the-Ninth-Wave

The Ninth Wave by The Farm and Co3 Contemporary Dance. Photo by Jess Wyld.

Festival of Outback Opera

Festival of Outback Opera by Opera Queensland. Photo by Glenn Hunt.

Auto Cannibal

Auto Cannibal by Australasian Dance Collective and Beijing Dance LDTX,
Choreographed by Stephanie Lake. Photo by Jade Ellis.

Zoom

Zoom by Patch Theatre. Photo by Matt Byrne.

Trash Talk

Trash Talk by The Strangeways Ensemble. Courtesy of Merrigong Theatre Company.

So long suckers 2

So Long Suckers by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Photo by Simon Pynt.

Curious Legends

Curious Legends

Black Cockatoo

Black Cockatoo by Ensemble Theatre. Photo by Prudence Upton.

Whoosh

Whoosh by Sensorium Theatre. Photo by Peter Foster.

River Linked Live Virtual Concert

River Linked Live Virtual Concert. Photo by Abram Rasmussen Photography.

HOTA Home of the Arts

HOTA Home of the Arts. Courtesy of venue.

The Butch is Back

The Butch is Back by Reuben Kaye. Photo by Rebekah Ryan.

Conference

APAX 2020 HAS MOVED ONLINE

When PAC Australia rebranded our Performing Arts Exchange and Conference to APAX (the Australian Performing Arts Exchange) it was based on the recognition that these two major events are at the heart of performing arts presenting in Australia, and central to our members’ planning and development.

And so we began planning the largest event in PAC Australia’s history for 2020, in collaboration with NIDA, our venue partner.

Of course, 2020 had other plans for all of us.

But we’re very excited to be able to move APAX 2020 to an online delivery.

This new format will include a series of gatherings, each no more than 90 minutes in length, with professional development content (ie. our Conference) delivered throughout July and August, and our market component delivered over six sessions in August and September.

Head to our brand-new APAX 2020 website for the current information, and bookmark it for later – there’s much more exciting updates to come when we launch the full program and open registrations in early July.

PAC Australia’s 33rd Conference and National Performing Arts Exchange.

26-29 August 2019, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

We loved seeing you all on the Sunshine Coast at the 2019 Performing Arts Exchange and Conference REAP: More. Deeper. Different.

The Events Centre, Caloundra was home for more than 400 delegates, including Australia’s leading artists and arts managers taking a practical, real-world problem-solving approach to presenting performing arts across Australia.

If you were unable to join us, be sure to follow us on Facebook to catch our conference live stream, keynote recordings and more coming soon!

Thank you to our 2019 partners without whom the Conference and Performing Arts Exchange would not have been possible

       


      

2018 Conference

PAC Australia’s 32nd annual performing arts conference “Making Space” and our national Performing Arts Exchange [PAX] took place at the Red Earth Arts Precinct, Karratha between 2 – 6 September, 2018.

With Chris Bendall at the helm as PAX MC and Karilyn Brown as our “thinker in residence” for the conference, delegates from across the country explored a region where the oldest and newest art on the planet co-exists.

With full length works from The Last Great Hunt, Tura New Music, Black Swan State Theatre Company & Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company as well as a spectacular performance from Big hART on site with community in Roebourne, the Performing Arts Exchange brought together producers and presenters from across Australia and New Zealand to maximise touring opportunities and build relationships.

Making Space was all about where we live, and the space that is common to us all, across gender, culture and environment. We asked, how does place inform the art we make and present, and how does that art create identity and shape the places we live?

Check out our Conference Materials page to re-experience the moving keynote addresses from Sigal Cohen, Dr Richard Walley and Dr Gill Hicks.

The five day event culminated in the extra special conference dinner at the historic ghost town of Cossack where the best in Australian touring was commended at our annual Drover Awards ceremony.

The 2018 conference and Performing Arts Exchange was truly an adventure as much it was a conference.

2017 Conference

PAC Australia’s 31st annual performing arts conference “Outside, In” and our national Performing Arts Exchange [PAX] took place at The Concourse, Sydney between August 21-14, 2017 and once again exceeded previous attendances.

The two events saw Robyn Archer return, as PAX MC and “thinker in residence” for the conference. In this role, Robyn’s insightful commentary was an absolute highlight. Her ability to weave together the various intellectual threads presented by speakers into an incisive, intelligent and entertaining whole was awe-inspiring.

Other highlights included Dee Madigan’s keynote address on “Why Creativity Matters (and not just on stage!)”, jam-packed with smart and practical advice for winning over not just the public but funding bodies, potential supporters and staff. Jennifer Whelan’s discussion of unconscious bias and its presence in the arts, and how that impacts on our programming and creative decisions, was another game-changer; engaging and eye-opening. Both these speakers and many others on the program were thought-provoking, especially in relation to the choices we make in the work we present to audiences.

The conference concluded with a gala dinner at Luna Park, with special guest the Honourable Senator Mitch Fifield Federal Minister for the Arts.

Visit the conference materials page for videos and presentation materials from the 2017 event and previous years conferences.