Do artists change minds?

Asylum seekers, hate crimes, and same-sex parenting: Hot-topic performances aim to change attitudes but unless you get to diverse audiences, you are just preaching to the choir.
[This is archived content and may not display in the originally intended format.]

Publicity image for Member, supplied.

The arts have a key role to play in helping us consider new ideas, challenging our preconceptions, and coaxing us outside our comfort zones. But when we stage works exploring socially progressive or political themes, to what degree are we preaching to the choir rather than to audiences for whom such productions might actually be confronting, thought provoking, and potentially valuable?  

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