Zoom In to Zoom Out!

This thought-provoking series of online discussions will focus on high-level conversations and broad perspectives about the future of our industry in these critical times. Curated by Arts & Culture Consultant, Francesca Valmorbida, Zoom In to Zoom Out! will take place over four Fridays from 9.00am on 5 & 19 March, 9 & 23 April

Contact gemma@vapac.org.au for more information.

Session One: ADVOCACY

Former CEO of the Grattan Institute, John Daley has been commissioned to write a report about advocacy for the performing arts. He will join VAPAC members next week to better understand the perspective of performing arts venues.

While COVID has created unprecedented short-term challenges for performing arts centres, it may also be a turning point for difficult questions about the performing arts. Over 20 years, traditional subsidised performing art forms have not grown mainstage audiences, have received no real increase in government funding, and have been slow to reflect big shifts in the cultural make-up of Australia. Meanwhile the political environment is becoming less fertile.

The discussion with John Daley will cover how advocacy for the performing arts might be improved: which arguments are likely to be most powerful; the role of partnerships between subsidised, commercial and community performing arts; and what a more sophisticated advocacy ground game would look like. We will also discuss some of the possible implications for government policy and philanthropy, and for evaluating arts and culture.