Why ‘suburban’ is no longer a dirty word

The evolution of our cities has resulted in the rise of arts centres in the very same suburbs that artists were once desperate to escape.

22 May 2019 12:00

Richard Watts

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Performing Arts

Bunjil Place in outer suburban Melbourne; a $125 million arts precinct that has attracted over 4.37 million visitors since opening in late 2017. Image supplied.

A love-hate relationship with suburbia has long been a defining trait of Australian art, although that relationship has evolved in recent years.

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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