As the arts sector re-imagines its future, the question of pathways for young people to engage with the arts has become critical. Our first SAMAG seminar of 2016 brings together some of the key proponents of youth engagement to explore the current challenges and opportunities in the work of developing the next generation (and the next) of artists and audiences. Join Chair Lex Hirst,Co-Director, National Young Writers’ Festival, as she leads a conversation withBelinda Sculley, […]

Michael Lynch, CBE, AM is one of Australia’s most recognised and experienced arts administrators and cultural figures. His distinguished career has comprised overseeing some of Australia’s most prominent arts companies including Sydney Theatre Company, the Australia Council for the Arts as well as director of the Sydney Opera House. From 2002 to 2009 he was chief executive of the South Bank Centre in London and has also served as Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation […]

The NSW Government launched its new Arts and Cultural Policy Framework: Create in NSW in February this year with a bold vision for our arts and culture, built on the ambitions of excellence, access and strength. The panel will talk about what these ambitions mean for artists, arts workers and audiences across NSW. Join Arts NSW Executive Director Mary Darwell, Wagga Wagga Regional Arts Development officer Scott Howie and performance artist David Capra for a […]

Due to recent changes in Federal arts funding arrangements, the notion of what constitutes ‘excellence’ has become hotly contested. What might the implications of this ‘excellence’ debate be for regional artists and arts organisations? Can excellence be measured differently in regional Australia? How? Why? To what end? What opportunities might be emerging for regional artists and companies from this newly-framed discourse of excellence? What unique perspectives might regional artists offer the current debate about the […]

Due to recent changes in Federal arts funding arrangements, the notion of what constitutes ‘excellence’ has become hotly contested. What might the implications of this ‘excellence’ debate be for regional artists and arts organisations? Can excellence be measured differently in regional Australia? How? Why? To what end? What opportunities might be emerging for regional artists and companies from this newly-framed discourse of excellence? What unique perspectives might regional artists offer the current debate about the […]

Benvenuto! Australia at the Venice Biennale In the midst of the Venice Biennale’s 56th edition, Australian artist Fiona Hall will discuss her experiences at the Biennale, including her work ‘Wrong Way Time’, Australia’s new pavilion, the Emerging Curator programme and the most outstanding exhibitions from around the world. Fiona’s work is described by the Australia Council as: ‘bringing together hundreds of disparate elements which find alignments and create tensions around three intersecting concerns: global politics, world finances […]

How do we find space for the new voices in contemporary arts practice to be heard? What can we do to support the great artists of the future? Where are the surprising opportunities and non-linear pathways to sit alongside the more traditional forms of artistic and skills development? Join us as we explore the role the Australian arts industry can play in cultivating the next crop of emerging artistic talent.

Organisations often work together, but how often do they collaborate? What are the barriers to genuine organisational collaboration? Why does collaboration so often seem fraught with perceived and actual difficulties? What do organisations risk through collaboration? What do they stand to gain? Come along to hear about the pleasures, perils and pitfalls of such collaborative endeavours from arts organisations who have succeeded in such collaborations.

The arts in Australia is headed by Artistic Directors of varied credentials: those who have carved strong careers as practitioners, those who hit the Director circuit, jumping from festival to festival and those who join us temporarily from afar. So who should be leading our arts organisations? What does it take to be an Artistic Director? And how do Artistic Directors strategise to ensure an organisation’s future? Artistic Directors simultaneously navigate the past, present and […]

Arts organisations have long struggled to reflect the diverse experiences of the communities they serve. The ‘establishment’ has been accused of being ‘elitist’ while  emerging and community arts are criticised for being too ‘niche’.  Solutions to this problem have covered the gamut from quotas to positive discrimination, policy directives to fierce debate. Recently a watershed seems to have been reached and with significant shifts in programming across arts forms that seem to embed diversity on […]