You don’t need to be in Brisbane to see these performances!  Here are our top picks from their programme:

Famous extracts, linked by a modern, original narrative, spoken by a boy actor, who desperately wants to perform on the stage.

Will he get his wish? Meet Juliet, Cleopatra, the Mechanicals, Richard 3 and many others.

READ MORE

Promising to be one the most talked about events of 2012, BABEL will be a theatrical experience of truly epic proportions.

A spectacular show created for an outdoor London setting, BABEL is staged through a unique partnership between WildWorks and Battersea Arts Centre and will feature a cast of 500 community and professional actors and musicians.

READ MORE

The Alleyway Project is under four weeks away!

As part of the 2012 Anywhere Theatre Festival, the Alleyway Project is set in Fortitude Valley’s Winn Lane from 14 to 15 May.

Directed by Kat Henry (Orphans, Queensland Theatre Company), four short works written by four of Brisbane’s best upcoming playwrights Daniel Evans (Rabbit, Metro Arts), Dan Maloney, Eloise Maree and Maxine Mellor (author of Anna Robi & the House of Dogs, Brisbane Festival 2011’s Under the Radar) will come to life among the gritty and graffitied urbanscape of Winn Lane.

Get acquianted with interesting characters as the stories unfurl - watch out as it may feel a bit uneasy and a little all too familiar!  Think nights out in the Valley and moments mixed with youthfullness with an edge of danger.

For more info about The Alleyway Project, head to http://alleywayproject.blogspot.co.uk/ or read the rest of the Anywhere Theatre Festival programme here.

I sometimes wonder to myself as to whether digital’s capacity to both enable and disrupt a whole industry, the publishing industry, is magnified by my choice of Twitter followers, email subscriptions or Flipboard choices.

From my first step into the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London to my last on the third and last day, I was continually overwhelmed by the number and variety of exhibitors, companies and general activity of the event.  

First we have the major, global publishing houses - many of the names conjuring up memories from childhood to my life today.  It’s interesting how school (including universities) play a big role - for example, Random House for high school (young adult fiction), McGraw Hill for university, Hachette now (for the Steve Jobs biography and soon to be released The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling).  It was something that struck me as I don’t usually think about these publishing companies every day but their reach and role in my life has been vast even in the digital and social media space. 

Located in Earls Court 2 were the Digital Zone and the App Zone - two areas dedicated to digital.  What were my overall thoughts to this area?  I will let you know later on, but first, I have been coming across some excellent digital tools, services and websites for authors, publishers and distributors alike:

ZOO DIGITAL ARTS (see two examples above)

Zoo Digital deliver creative technology solutions to publishers entering the Ebook market.  I had a squiz of their work and was fairly impressed with them - particularly considering their background in interactive games.  Imagine that - interactive games and eBook?  Definitely a company worth having a look-in.

CASEMATE 

Global distribution services for eBooks

Casemate hones in on the demand for ebooks and the need for publishers to provide content in digital format.  They focus on conversion services (the transition from print to digital formats), vendor distribution (via agreements with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble), eBook distributors (i.e. Kobo)

LJINTERACTIVE.COM 

LJ Interactive provides digital services for publishers including social media strategy and campaigns, application development, and online community management.  They touch many aspects of the publishing process - from the publisher (via support, training), sales, PR and marketing, production, design and editorial.

BOOKBABY 

I first came across this service in San Francisco when I attended Macworld.  BookBaby is the destination targeted directly to the writers looking for a way to create eBooks. Authors receive 100% net sales revenue from BookBaby’s retail network encompassing Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Kobo.  

KOBO 

Kobo is not only an eReading platform and catalogue spanning 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers but their eReaders (the Kobo Touch and Kobo Vox) look really good as well.

Read the rest of the exhibitor profiles at here.

THE APP ZONE

This zone sponsored by Nook and in partnership with Wireless Industry Partnership enables developers with access to The London Book Fair via events, networking zones and the a dedicated space to meet publishers, authors, e-retailers and more.  If you are an app developer, WIP is worth having a look through.

London Book Fair is the global marketplace for all things publishing with a focus on business-to-business exhibitions, and stalls covering many aspects of content creation, distribution across multiple platforms (audio, digital, ebook, print).  With more than 400 seminars and events, 1500 international exhibiting companies and 24500 publishing professionals, this is one of the place to be when you are in the publishing industry and looking to get into the UK and wider EU market.

The Australian Publishers Association at London Book Fair

There was an Australian presence there, most visibly was the Australian Publishers Association which had their own stall.  Numerous independent publishers from various states banded together to be represented underneath this industry association - Scribe Publications, Peppinot Press, OPUS Group, NewSouth Books and NewSouth Publishing, Melbourne University Publishing, Green Olive Press, and Arbon Publishing.  They were located in the ‘country’ section of Earls Court 2 alongside the publishing and creative industry representatives all over the EU from Romania to Russia, presence from the Arab world (Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority, the Sharjah International Book Fair) and Asia (Hong Kong, and the China trade market focus).  Some of the visual highlights from their stall is below:

Left: Kevin’s Very First Adventure is a delightful tale about the joy of making new discoveries and a wonderful introduction to the characters of the Australian bush. Written and illustrated by talented debut writer Kristine Locket. Publisher: Green Olive Press.

Tea with a twist is a delightful reflection on tea: its ceremonies and traditions, its place in history and the important position in our hearts that tea still occupies today. Author: Alice Parsons. Publisher: Green Olive Press

Other Australian exhibitors included Allen & Unwin, the Australian Licensing Corporation, the Australian Self Publishing Group, Blake Publishing, The Drummond Agency, Ebooks Corporation Ltd, The File Mile Press, Global Book Publishing, Hinkler Booka, The Images Publishing Group, The Choicemaker Pty Ltd (Sydney office) and The Text Publishing Company.

In terms of Australian visibility at the London Book Fair, I feel that more could be done to make it obvious and to create a stronger presence.  For example, Russia had a really great publication, silver-cover, heavy (makes you want to put it on your coffee table!) outlining Russian literary culture in general.  The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority not only had a very visual presence with their stall but also marketing and promotions collateral that makes it easy for non-residents to pick up and learn more about their literary culture such as a mini newspaper providing a backgroun on the Arab Book industry.  I feel that in terms of the Australian presence, more could be done particularly for associations such as the Australian Publishing Association.  It terms of our place in the global market, the Queensland premier’s axing of the Queensland Literary Awards doesn’t help it at all.

INNOVATION AND R & D IN THE ARTS AND CULTURE

Written by Danielle Muir

Research and development in an ever-changing industry such as the Arts is not something that a new concept, but rather one that requires more attention and support. Hasan Bakshi, former Economist and now Director of Creative Industries at the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), is committed to funding new ideas, and shared his thoughts on how to progress in the seminar Innovation and R & D in the Arts and Culture.
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Bakhshi established the broad term of innovation as being an “idea successfully applied”. This is a description I agree with; however to me it is a new idea. Some act, knowledge or thought that when acted upon, starts or furthers progress successfully. This was re-iterated by his next comment in regards to the arts sector, that “every new work is an innovation”. Therefore it’s the duty of arts organisations to encourage innovation – an obvious sentiment, otherwise the industry remains static. This was the inspiration for the Digital R & D Fund for Arts and Culture, a project designed by NESTA - Bakhshi’s independent company that invests in fresh ideas and new developments in the creative industries.

Using predetermined criteria, NESTA funded initiatives such as the BAC Centre’s Scratch Program and The Sage Gateshead music venue, each given the resources and support to put their ideas into practice.

Bakhshi expressed that there were complaints about the decision to invest in companies already funded, such as the London Symphony Orchestra’s mobile marketing initiative over other applicants with already limited funds. With this move, NESTA has taken the bold but ultimately logical approach - in order to be truly innovative, one must put the idea with the most perceived potential above all other factors. That is essentially the point of research and development, period.

One of the four dimensions of innovation pertained to audience reach – how to target a new market or reinvigorate an existing one in order to increase numbers. The case study presented was that of the Royal National Theatre’s cinema experiment. In a bold new move for the National Theatre, a performance of Phedra was performed, filmed and broadcast to over 70 cinemas across the UK. The initiative was a resounding success, as audience numbers doubled and revenue rose. This concept has already extended to Australia, and most certainly to Brisbane, as I recalled the Opera and Ballet program playing recently at Palace Cinemas.
The main sentiment I took from Bakhshi’s seminar was that, as always, it simply takes one idea, and someone to put stock in that idea, to make a serious impact upon innovation, and provide new methods to approach research and development. Like NESTA, it only takes one Australian organisation to offer guidance and funds to projects in order for others to follow. The Australian arts and creative industries should take note – this is how true innovation is discovered.

Thanks Adelaide for an amazing trip!

I booked a trip to Adelaide from 1 to 8 March and have just missed out on APAM, the Australia Performing Arts Market, a huge event (part booth/tradeshow, part festival with performances aimed at industry).  Luckily I was able to attend the last portion of the event which included the final day for performing industry booths and a performance by talented group My Darling Patricia.  While I was unable to attend the whole event (you can see a list of writeups below this entry) it was a good introduction and a peek behind the scenes of the performing industry which share similarities with, believe it or not, angel and venture capital pitches for startups in other creative industries events that I sat in (such as creative3).

Visual Diary (Booth Stalls Only)

A snapshot (according to the structure ratio) of a work by regional VIC company Bambucco.

Promotional material from the Darwin Festival and ArtbackNT booth. One of the postcards is from the Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui show that is available for touring. They are actively seeking partners and presenters for a national tour first half of 2013.

The Arts Victoria booth

Cinars will be holding the 15th performing arts biennial in Montreal. Founded 1984 as a platform to encourage and support export of performing arts. This is not to be missed for international networking opportunities with 1000 participants, 40 countries, 270 presenters, 250 representatives. One of artists in the booth is Le Vent du Nord who are performing at the Brisbane Powerhouse later this year.

New Zealand presence from various arts and cultural leaders and producers at an APAM booth

APAM 2014, 2016 and 2018 in Brisbane

The Australia Council for the Arts led the announcement of Brisbane holding the 2014, 2016 and 2018 events.  Below is an excerpt from the announcement:

“Our consultation revealed a desire to extend the focus of APAM on buying and selling to include collaborations, partnerships and long term exchange. We want to ensure the market remains a strong attractor and springboard for international opportunities for Australian arts,” says Rose Hiscock, Australia Council’s Executive Director of Arts Development. “Brisbane Powerhouse responded to our tender with a compelling vision for the next three market places.”

A significant shift in future APAMs is a greater emphasis on the place of Australian arts and our region in a global context. Future APAMs will be a market, a festival and an exchange.

“The exchange will go beyond promoting individual performances to international presenters,” says Rose. “It will set out to deepen their interest and knowledge in the contemporary performing arts of Australia and its neighbors – not only selling individual shows, but also building a deeper relationship with Australia and its region.”

Booth stallholder response to the new Brisbane city location?

When I browsed through the booths, I had in mind what the effect would be on APAM being held at its new location and what it means for the arts and creative industries in Brisbane and the wider Queensland region.  This will be held at the same time as the World Theatre Festival with both events leveraging each other in terms of marketing, promotions and the interstate/overseas/intercity trips within those in the industry.

What thrilled me the most was the international presence at APAM which is evident by the delegates and organisations involved.  

Related Links

Artery: Thanks Adelaide, APAM 2012 Best Ever

Kathy Keele APAM 2012 Speech

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island performing arts companies spotlighted at APAM 2012

South Australian Artists and Designers Showcased at the 10th Annual Performing Arts Market

Border Crossing Blog: Why don’t we have an APAM? 

ABOUT THE EVENT

Presented by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation 

For many years, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) has led the world in developing rigorous innovation frameworks for policy, programs and evaluation of arts and cultural activity. As Director, Creative Industries, in NESTA’s Policy and Research Unit, Hasan Bakhshi has been instrumental in much of this work, which he has also extended in his role as Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation. In this address, Hasan will review NESTA’s strategies, and policy and program ‘experiments’ and initiatives, which have sought to embed innovation thinking into arts and culture policy and practice.

Hasan Bakhshi is Director, Creative Industries in NESTA’s Policy & Research Unit and Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology. An extended bio is available here.

WHERE
The Glasshouse
Queensland University of Technology
Creative Industries Precinct, Z2 Level 4
Kelvin Grove

WHEN
Monday, 19 March

SCHEDULE
4.30 - 6.00 Innovation in the Arts, Hasan Bakhshi
6.00 - 7.00 Tapas + drinks

HOW TO RSVP
RSVP is essential. Please follow the attend link here