Who is Sam Strong?
Recently I was described as ‘multi-hyphenate” which made me smile. I’ve always enjoyed wearing multiple hats and moving across different parts of the creative industries. So, I’ve been a practicing artist (theatre director and dramaturg), an artistic director (for companies like Queensland Theatre or Griffin), a Chair (of companies like Circa or Melbourne Fringe), and an executive director (at Creative Victoria).
What would you do differently from what you do now?
To keep the multi-hyphenate theme going, I started my working life as a lawyer before theatre directing won out. Occasionally I’ve wondered whether being a barrister and appearing in court is my unfinished business. But it’s always a brief flirtation. I could never give up working in the arts. I love it too much.
Who inspires you and why?
Anyone who makes art inspires me. Whatever the scale, it’s a courageous act of putting yourself out there into the world. And whatever the content, it’s a vital act of engaging with the world – reflecting on the past, commenting on the present, and imagining the future. Finally, while we don’t talk about it enough, it is so hard to make a career and a livelihood in the arts. Anyone who embraces that irrational choice deserves celebration and support.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I would give everyone the opportunity to be creative, because everyone has the right and the ability. The greatest evolution in the arts in the last few years has been what I call the ‘rise of the participatory’ – experiences that break down the divide between artist and audience. People can be changed by experiencing artworks. But people can be changed for good (thank you Wicked) by creating things themselves. The chance to engage a wider range of people in creativity is why I am at Gasworks. It’s the perfect place to build a home for creativity (which is our new vision).
Favourite holiday destination and why?
I’ve always preferred an active holiday. But less kayaking and more visiting galleries or restaurants. I spent a few days in Sydney recently. I lived there for years but had forgotten how fantastic it is. Of all Australian cities, Sydney has the greatest capacity to surprise – to keep throwing up things or places you haven’t encountered before.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
It’s the obvious answer, but Gasworks. There really is nowhere else like it. Nowhere else has the same range of spaces, activities, artforms or possibilities. Our recent Summer in the Glade event was a case in point. Even though it was about 10 degrees, we had over 2000 people here wandering through our resident artist studios, browsing markets, building things with their kids in our theatre, eating and drinking in the foyers, and engaging in a mass participation event of Christmas Carols (through a partnership with Lakeside community carols).
What are you currently reading?
I’m loving Evelyn Araluen’s second collection of poetry and prose: Rot. ‘Unique voice’ can be such a cliché in the arts, but I was knocked off my chair by Evelyn’s first work, Drop Bear. I’m also loving Karl Ove Knausgaard’s A Man in Love, especially his combination of profound inside and ferocious attention to everyday detail. It’s the second volume in a five-volume series so I think I might go ‘full Proust’ and read the rest of it straight away.
What are you currently listening to?
I’m in pre-production for a production of The Coronation of Poppea that I’ll be directing in July with Victorian Opera. So I’m listening to a lot of that, both recordings of the original Montiverdi but also the more modern re-orchestration we are using by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.
Happiness is?
Pre-production on any show I’m directing. It’s a delightful time when anything is still possible and you haven’t yet been confronted with too much practicality or what Anne Bogart calls ‘the violence of decision making’. Outside of work, happiness is doing anything with my 11-year-old son. Specifically, I love watching him play sport. I could do it forever. And we are playing more and more music together (he plays guitar and drums), which is so lovely.
What does the future hold for you?
Keeping on doing what I’m doing now – unlocking the potential and raising the profile of great organisations at the same time as continuing my artistic practice as a director. It’s such a privilege to create work for large audiences or to curate programs (especially a multi-artform space like Gasworks). They are both such rare opportunities that I feel a responsibility to make the most of them while I have them. Most importantly, I feel a responsibility to provide opportunities to others, to make wherever I am a home for creativity.
Sam is the Creative Director & CEO of Gasworks – a vital creative hub located in Albert Park that presents a year-round program of multi-art forms. For more information, visit: www.gasworks.org.au for details.
Image: Sam Strong – photo by Nicholas Coghlan