Exploring the dynamics of performance and location
by Helen Lancaster, Suzanne Kyte, Jennifer Craik, Huib Schippers. Brisbane: Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, 2010.
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Observing an apparent shift in the relationship between place and performance, Redefining Places for Art explores whether, how, why, and to what extent artists, administrators and audiences see place as an essential part of twenty-first century performance experience.
Using the vibrant emerging cultural life of Queensland as its principle site of investigation, the project focuses on six clusters of arts organisations, from 'flagship companies' to small regional arts initiatives. Between them, they represent a broad gamut of approaches: conventional theatre spaces, recommissioned industrial buildings, outdoor festivals, touring, and site-specific work.
Extensive interviews with artists and administrators, and an analysis of print sources and statistical data are complemented by focus group discussions with audience members throughout the State. This provides revealing insights into drivers and obstacles for striking a creative balance between place and performance, between tradition and innovation.
Important outcomes include an awareness of increasing desire among audiences to curate their own experiences, the search among artists and administrators to negotiate between production values and flexibility, and the realisation that arts policies and funding may not yet fully reflect the current dynamic relationship between place and performance.