Richard Watts, Author at ArtsHub Australia

Richard Watts

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 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. 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

Richard Watts's Latest Articles

A scene from Australian Theatre for Young People's 'The Last Train to Madeline'. Two young people silhouetted behind a hanging sheet, one female, one male, lean towards each other as if for a kiss. They sit on a stage dressed with artificial plants, a small television and other objects.

2026 season announcements: our rolling guide to the performing arts

Orchestras, recital centres, theatre companies and more: we're compiling a list of 2026 season announcements, to be updated regularly, for…

Richard Watts

Nov 28, 2025

A person draws circles of light in the air with a firework; they are faintly visible at its centre, surrounded by circles of light and dramatically flying sparks.

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Your weekly round-up of Australian arts sector appointments.

Richard Watts

Nov 24, 2025

The University of Queensland’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing. Three UQ students from a range of cultural backgrounds sit at an outdoor table discussing their work, with laptops, books and papers beside them.

How to hone a passion for writing into an industry-ready practice

The University of Queensland’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing provides writers of every medium with the skills and connections…

Richard Watts

Nov 19, 2025

From left, poet Judith Beveridge, winner of the Creative Australia Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature; and the Hard-Ons' Raymond Ahn, the co-recipient of the Creative Australia Don Banks Music Award. An older, fair-skinned woman with greying hair and wearing a floral blouse, stands smiling in front of a packed bookcase. An older Korean-Australian man with a closely trimmed goatee and grey hair framing his face, smiles at the camera against a black backdrop. He wears a black t-shirt. Creative Australia Awards 2026

Creative Australia Awards 2026 recognise arts practices from poetry to punk rock

Twelve artists – across disciplines including dance, literature, community arts and contemporary music – are recognised in this year’s Creative…

Richard Watts

Nov 19, 2025

Community members and dignitaries alike gathered for last week’s opening of the new Burnie Arts precinct. The photo is taken at the rear of an auditorium, looking towards the stage over many rows of seated patrons.

Burnie Arts opens after $20.5 million redevelopment

The redevelopment of the original 1976 civic centre was carried out while staff kept working in the building and exhibitions…

Richard Watts

Nov 18, 2025

A fair-skinned young woman wearing a black leotard performs a single handstand on a handstand cane. arts sector appointments

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Your weekly round-up of Australian arts sector appointments.

Richard Watts

Nov 18, 2025

NIDA Open Studios Senior Tutor Louise Birgan. The photograph depicts a fair skinned woman with shoulder length red hair and wearing blue demim overalls over a sleeveless white and blue striped t-shirt. She is sitting on stage at a table, holding a script and is dramatically backlit; rows of theatre seats are visible in the gloom behind her.

NIDA Open Studios: shaping unique artists through rigorous pre-professional training

Teaching artist Louise Birgan explains how NIDA Open Studio Programs prepare students for professional arts training and practice.

Richard Watts

Nov 13, 2025

A passenger jet's contrail draws a diagonal line across a blue sky, intersecting with a puffy cloud that runs vertically from the top to the bottom of the frame. arts sector appointments

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Your weekly round-up of Australian arts sector appointments.

Richard Watts

Nov 11, 2025

Joel Bray Dance's 'Garabari' features in the Blak Out program at Sydney Festival 2026.. Three First Nations people, two male-presenting and one female-presenting, pose dramatically on a smoky, yellow-lit back-lit stage. Sydney Festival 2026.

Sydney Festival 2026 celebrates 50 years of helping shape the city’s culture

Festival Director Kris Nelson discusses his inaugural Sydney Festival program, and looks to the future while celebrating the festival’s legacy.

Richard Watts

Nov 6, 2025

A parkour practioner dressed in basecall cap, yellow hoodie, black pants and white sneakers, leaps into the air in a tunnel which appears to be closed to traffic. Blue-white lights in a row along the tunnels walls receed into the distance, with the leaping body centred in the frame. the photo illustrates ArtsHub's weekly round-up of arts sector appointments.

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Your weekly round-up of Australian arts sector appointments.

Richard Watts

Nov 3, 2025

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