Proactive approach required on cultural diversity

Can major companies learn from a Melbourne artist’s hands-on approach to recruiting culturally diverse audiences?
[This is archived content and may not display in the originally intended format.]

Image supplied

Australian stages are far too white. It’s a fact the Australian performing arts industry has recognised, and is collectively trying to change. As STC Artistic Director Andrew Upton recently told ArtsHub: ‘The next big target area for the mainstage in Australia is getting the stories of diversity and cultural diversity, and not just the stories but the embodiment of them; the acting, the designing, the directing.’

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

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