Multicultural Australia and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) signed a multi-year partnership today, connecting the multicultural community in Queensland to opportunities in the arts.
The Connecting Through Arts partnership was launched with Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Leanne Linard, in attendance.
Multicultural Australia CEO, Christine Castley, said the partnership is a significant step in improving arts access and equity for the multicultural community across Queensland and will open doors for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“Our Connecting Through Arts partnership is an opportunity to transform the arts landscape in Queensland,” Ms Castley said.
“There is tremendous potential for our multicultural communities to enrich the Queensland performing arts landscape, and very real benefits if we create pathways and remove barriers for individuals from multicultural backgrounds – this is an exciting step forward to ensure that we are fully tapping into the significant and diverse talent that exists in our community.”
“We acknowledge the barriers that individuals from multicultural backgrounds face – this is the next step on the journey, where we co-design programs to address the barriers.”
Queensland Performing Arts Centre Chief Executive, John Kotzas, said accessibility is an essential consideration in creating a thriving arts culture for everyone.
“It is important that we work towards creating a sector that reflects the communities we serve and our state,” Mr Kotzas said.
“Our partnership with Multicultural Australia is a systematic and creative approach that will move us in the right direction.”
The QPAC and MA partnership will focus on engagement, participation, and experience. The launch of the MOSAIC Choir, which celebrates our cultural diversity through song, is one exciting project. The MOSAIC Choir will join a line-up of artists in QPAC’s 2023 Songs of Hope concert on 6 June in QPAC’s Concert Hall.
The concert raises funds and awareness for HEAL (Healing through Expressive Arts and Learning), a charity providing expressive arts therapies to young people from refugee backgrounds in Queensland.
The collaboration is also providing an exciting platform for the Changing the Conversation series – four stimulating events across the year that explore different dimensions of our cultural diversity. The theme for the first Changing the Conversation event in March was the First Nations Voice to Parliament, attracting a diverse audience of more than 700. Future Changing the Conversation events include Cultural and Human Rights in the Digital Age on 14 June at the QPAC Concert Hall (tickets currently on sale), Brave Conversations About Multiculturalism in August, and Creating Belonging Through Storytelling in November.
Additional exciting initiatives underway through the partnership include work placement opportunities, mentoring, translated performances and tours, and opportunities to connect the multicultural community with the broader cultural precinct at South Bank.
