Patternmakers

27/06/2024

What do dance school enrolments tell us about the future of dance in Australia?

In 2023, we were commissioned by The Australian Ballet (TAB) and The Australian Ballet School (ABS) to conduct research into participation pathways for Australian dancers. The goal was to understand how the pandemic had affected enrolments, and the level of diversity in the talent pipeline for professional dance.

560 stakeholders, including dance teachers, studio owners, students and parents of students, participated in this project, and many expressed support for change in the dance industry.

Swipe through for the key insights, and get the full story in our Fact Sheet, including statistics around enrolment, diversity of participation, and areas of opportunity within the dance sector.

Download the Fact Sheet: https://lnkd.in/ggKSJGvJ

Thank you to The Australian Ballet and The Australian Ballet School for making this project possible, as well as each of the participants in this research, who took the time to contribute to this study, and the organisations involved.

20/06/2024

When artist and curator Jiva Parthipan was exploring sites of flowing water for the immersion of ashes of a family member as per Hindu tradition, he began researching the Georges River. Parthipan was struck by its many histories - from its significance for traditional owners to local refugee communities – and began exploring the potential of a Community Arts and Cultural Development project.

The resulting work, ‘The River Project’, in collaboration with STARTTS, is grounded in contemporary arts practice, and serves as a platform for engagement with Dharug, Mandaean, Hindu, and Anglo-Australian artists and communities.

Stemming from its CACD approach, the project included community consultation, participation, relationship building and creative project co-development, exploring the rich traditions of place-making along the Georges River in Casula NSW.

We’ve recently launched a new digital resource, titled ‘When Art Sparks Change’ exploring CACD (Community Arts and Cultural Development), a specialist artform where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. The resource collates a selection of four local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists.

Head to the resource to learn more about The River Project: https://patternmakers.shorthandstories.com/art-sparks-change/case-studies-of-cacd/case-study-the-river-project/index.html

Thank you to Jiva Parthipan and STARTTS for this excellent example of cultural curation, each of the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and Creative Australia for their assistance with this project.

STARTTS & Jiva Parthipan: The River Project Multicultural rights | Cultural curation | Placemaking | Connection When artist and curator Jiva Parthipan was exploring sites of flowing water for the immersion of ashes of a family member as per Hindu tradition, he began researching the Georges River. Pa...

12/06/2024

When South Australian arts organisation Carclew continued to hear criticism among their young regional participants about the lack of relatable or relevant stories to engage with, they decided to devise a CACD project to meet the demand.

Over eight days, emerging regional writers aged 18-26 from across Australia gathered to learn, connect and write, mentored by leading Australian playwrights. Each participant generated and refined a short monologue for teenage performers.

The result was 'This Was Urgent Yesterday', a collection of published single-actor scripts, as well as a range of facilitated youth-led creative responses, presentations, and publicly accessible education tools.

We’ve recently launched a new digital resource, titled ‘When Art Sparks Change’ exploring CACD (Community Arts and Cultural Development), a specialist artform where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. The resource collates a selection of four local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists.

Head to the resource to learn more about This Was Urgent Yesterday: https://patternmakers.shorthandstories.com/art-sparks-change/case-studies-of-cacd/case-study-this-was-urgent-yesterday/index.html

Thank you to Carclew for this wonderful work uplifting young regional voices, each of the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and Creative Australia for their assistance with this project.

Carclew: This Was Urgent Yesterday Youth | Regional isolation | Storytelling | Representation When South Australian arts organisation CARCLEW continued to hear criticism among their young regional participants about the lack of relatable or relevant stories to engage with, they decided to devise a C...

06/06/2024

In response to news reports detailing that Australian LGBTIQ+ elders were ‘getting back into the closet’ after reaching retirement age - artist, activist and producer Tristan Meecham began exploring new ways of celebrating and promoting the visibility of LGBTIQ+ community members in their ageing years.

Following 18 months of development with artists and local LGBTIQ+ elders, All The Queens Men hosted the inaugural Coming Back Out Ball, first taking place in 2017 at Melbourne Town Hall.

The LGBTIQ+ community-driven project that facilitates pride and connection amongst LGBTIQ+ elders over 65, is a carefully designed cultural event that takes the form of a lavish party to create and reinforce its community.

We’ve recently launched a new digital resource, titled ‘When Art Sparks Change’ exploring CACD (Community Arts and Cultural Development), a specialist artform where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. The resource collates a selection of four local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists.

Head to the resource to learn more about The Coming Back Out Ball: https://patternmakers.shorthandstories.com/art-sparks-change/case-studies-of-cacd/case-study-the-coming-back-out-ball/index.html

Thank you to All The Queens Men for this wonderful work, each of the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and Creative Australia for their assistance with this project.

All The Queens Men: The Coming Back Out Ball LGBTIQ+ justice | Visibility | Performance | Ageing positively In response to news reports detailing that Australian LGBTIQ+ elders were ‘getting back into the closet’ after reaching retirement age - artist, activist and producer Tristan Meecham began...

05/06/2024

Have you engaged with a National Gallery of Australia, Canberra touring exhibition? Whether that be the Terminus VR experience, the Know My Name: Australian Women Artists exhibition or Patricia Piccinini's Skywhales, we want to hear from you.

In June 2024, we're working with the National Gallery of Australia and galleries around Australia, launching a survey of Australian visitors to touring exhibitions. We want to know what touring exhibitions resonate with you - and how Australian communities can get even more value from access to the national collection.

This short survey only takes 10-15 minutes, and by participating, you can enter the draw to win one of 3 x $200 Mastercard e-giftcards.

Learn more about the project and take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/g5hqC3QE

Image: Various works by Andrew Snelgar, Ngemba people, 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony Touring Exhibition, installation view, University of Queensland Art Museum

30/05/2024

During the lockdowns of 2021, a CACD project was emerging on Zoom. Arts organisation Milk Crate Theatre was presenting a series of virtual character development workshops for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

The facilitators noticed a small group of repeat participants deeply engaged in building their characters, and saw the potential for a new production.

The result was DUST, a performance work that created lasting change, not just for its participating artists, but for over 500 audience members.

We’ve recently launched a new digital resource, titled ‘When Art Sparks Change’ exploring CACD (Community Arts and Cultural Development), a specialist artform where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. The resource collates a selection of four local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists.

Head to the resource to see how Milk Crate Theatre used devised theatre to facilitate social inclusion for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness: https://patternmakers.shorthandstories.com/art-sparks-change/case-studies-of-cacd/case-study-dust/index.html

Thank you to Milk Crate Theatre for this wonderful work, each of the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and Creative Australia for their assistance with this project.

Milk Crate Theatre: DUST Homelessness | Devised theatre | Social inclusion During the lockdowns of 2021, a CACD project was emerging on Zoom. Arts organisation Milk Crate Theatre were presenting a series of virtual character development workshops for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness...

22/05/2024

All around Australia, artists are sparking social change, working with communities to tell their stories, tackle big issues and create common ground.

You may be familiar with Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD), a specialist art form where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. However, many Australians are not. Research shows that of all the artforms, our population has a particularly limited understanding of the benefits of CACD.

This new resource launching today collates a selection of local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists. As Australia grapples with a civic crisis, their work has never been more needed.

Head to the resource to see why we think CACD projects deserve a bigger profile, and dive into:
- How Milk Crate Theatre used devised theatre to facilitate social inclusion for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness
- How All The Queens Men curated a lavish party to facilitate pride, celebration and visibility for LGBTIQ+ elders
- How Carclew addressed isolation amongst youth in regional South Australia through facilitating the opportunity for emerging young writers to develop their own monologues
- How Jiva Parthipan and the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) engaged with place-making and cross-cultural understanding through a creative experience along the Georges River in Casula NSW

Spoiler: the impacts are profound.

Click the link below and scroll through the digital resource: 'When Art Sparks Change'.

Resource: https://patternmakers.shorthandstories.com/art-sparks-change/

Thank you to Creative Australia for their assistance, the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and to the many partners involved in each of the projects profiled.

When Art Sparks Change STARTTS & Jiva Parthipan's The River Project. STARTTS & Jiva Parthipan's The River Project. All around Australia, artists are sparking social change, working with communities to tell their stories, tackle big issues and create common ground. Community Arts and Cultural Develop...

21/05/2024

Patternmakers is pressing pause for a three-month break in late 2024.

We’ve been head down for 8 years, producing audience research, impact evaluation and market insights work – and it’s time to come up for air. We want to take stock of everything we’ve learned, have a good look at what’s needed next, and how we can best serve the causes we care about moving forward.

I have a milestone birthday coming up too, and a road trip is calling me! The bottom line is we’re scaling back operations over the next few months, and our office will be closed between 16 August and 16 November.

It's not exactly a unique idea, but if you're interested, here's something I wrote about the decision to slow things down and plan a short break!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thinking-fast-slow-tandi-palmer-williams-ydm9c/

29/04/2024

Archie Moore has made history, becoming the first Australian ever to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

His exhibition ‘kith and kin’, curated by Ellie Buttrose and commissioned by Creative Australia, transformed the walls of the Australia Pavilion into a monumental First Nations genealogical chart spanning 65,000 years of history.

A product of intensive research and months of hand-drawing this expansive family tree in chalk, Moore visualises a narrative of Indigenous sovereignty, kinship and connection, the fragility and loss of an occluded past, and the possibility of recovery.

Swipe for installation shots of ‘kith and kin’, photographed by Andrea Rosetti. Explore the exhibition here: https://www.kithandkin.me/

23/04/2024

Recently, we’ve seen several of Australia’s music festivals announce cancellations, citing challenges such as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, poor ticket sales, extreme weather events, regulatory changes and rising operational costs. It’s a concerning trend, considering how important music festivals are to Australia’s live music sector.

Creative Australia has taken the initiative to better understand these barriers for Australian music festivals. Their new research report ‘Soundcheck: Insights into Australia’s music festival sector’ provides a comprehensive overview of the scope and scale of the industry, as well as insights into the social, cultural and economic impacts of music festivals.

Click below to read the report, and learn more about patterns of later ticket buying, the drop in youth attendance at festivals and rising operational costs.

Report:

...

09/04/2024

AI, and its strengths, weaknesses and the possible role it will play in our sectors in the future, is a hotly debated topic right now. Analytical AI and Generative AI are currently proving their value in areas of data analysis and the creation of text and image content, at a speed that surpasses humans.

As a result, many are questioning whether there are any areas where humans can truly outshine machines.

Toygun Yilmazer led a session at SXSW earlier this year, tackling this very concern. He posits that humans have the edge over AI to grasp the dynamic and ever-changing nature of culture, claiming that AI cannot make courageous decisions for an unpredictable future in the way that we can.

Listen to his session where he draws from his expertise in the field of cultural intelligence, and his passion for AI and creativity, to demonstrate this human edge over AI: https://lnkd.in/gs6VrYAG

Look out for more geeky news like this in our monthly newsletter — head to our last post for the latest issue!

04/04/2024

'A Case for Connection', our latest newsletter, is out now. We've packed it full of resources from the sector that highlight the value of connection, whether it be with community, culture, memory or with audiences.

In this issue, we share:
- Our article on two of our regional creative sector mapping projects we have underway with Arts Mid North Coast and Arts Northern Rivers
- Centre for Cultural Value's research on the impacts of lifelong cultural engagement
- A SXSW session by Toygun Yilmazer illustrating the human edge over AI when it comes to creativity
- Ipsos Digital and Effie UK's research on the power of nostalgia in marketing
- Capacity Interactive's digital priorities for 2024
- Data by Content Marketing Institute on the value of producing video content for businesses
- Eatbigfish and Adam Morgan's podcast series on the art of making things interesting

If any of the above piques your interest, check out the update here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-connection-patternmakers-tvuec/?trackingId=rnBvYkd2GxcFHHMRwDsInQ%3D%3D

Be sure to subscribe to get the news straight to your inbox every month: https://lnkd.in/g9bvBBF6