The art we’re not seeing

Performing artists and companies from Europe, the UK and North America still dominate our touring stages: do we have a cultural blind spot where other regions are concerned?
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Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena Dance Company will perform Dancing for the Gods at the 2015 Sydney Festival 

While rich in works from around the world, the programs of our international arts festivals tend to be dominated by productions and artists from Europe, the UK, the USA, Canada, and increasingly, Asia. So too are the programs presented at our major performing arts centres, including Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

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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