Capturing the nerd audience

The mainstreaming of geek culture means the arts are now targeting the disposable income of a once-derided demographic.
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<p>The mainstreaming of geek culture means the arts are now targeting the disposable income of a once-derided demographic.

Once upon a time, nerds were uncool. Memorising lines of dialogue from The Lord of the Rings, playing Dungeons & Dragons, publically expressing your love for Doctor Who; these were activities that resulted in ostracism and ridicule.

Somewhere in the past 30 years, all that changed, thanks in part to the internet making once obscure information freely available. Now, our elite orchestras perform the soundtracks of The Lord of the Rings films to full houses; Vivid Sydney attracts massive crowds with its Doctor Who projections; and theatre productions about nerds’ battles with bullies and self-doubt receive critical acclaim and multiple Helpmann Award nominations.  

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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