Playing Australia Audience Development Fund Recipients
We’re pleased to confirm the recipients of the new Playing Australian Audience Development fund. These are all projects which place presenters in the centre of these audience development initiatives, which is a great outcome for the entire presenting ecology – presenters, producers, artists and of course, audiences.
Each project will receive $300K per year for three years, focussing on audience development in regional and remote communities aligned with national touring activity. This investment is an outcome of a national touring strategic roundtable convened by PAC Australia last year.
PAC Australia will host an online session where each projects lead will present their planned work in more depth.
In the meantime, a summary of the funded projects has been supplied by the recipients:
- Circuit West – A coordinated audience development strategy to grow audiences for First Nations performing arts.
CircuitWest, WA’s performing arts presenter and producer association with extensive experience supporting regional venues, expertise in touring management and a strong commitment to First Nations engagement, is leading a coordinated Audience Development Strategy to grow audiences for First Nations performing arts.
Four regional partner venues – Arts Margaret River, Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, Harvey Recreation and Cultural Centre, and the Matt Dann Theatre in Port Hedland – were selected through a First Nations producer–led EOI process for their local connections and cultural readiness. Guided by dedicated First Nations Audience Development Leads, the Strategy builds on CircuitWest’s First Nations Focus Toolkit, embedding culturally safe practices and First Nations leadership in programming and audience development. Together, CircuitWest and the venue partners will strengthen capacity, foster inclusive audience growth, and develop a framework of best practices to guide the sector beyond the three-year strategy.
- TPAC – TAS 28 Audience Development Strategy
Tasmania’s Performing Arts Centres (TPAC) Theatre Royal/The Hedberg (Hobart), Theatre North (Launceston), paranaple arts centre (Devonport), and Burnie Arts (Burnie) will implement the TAS 28 Audience Development Strategy. This statewide initiative will redefine how younger Tasmanians connect with performance and the four venues fostering a new generation of audiences for live performance (theatre, dance / movement /circus and music). The strategy will see the four TPAC venues collaborate to deliver targeted engagement activities designed to attract younger audiences (a broad 20-45 age bracket) and strengthen community connections with local and nationally recognised artists. The investment will fund the appointment of a dedicated Audience Development Lead, statewide marketing campaigns, public programming, loyalty models and data-driven research to better understand and grow younger adult audiences.
- Audience Centred Touring (ACT) – A consortium strategy delivering more performances, to more people.
Audience Centred Touring (ACT) is a national consortium of regional presenters reimagining how touring connects with audiences. Through two core streams – structural reform and bespoke venue-based audience development plans – ACT embeds community-first strategies that align programming, marketing, and engagement. By shifting from product-centric to audience-centric touring, engaging audience development specialists, and embedding knowledge transfer, ACT builds local relevance, shared producer-presenter responsibility, and sustainable internal marketing capability. This project transforms national touring practice through collaboration, capacity-building, and a focus on long-term cultural impact
The consortium is led by The Art House Wyong, in partnership with Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre (WA), Orange Civic Theatre (NSW), Albany Entertainment Centre (WA), The Events Centre Caloundra (QLD), and Pilbeam Theatre Rockhampton (QLD). These regional presenters span three states, and serve diverse geographic, demographic, and cultural communities. Collectively, they bring decades of leadership in community engagement, audience development, and national touring. Each presenter is a significant local cultural institution, delivering high-quality live performance, engaging with their communities to grow audiences and drive social impact.
We’d like to congratulate these organisations on this important result. We will be following their work over the next three years and ensure a platform for updates is available through our various online and in-person platforms.