Australia’s largest art gathering has kicked off in Dubbo, with Artlands organisers confident it will leave a lasting legacy in the city.
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The biennial ‘part conference, part festival’ – co-presented by Regional Arts NSW and Regional Arts Australia – was officially launched at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre on Thursday afternoon.
Regional Arts Australia chair Kate Fielding said the event was a chance for conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing the regional arts sector.
“It’s a place to share ideas, it’s a place to talk about difficult things that might be going on but also our successes,” she said.
Ms Fielding’s home town of Kalgoorlie hosted Artlands two years ago.
She said she has seen its impact on the community first-hand.
“It changes the conversation about arts and culture,” she said.
“It engages a whole new set of people and organisations in arts and culture and it helps local artists and art organisations understand that they’re part of a really big national sector.
“A third of Australia’s population live in regional Australia. We’re a third of Australia’s artists, art organisations and audiences.”
Local artists were involved with the creation of the 2016 program, which features music, theatre, dance, exhibitions, installations, projections, outdoor performances and participatory events.
About a dozen partnerships and new projects came out of Artlands Kalgoorlie, Ms Fielding said, and she looked forward to seeing the impact of the 2016 event on Dubbo and western NSW.
“You guys have got such fantastic facilities here, a really strong arts and cultural community,” she said.
“It’s a really great way for arts and cultural communities in regional Australia to let the rest of the country know about what they have going on here.
“I know that people from all across Australia are going to love what they experience over the next few days, and that they’re going to leave talking about Dubbo.”
Visit www.artlands.com.au for the full program.