Creating entry points for non-arts audiences

Converting the general public into arts lovers is everyone’s responsibility, and it’s an area in which festivals, with their range of free public events, can play a key role.
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A previous Brisbane Festival production, Santos City of Lights. Image supplied.

From fireworks displays and outdoor projections to free performances and concerts for the under-fives, Australia’s broad range of arts festivals not only provide audiences with a range of low-cost and easily accessible events – they also act as valuable opportunities to recruit new audiences to the arts.

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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