about their ability in the process. It lifts their thinking. —

Eaglehawk Secondary College teacher

Sydney Symphony Orchestra— has used online digital services to conduct online

masterclasses and online auditions and is working with the Sydney Opera House in delivering

online interactive professional learning classes to regional areas, supporting classroom music

teachers nationally.

Sydney Theatre Company— Since 2014, STC Education has invested heavily in developing

digital resources to support teaching and learning across Drama and English. These include

a suite of resources for each Schools Days production (On Cue e-book, design sketchbooks,

posters and others). STC Education has also developed a series of Director Documentaries

that are freely available on their website. These have been made specifically for teachers

and students studying particular plays or theatrical styles.

The Australian Ballet— World Ballet Day, an online broadcast, provided behind-the-scenes

access to the world's premier ballet companies: The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal

Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet. In 2015 it also invited


http://www.musicstaffroom.com/

http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/

http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet

http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet

http://national.ballet.ca/

http://www.sfballet.org/

35

esteemed fellow dance companies Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Royal New Zealand Ballet

and the National Ballet of China to take part.

The broadcast provides a rare peak into the workings of the companies and their artists for

ballet students and audience—and by doing so, overcomes barriers that may exist due to

geographical distance and isolation.

The West Australian Ballet—runs online presentations, such as video conference

presentation/workshops for Pannawonica Primary School, Port Hedland Primary School, and

Tom Price Primary School, based from the Pilbara Regional Education Office in Karratha; and

two sessions for primary-aged students with the Carnarvon School of the Air.


http://bangarra.com.au/

http://www.rnzb.org.nz/

http://www.rnzb.org.nz/

http://en.ballet.org.cn/

36

AMPAG RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1

Increase the existing Playing Australia fund by $2 million pa to increase the quantity, scale

and diversity of performing arts tours to reach regional and isolated and remote

communities. Boosting the value of the Playing Australia fund would increase the breadth,

diversity and quality of works seen by audiences in regional and remote Australia, promoting

skills development and assisting in meeting the significant unmet audience demand.

Any increase in Playing Australia should be accompanied by creating flexibility in eligibility

guidelines to remove barriers to alternative ways of touring that may be more efficient for

artists, arts companies and audience reach and engagement.

Recommendation 2

Regional venues want more MPA engagement within their communities. Government’s

introduction of multi-year funding through the National Touring Status awarded to four

companies, including two MPAs, has demonstrated the benefits of continuity of funding. The

NTS funding approach should be extended to all MPA companies that regularly tour regional

Australia. Doing so would save administrative time and uncertainty and facilitate additional

opportunities for audience development.

It should be done without unfairly disadvantaging other organisations, be they other MPAs or

SMEs, in accessing Playing Australia tour support.

Recommendation 3

Increase the support for education activities and streamed, digital access for regional and

remote areas, to lift their participation and engagement in arts activities, and ultimately

benefit all education and community outcomes.

Recommendation 4

Model the potential benefits, likely take up and associated costs and optimum criteria

associated with the creation of a regional live performance and live performance broadcast

to regional venues subsidy and risk offset scheme.

Recommendation 5

ABC radio and television provides important conduit for regional audiences to experience

performances by Australia’s leading performing arts companies as well as capacity for

regional artist and performances to reach a national audience. It is a greatly valued

collaborator and commissioner of original innovative performing arts content. Its contribution

to the performing arts cultural life of regional Australia should be recognised and valued.

Recommendation 6

Facilitate the national co-ordination and collaboration of regional performing arts access

and engagement strategies by including ‘regional performing arts access and

development’ as a standing item on the annual Meeting of Cultural Ministers’ agenda.


37

Appendix 1: News article—Artshub, 3 February 2016

Why 24 people need a 350-seat theatre

DEBORAH STONE

A tiny town in the Riverina is about to move its popular opera program from a converted pig-

pen to a $700,000 theatre and they really need it.

The official population of Morundah in NSW is 76

but Councillor David Fahey says only 24 people

actually live in the village. Either way it's not a

population size that obviously requires a 350-

seat theatre complete with green room, stage

lighting and carefully thought-out acoustics.

But the first time the local Morundah Bush

Entertainment Committee put on an opera in

2006, it sold 1100 tickets in three hours.

'Just because we live in the country doesn't mean we don't want culture,' said Fahey.

In fact the Councillor – who as well as heading the entertainment committee is the local

publican, runs cattle, and owns a chemical business – admits that when the push started he

'wouldn't have crossed the road' to see an opera.

But he liked the idea of opera in the town because it would be less disruptive than

alternatives such as rock concerts or a Bachelors and Spinsters Ball.

Since then the tiny Riverina town has become a regional cultural hub serving not only the

Urana Shire population of about 1200 but also drawing regular tourists from around Australia.

Fahey himself has discovered he rather enjoys the art form.

For the past decade Morundah has been staging touring opera productions in a converted

pig shelter ironically known as the Paradise Palladium Theatre. It has brought in productions

from Oz Opera (the touring arm of Opera Australia), the Victorian Opera and South

Australia's Co-Opera, and won awards including the NSW Local Government Shires

Association Award, the NSW Tidy Town Awards and from the local shire.

Opera productions will soon be able to move out of the pig pen into a new $700,000 theatre

under construction, which will also provide a venue for musical theatre, comedy and dance

events. There are already bookings for 2018.

The project this week received a $60,000 grant from the NSW government which will pay for

the green room and lighting. But government support has been a long time coming.

Morundah has been applying for funding on and off for nine years to build its theatre.

'When they rang to tell me about it the first thing I said was "Thank heavens we won't have to

run another chook raffle for a while",' said Fahey. The committee has literally raised most of

the funds for the theatre through Friday night raffles, fundraising events and small

philanthropic grants to supplement a $150,000 grant and $60,000 loan from the shire.

The local community is also contributing in practical ways, donating time and equipment.

They are currently running a 'door drive' to collect 800 old doors which will be used to line the

theatre, providing appropriate acoustics without the cost of commercial baffle boards.

The Morundah Theatre is one of 10 regional cultural projects to receive $385,000 in NSW’s

regional capital grants.

Opera in Morundah. Image: Jeff Busby


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39

Appendix 2: News article—The Leader, 2 December 2015, 4 pm

Wagga Civic Theatre 2016 Season

Wagga has spoken and the Civic Theatre has answered—the Australian Ballet will return to the city in

2016.

It is just one of the 12 impressive shows to comprise the Civic Theatre’s 2016 Subscription Season.

“The number one requested thing has been the Australian Ballet and we have them,” Civic Theatre

manager Carissa Campbell said.

Tom Burlinson, a tribute performer endorsed by the Sinatra family, will recreate the album Sinatra at

the Sands on stage before performing his greatest hits.

Doctor Jonathon Welch AM from the Choir of Hard Knocks will bring a 10th anniversary celebration

to Wagga with collaboration from local choirs.

Ms Campbell said diversity was key when choosing shows to comprise a season.

“I always look for a mix,” she said.

“I want the big companies but I also want Australian writing.

“Every single one has to have something special that I think will work in Wagga.”

Season launch video lists 6 out of 12 shows in 2016 involve MPAs: Bell Shakespeare,

Queensland Theatre Company, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia, The

Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company


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Appendix 3: AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES

Adelaide Symphony

Orchestra

Orchestra Victoria

Australian

Brandenburg

Orchestra

Queensland Ballet

Australian Chamber

Orchestra

Queensland

Symphony Orchestra

Bangarra Dance

Theatre

Queensland Theatre

Company

Bell Shakespeare

State Opera South

Australia

Belvoir

State Theatre

Company of South

Australia

Black Swan State

Theatre Company

Sydney Dance

Company

Circus Oz

Sydney Symphony

Orchestra

Malthouse Theatre

Sydney Theatre

Company

Melbourne

Symphony Orchestra

The Australian Ballet

Melbourne Theatre

Company

Tasmanian

Symphony

Orchestra

Musica Viva Australia

West Australian Ballet

Opera Australia

West Australian

Opera

Opera Queensland

West Australian

Symphony

Orchestra


http://www.aso.com.au/

https://www.brandenburg.com.au/

https://www.aco.com.au/

http://bangarra.com.au/

https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/

http://www.bsstc.com.au/

http://www.circusoz.com/

http://malthousetheatre.com.au/

https://www.australianballet.com.au/orchestravictoria

https://www.queenslandballet.com.au/

https://qso.com.au/

http://www.queenslandtheatre.com.au/

http://saopera.sa.gov.au/

http://www.statetheatrecompany.com.au/

https://www.sydneydancecompany.com/

http://www.sydneysymphony.com/

https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/

https://www.australianballet.com.au

https://www.tso.com.au/

http://www.waopera.asn.au/

https://www.waso.com.au/

https://opera.org.au/

http://operaq.com.au/

http://belvoir.com.au/

http://www.mso.com.au/

http://www.mtc.com.au/

http://www.musicaviva.com.au/Welcome

http://waballet.com.au/

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Appendix 4: Excerpt from the Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report

2015

Australia Council investment in regional initiatives, derived from its Annual Report 2015.

Australia Council Grants 5.4

National Regional Program 8.6

Other Government initiatives 3.9

Key Organisations 4.7

Major Performing Arts Companies 6.3

Total 28.9

‘Major Performing Arts Companies’ refers to MPAs based in regional locations—in this case

Tasmania, a state that is categorised as regional in its entirety.


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Appendix 5: Excerpts from national and state touring research reports

The Mapping Contemporary Dance in Regional WA report18 noted that there was recognition

of dance companies that return to the same communities over a number of years had

benefits. The same report noted that the development of ongoing relationships between

particular artists and communities had the potential for long-term impacts.19

A further 2012 national touring report commissioned by the Australia Council noted

Presenters’ curatorial processes are driven predominately by factors that mitigate risk

(often without research into audience demand and capacity) rather than by critical

assessment of the audience and the production.20

The report recommended supporting presenter risk-taking through curatorial upskilling,

shared audience development strategies and providing certainty on programming

centrepieces.

It also recommended simplifying and harmonising funding, especially the triennial funding,

and including measures that give presenters greater certainty so that established producers

may be freed up to present riskier niche work.

The Mapping Queensland Theatre report also called for consistent funding for touring, saying,

‘The foundation for theatre touring exists but that depends on a certain critical mass of

suitable work being constantly available for presenter to invest in appropriate audience

development strategies.’21

18 Carmichael (2009) 19 National Touring Framework: Are We There Yet, April 2010, (funded by Aust Co) p.37 20 Ibid, p.39 21 Baylis 2009 (Funded by Arts Qld)


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22 Left to Right photos supplied by: Bangarra, Circus Oz, The Australian Ballet, Black Swan State Theatre Company, Sydney Dance Company,

Opera Queensland, Bell Shakespeare Theatre Company, Musica Viva, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra


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