Why it always feels like the festive season

Our major festivals are increasingly finding themselves in competition with the growing number of festivals initiated by arts centres.
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Pichet Klunchun’s Dancing With Death at Asia TOPA; photo by Nattapol Meechart

In 1973, when the Adelaide Festival Centre – Australia’s first multi-purpose arts centre – opened in June, followed a few months later by Sydney Opera House, the role of such buildings was clear: they were to host the best in international performance and showcase the work of leading local, usually resident companies.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts