Can a new arts precinct put Karratha on the cultural map?

A major new arts precinct in the heart of the Pilbara demonstrates how the arts enrich community while also strengthening the WA touring circuit.

Image via www.wuyidoric.com.au

The value of a cultural centre is all too easily measured in monetary terms – $55 million in the case of the recently opened Red Earth Arts Precinct (REAP), a multi-function venue in Karratha, in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Of that $55 million, $26 million came directly from the City of Karratha, with additional funds supplied by the Australian Government’s National Stronger Regions Fund, the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program, corporate partners Woodside and Rio Tinto, and Lotterywest.

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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