Fiona at the Australia Council of the Arts 2016 Marketing Summit
Regional Arts WA
Written by Fiona McCaul
On Thursday 9 and Friday 10 June 2016, I attended the Australia Council for the Arts Marketing Summit 2016: Valuing the Arts.
The Summit focus this year was apt for the current climate of arts funding and challenges this brings to so many organisations around Australia. Held in my home town of Adelaide at the National Wine Centre during the day, the Summit was solidly packed with information and presentation sessions. The opening panel discussion facilitated by James Valentine, this conversation delved into why artists should not undermine the value of their work, and suggests that ideas are our greatest currency. For insights from panellists Lisa Slade, Elizabeth Old, Sergio Brodsky and Nakkiah Lui, the full discussion
now available for viewing on the Australia Council of the Arts website.
Day one finished with the final sessions of the day at Tandanya, then an opportunity to mix, dabble is some arts practice and network with fellow delegates and presenters at this reception. Tandanya is Australia’s oldest Aboriginal owned and managed multi-arts centre and owned and managed by the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc.
The Summit presenters were diverse and interesting with some of the highlights for me being Sean Callanan of Chunky Media’s very practical advice about how organisations can get the most out of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, Alli Houseworth, founder and chief strategist at Method 121. Alli’s presentation could be a great interest to those of you in the regions who manage venues with foyer space that needs to be activated. Alli took us on a journey through some clever and inspiring activation in the U.S. and U.K. showing us how easy it can be, considering digital linkage a key part of this.
During the two days all delegates were invited to participate in dilemma workshops based on tendilemmas that were the biggest challenges people face in marketing in the arts. These workshops were presented and the outcomes are also posted on the website with the other presentations from the summit.
I found the event to be most worthwhile and let’s just say, I will be booking my registration to next year’s event!
