The state’s peak performing arts academy has received a $30 million donation from Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s multibillion-dollar charity Minderoo, the largest donation to performing arts in the country’s history.
The philanthropic organisation’s 25-year partnership with the WA Academy of Performing Arts will bankroll the fitout of six public performance venues and two rehearsal theatres, including sound equipment and lighting.
Andrew and Nicola Forrest with John Hartman.
The donation also includes a $7 million endowment fund to attract global talent to teach its students.
WAAPA is set to relocate to Edith Cowan University’s new $853 million city campus, bringing 300 public performances per year to the CBD.
The campus is expected to draw more than 10,000 students and staff when it opens in 2026 and, it is hoped, will revitalise the one-hectare pedestrian thoroughfare connecting Northbridge to the central business district.
The academy has been a training ground for stars including Hugh Jackman, Frances O’Connor and Tim Minchin and is one of the country’s most respected drama schools.
During a press conference at the construction site on Monday, WA Premier Roger Cook voiced excitement to see this project progress.
“It’s going to be the new beating heart of the city, and these creative talents will sit alongside the mining corporates and really just bring a new dimension to the way this city operates,” he said.
“This partnership recognises the significance of the ECU city campus vision and will support a state-of-the-art new home for an already world-renowned WA Academy of Performing Arts.”
Minderoo chief executive John Hartman said the organisation saw the partnership as the ultimate game changer and an incubator of WA’s talented arts community.
“We truly believe that the arts can inspire hearts and minds, which is why we have been supporting the arts and community projects for over 23 years, including our proud partnership with WAAPA, a centre of excellence that punches well above its weight on the world stage,” he said.
“It’s not about just the new facilities, it’s about the stories that are told on these stages, providing rich experiences for the audience and those who sit in these theatres, and the kids that will be inspired.”
ECU vice-chancellor Professor Clare Pollock said the gift marked a new era in WAAPA’s future that would help to put Perth on the map as a cultural capital and leverage the investment made in the new campus.
The $8 billion philanthropic organisation founded by Andrew and Nicola Forrest has embarked on a host of initiatives in everything from early childhood education, research into ocean and plastics pollution and work against modern slavery.
Minderoo has provided humanitarian aid in Gaza and Ukraine and runs programs in 37 countries.
It has been more than a decade since the Forrests, who announced their separation in 2023, announced their intention to join the likes of entrepreneur Richard Branson and investor Warren Buffett in vowing to donate most of their wealth.
Earlier this month, the pair announced they had resigned as co-chairs of the organisation to dedicate more time to other ventures, including the decarbonisation of mining giant Fortescue.
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