The Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM 2018) officially opened today at Brisbane Powerhouse, an event that has brought an influx of visitors to the city – shining a light on Australian arts and culture.
APAM is Australia’s leading internationally focused industry event for contemporary performing arts and will be held from 19 to 23 February. More than 670 delegates from 39 countries will be warmly welcomed onto country through song, story and dance, and celebrating Australia’s oldest living culture. They will witness extraordinary contemporary performing artists and companies present 46 Australian and New Zealand showcases (31) and pitches (15).
“Since the Council established APAM more than 20 years ago it has grown to become one of Australia’s leading performing arts platforms, attracting more than 1200 influential Directors, Executives, Creatives, Associate Producers, CEOs, General and Program Managers, Artists and Agents from around Australia and the globe,” said Tony Grybowski, Australia Council CEO.
“This is the third time we have partnered with Brisbane Powerhouse on this signature event, which is a key part of our commitment to showcasing vibrant new Australian art and investing in the capacity of the sector to reach new markets.”
APAM will host over 265 Australian and New Zealand artists and companies across the range of performing arts genres, who will present or pitch their work to festival directors, venue managers and program executives from around the world to find touring partners and investors to take their shows to audiences in Australia and overseas.
This will include renowned Sydney hip hop dance artist and choreographer Nick Power’s work Between Two Cities; a hilarious and deeply moving work about family, language and culture from acclaimed Australian actor Jimi Bani and Queensland Theatre; leaders in contemporary circus Casus showcase their work Driftwood in a dazzling journey of explosive encounters, hidden looks and humorous discoveries, while All The Queens Men’s The Coming Out Ball blends showbiz bells and whistles, community celebration, heartfelt storytelling dinner and dancing.
At the opening event guests were given the opportunity to experience one of the free events on offer to the general public during this week long industry event. String Symphony, a large-scale interactive performance installation, hand-woven using more than one kilometre of rope uses puppetry to explore connection, community and collaboration.
Another free evening event for general public access will be A Night Across Asia (Thursday 22 February ), with performances by SsingSsing (Korea) , Senyawa (Indonesia) and Hiroaki Umeda (Japan) on the Turbine Platform, Brisbane Powerhouse.
France), Tanz in August (Germany), National Arts Centre (Canada) and China Shanghai International Arts Festival will join Brisbane Powerhouse Artistic Director Kris Stewart at one of the most popular activities at the market. A series of curated ‘Talking Circle’ sessions also provide participants the chance to uncover exciting and up-to-date information about topics and regions relevant to their interests and touring objectives.
Kris Stewart said Brisbane Powerhouse was once again proud to be hosting APAM – Australia’s leading biennial industry event for contemporary performing arts, showcasing the very best performances from Australian and New Zealand.
“APAM 2018 is the only arts market that provides international presenters with the opportunity to see and find out about contemporary performance works by Australian and New Zealand arts companies and independent artists,” said Mr Stewart. ” It showcases new Australian performances including First Nations and provides an opportunity to collaborate and secure tours that will wow national and international audiences.”
APAM 2018 continues to 23 February. For more information, visit: www.performingartsmarket.com.au for details.
Image: Spare Parts Puppet Theatre presents String Symphony – photo by Luke Baker