Sing, dance, play, act: Policy helps put SA talent in the spotlight

South Australia’s first 10-year cultural policy, A Place to Create, will help ensure the state’s booming arts sector will continue to evolve, grow and thrive.

Alberton Preschool children enjoy a peforrmance by Adelaide Guitar Festival artistic director Slava Grigoryan and Kelly Mehennett, with centrED education manager Renee Gibson watching on. Picture: Shaun Li

A 10-year cultural policy will help ensure South Australia’s arts, cultural and creative industries thrive throughout the next decade.

CreateSA executive director Clare Mockler says the recently-released policy – titled A Place to Create – is backed by an $80 million State Government investment to help support these sectors within the state.

“South Australia has a long and proud history of being national leaders when it comes to arts, culture and creative industries and having a 10-year policy builds on this,.” she says.

“Its purpose is to enrich South Australia’s future by strengthening our communities, enlivening our places and connecting us through arts, culture and creativity.

“It supports more artists and creatives to thrive and will ensure our state’s arts organisations, creative businesses and cultural institutions are robust and sustainable for the future.

“This policy underscores the Government’s commitment to the arts as central to South Australians’ quality of life and collective identity – and sits as a companion to the state’s Economic Statement.”

Speaking during a brief visit to the Adelaide Festival Centre – which is in the midst of a comprehensive $35.5 million upgrade – Mockler says key funding initiatives include a $2.5 million injection to “kickstart” opportunities for children and young people to develop their creativity and more than $2.3 million in investment into First Nations arts and culture in SA.

CreateSA executive director Clare Mockler at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Picture: Russell Millard

She says much-loved established events such as the Adelaide Fringe and the recent Chihuly glass exhibition at the Adelaide Botanic Garden – are all part of the rich cultural landscape that plays a crucial role in South Australia.

“Evidence shows that a strong arts, culture and creative sector has a great impact on people’s mental health, their wellbeing and their community participation,” she says.

“It’s absolutely an essential part of the community’s social fabric.

“It allows people to get out, to celebrate, to think about who they are as South Australians – to be challenged about who they are and to hear different stories and experiences.”

Aside from helping shape South Australia’s cultural identity, the sector is also a billion-dollar economic driver.

“The economic contribution of the sector to the state is more than 10,000 creative businesses employing more than 15,000 people and contributing more than $1.8 billion to the state’s economy,” Mockler says.

“We know that people will visit South Australia for artistic and cultural experiences.

“We see that across many of our festivals and events – for example, WOMADelaide and Adelaide Festival to name just two – people will travel for artistic experiences.”

Mockler says a thriving arts industry has lasting benefits for all South Australians – now and in the future.

“Arts, cultural and creative industries create opportunities for young people to develop their creativity to become participants in our state’s future,” she says. “A thriving sector enhances the state’s global reputation and contributes to the international export of film, music, art, performance and more. It also attracts foreign and domestic investment, supports tourism and creates further motivation for migration.”

SA talent takes centre stage

A rising audience seeking a night out at the theatre is having an increasingly powerful impact on the state’s economy, creating employment not only for the actors on stage but a host of other workers.

State Theatre Company audiences have grown by almost 20 per cent in the past five years, with 50,000 people in Adelaide alone attending 130 performances in 2023-24.

The company’s nine seasons of work last financial year employed more than 140 artists, including 116 freelance actors, directors and designers as well as stage management, production and technical personnel.

However, touring productions nationally also is bringing money back to the state, with thousands more people attending seasons in theatres interstate.

Artistic director Petra Kalive says its play The Dictionary of Lost Words, for example, has had enormous success, with seasons at the Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne counting towards its more than 200 performances.

“I think it’s one of the few works that’s not a musical that’s gone on to over 200 performances,” she says.

“Not only is this work – and the works that we want to continue to create – creating work for actors in the state, but we’re providing an economic uplift for these actors for longer seasons.”

State Theatre Company of South Australia artistic director Petra Kalive at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Kalive says even when shows have only one or a few actors on stage, the “machine behind it is massive”.

“There’s a full workforce that helps to develop and deliver the show,” she says. “We’ve got full-time staff in the workshop – builders, prop makers, scenic designers, wardrobe costumers – but also, if a show is big, we will recruit casual employees.

“That’s also why I’m keen to continue to do large-scale works like The Dictionary of Lost Words so we can open up and continue to create pathways for young people to get trained up in these very skilled jobs.

“Casual contracts and larger shows give us the opportunity to see who’s out there and to train them.”

Kalive says its influence on the economy is also occurring outside theatres, with patrons often coupling their theatre visit with dinner, a pre-show drink or even a hotel stay.

“We know that those audiences who come into these theatres at night have such an impact on the night-time economy,” she says.

“We add $2 million to the night-time economy – we’re stimulating local business and we’re boosting tourism, creating employment and creativity and innovation to the state.

“The cultural and social factor of what we do can’t go unrecognised as well.

“What we do for the economy goes without saying, but it’s also the audiences that we reach, it’s the pathways that we create and the way that theatre is able to foster dialogue.”

Looking forward, the company anticipates its growing value will continue.

“There’s lots of other works that we’ve got in the pipeline that could be as impactful as something like The Dictionary of Lost Words and in this way, I think State Theatre Company is punching well above its weight compared to other theatre companies around the country – it’s really exciting,” she says.

“We’ve got this incredible talent pool of South Australian artists, actors, performers, musicians that I’d like to make sure stay in South Australia so I want to be creating work that celebrates their talent and then showcases them to Australia and the world.”

Next generation dreams big

South Australia’s heart of the arts is enhancing the learning experience for students throughout their school years when they are building their creativity skills.

Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED program, supported by the Department for Education, is also giving students greater access to artistic performers and performances to help them engage with and be inspired by the arts.

The centrED program co-ordinates workshops for students from preschool through to secondary school, complementing and linking what is taught at school with the artists and festivals that occur during the year.

It also hosts matinees for performances from home and visiting theatre companies, which can break down access barriers, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds or regional areas who may find it difficult to attend performances outside of school hours.

An Indian classical dance workshop with Apsaras Arts Adelaide – part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED program. Picture: Shaun Li

Renee Gibson, centrED’s education manager, says activities are held year-round at schools or on-site at the Adelaide Festival Centre while tours, work experience and traineeships also are available.

“We look at each festival and find the best ways we can curate the program to fit into the curriculum,” she says. “We’ll look at where there are gaps in engagement, in year levels or subjects and try to respond to those as well as work with teachers about what they’d be like to be able to do.”

Activities range from Adelaide Guitar Festival performers visiting preschools to Year 11 and 12 students embarking on the five-month, SACE-credited Class of Cabaret program, which culminates in their own performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Meanwhile, Asian-Australian relations and cultural understanding is fostered through workshops run during the OzAsia Festival, above.

“One of the national curriculum’s cross-curriculum priorities is Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia, so the OzAsia Festival is really valued by teachers because it gives students the opportunity to connect with Asian and Australian artists and creatives,” Gibson says.

School activities such as performances, exhibitions and interactive workshops also are a focus of the DreamBIG Children’s Festival.

“We very much believe all young people should have the opportunity to participate in the arts, not only because of the career benefits or artistic benefits but also those connections around wellbeing,” Gibson says.

“We receive a lot of feedback from teachers about the positive impact on wellbeing; attendance at school is increased because kids want to be able to participate; and by having philanthropy programs where we provide transport and free tickets to performances like Beauty and the Beast, we are making sure that all young people have the opportunity to learn, engage, feel inspired and have that transformative arts learning experience.”

Online centrED programs help schools and students engage when it is not logistically possible for activities to be held in person.

For centrED details: adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/learn or facebook.com/AFC.centrED

Originally published as Sing, dance, play, act: Policy helps put SA talent in the spotlight