Reflections on APAM 2018…
Excerpt from TNN Report (below) “Of course, everybody’s experience at APAM and similar events are unique. If you’d like to share your experiences of the 2018 APAM or other arts markets we’d look forward to hearing and sharing them. Some 2018 attendees raised concerns about how potential changes to APAM delivery might affect their market experience. This is particularly the case for those, often the independents or less established artists or companies, who are picking up market opportunities through the unprogrammed but equally important ‘informal’ channels over coffee, bathroom breaks, booth conversations, foyer introductions, or dance-floors.
The next three APAMS (2020, 2022 and 2024 ) now shift to Victoria where it is planned that Creative Victoria will deliver APAM through a a consortium of Victorian arts leaders and organisations as part of a ‘year-round marketplace aligned to key events and festivals, establishing an ongoing office to help broker connections with a global and national network of presenters, as well as platforms for live performances open to industry and public audiences’ (http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/news). As long as this new delivery continues to include a clearly defined market ‘foyer’ where our industry know they can collide and make important connections, it will be an exciting opportunity for Australian theatre.”
TNN’s APAM REPORT 2018
Firstly Theatre Network NSW would like to thank our stakeholders who submitted digital and hard copy material for Booth #10 at Australian Performing Arts Market 2018. You looked great and the booth had good visitation from international and national delegates. Some were specifically after work for young people, some were after touring opportunities or residencies, others simply wanted to find out more about TNN and how to become more connected.
Secondly we’d like to thank Create NSW for sharing the booth with Theatre Network NSW and giving NSW such a strong presence at the event. It was good to have such a busy and bustling booth positioned right outside the doors to the main events at the Sofitel. As one independent producer explained, ‘so much of what happens for me at APAM happens in the foyer’. Other booths reflecting our NSW presence included Ausdance, ARTour, Monkey Baa, and Intimate Spectacle.
Meetings, pitches, showcases, and provocative discussion are what make APAM jump. Whether at the Sofitel, Brisbane Powerhouse or Queensland Performing Arts Centre there was a frenzy of opportunities to exchange ideas and make partnerships as possible.
The NSW crowd included people, festivals or companies who have attended every APAM and every market elsewhere as well as first-timers or second-timers. Each had a different agenda and rightly so. First time attendees tend to soak up as much as they can and start to make connections with other attendees which they can follow up on later. Second time APAM’ers re-connect and start dipping their toe into the waters of selling, buying, partnering and seeing where it takes them. Stalwarts of APAM tend to have back-to-back meetings with pitches, showcases, while all the while engaging with their peers and colleagues. Of course there are no rules about how to engage with APAM.
TNN also enjoyed the Zoom-In sessions such as the Zoom-In on circus which generated some great conversations and actions. We also spent time meeting with our arts funding and policy agencies and learning about initiatives from other states and countries.
Of course, everybody’s experience at APAM and similar events are unique. If you’d like to share your experiences of the 2018 APAM or other arts markets we’d look forward to hearing and sharing them. Some 2018 attendees raised concerns about how potential changes to APAM delivery might affect their market experience. This is particularly the case for those, often the independents or less established artists or companies, who are picking up market opportunities through the unprogrammed but equally important ‘informal’ channels over coffee, bathroom breaks, booth conversations, foyer introductions, or dance-floors.
The next three APAMS (2020, 2022 and 2024 ) now shift to Victoria where it is planned that Creative Victoria will deliver APAM through a a consortium of Victorian arts leaders and organisations as part of a ‘year-round marketplace aligned to key events and festivals, establishing an ongoing office to help broker connections with a global and national network of presenters, as well as platforms for live performances open to industry and public audiences’ (http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/news). As long as this new delivery continues to include a clearly defined market ‘foyer’ where our industry know they can collide and make important connections, it will be an exciting opportunity for Australian theatre.
