Regional Arts Partnership Program

Connect to the Creative Grid enhances social, cultural and economic vibrancy in communities across all nine regions of Western Australia through an innovative series of interconnected activities that build capacity across the regional visual arts sector and provide residents access to a greater number of diverse and inclusive arts and cultural opportunities.

This state-wide initiative is made possible through the evolution of the ‘The Creative Grid’ (an unprecedented collaboration of more than forty regional arts organisations and galleries) working in partnership with peak arts organisations and the newly formed advocacy organisation, Galleries WA.

When you ‘Connect to the Creative Grid,’ regional artists, arts workers and arts organisations will access industry best-practice resources such as digital document toolkits and video training modules customised to the unique needs of regional WA.  These will be integrated with professional development workshops, mentorships, internships and program evaluation services.

Newly acquired skills will be applied to the development and presentation of the largest suite of interconnected solo and group exhibitions ever attempted within WA. Each show will be value-added by community engagement programs that connect regional residents to individual creativity, collective place-making and cultural expression/transmission.

The project’s ongoing legacy is the formation of a regional exhibition network enabling communities to exchange exhibitions, engagement guidelines and ideas that continue to enrich regional vitality, sustainability and liveability.

Contact Details

• Name: Fiona Sinclair
• Email: info@southernforestarts.com.au
• Follow: Facebook | Website

You can read how this project was formed here – Co-creating the RAPP: What it looked like from inside | Part one

Cultural Futures – Next Generation Leadership is a capacity building initiative centred on a creative expressions project inspired by our Aboriginal cultural connectedness.

Focused on community engagement, creative vibrancy and a connection for learning, this initiative is a pilot program that aspires to support the growth of sustainable Aboriginal arts and cultural enterprises across Western Australia.

The initiative will pilot a project for the capability development of Aboriginal artists, arts-workers and Arts Centres focused on a framework of key components and activities. The project will deliver opportunities for professional development, skills acquisition and networking opportunities to inspire and empower next generations to take leading roles as artists and arts- workers.

Underpinning the project is recognition of the cultural needs and values of Aboriginal people and the importance of Aboriginal Arts Centres as keeping-places of cultural knowledge, support hubs for a community’s social and cultural well-being, and as providers of employment opportunities in the creative and cultural industries throughout regional and remote Australia

Partnering with AACHWA (Aboriginal Arts Centres Hub Western Australia) the 8 geographically diverse art centres of Waringarri Aboriginal Arts and Warlayirti Artists in the Kimberley Region, Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in the Goldfields, Juluwarlu and Martu Mili in in the Pilbara, Yamaji Arts and Northampton Old School in the Mid-West and Papalungkaja Artists in the Western Desert will collaborate to support each other and the sustainable development of the Western Australian Aboriginal Art Centre industry as a whole.

Contact Details

• Name: Chad Creighton
• Email: ceo@aachwa.com.au

You can read how this project was formed here –  Co-creating the RAPP: What it looked like from inside | Part two

May We Have this Dance? is a Contemporary Dance & Performance collaboration between three WA regions. Encompassing elements of community cohesion, audience development, community performance, community engagement, networking and artistic development this ground-breaking project, headed by Ausdance WA, works to address the needs of individual communities. Individually tailored programs have been devised by Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (Peel Region), Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council (Esperance Goldfields Region) and independent artists Annette Carmichael and Symantha Parr (Great Southern Region) to address the varied needs within their communities.

As the peak body for advocacy, promotion, participation and education for dance in WA, Ausdance WA will support the delivery of projects in each of the partnership communities.

Mandurah Performing Arts Centre will continue its vision of developing an understanding of professional contemporary dance practice in a regional setting and will engage, support and develop indigenous dance groups in the Peel Region.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council will host a series of professional dance residencies in the five towns surrounding Ravensthorpe to support and upskill local artists and youth, and to deliver performance and engagement opportunities.

Annette Carmichael and Symantha Parr will work in partnership to explore and develop an artistic collective and to address the challenges of access to space and access to professional dancers for experimental and developmental dance practice in a regional setting.

Cocreation and scoping for this program was coordinated by Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council, with sustainability of dance practice in all participating regions kept at the forefront.

You can read how this project was formed here –  Co-creating the RAPP: What it looked like from inside | Part three

Filmed and produced by JV Media and Gabrielle Major. Made exclusively for Rural Room – ruralroom.com

Contact Details

• Name: Charlotte Martin
• Email: po.wa@ausdance.org.au
•  Follow: Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council Dance Faceboook