Building cultural capacity outside the CBD

To grow the arts outside the major capital cities, we need to grow the community’s capacity to support and sustain artists.

Artists across the country often face a particular and poignant struggle: do they stay in the place they know and love, despite the lack of creative opportunities which exist in their home town, or move to one of our major capitals, where infrastructure, opportunities and audiences are easier to find?  

Developing cultural capacity in regional centres and smaller cities is one solution to such a conundrum.

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