Tourism is big business for arts festivals, exhibitions and major performances but designing arts events to lure interstate visitors can be counterproductive.
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Writing and Publishing
Rose Hiscock hates cultural tourism. The Director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Powerhouse Museum, told a SAMAG seminar on Monday, ‘I am allergic to cultural tourism having made a career out of it. I think it is commodifying something that just is.’
With a room full of museum and event professionals eager to gleam that tip to successfully snagging the tourist dollar there might have been disappointment. But it was a different conversation that emerged and one that offered a more significant shift in psyche than a manual of ‘how tos’.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
