04 September 2013
South Australia is set to become an international epicentre for cultural and arts management education with the foundation of the Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership.
The Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and the University of South Australia have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Centre under a $1.8 million Federal Government grant to fund additional training and exchange programs in South Australia.
The Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership will provide the structure to deliver additional training and exchange programs announced by Senator for South Australia Penny Wong in August.
Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts, Chloe Fox says the new Centre will consolidate South Australia’s position as a national leader in the Asia-Pacific region not only in the arts and culture but also education.
"This agreement builds on South Australia's formidable strengths in the arts. It will also support our ongoing partnerships within the Asia Pacific region, such as the sister-state relationship with China's Shandong province,” Minister Fox says.
With a track record for delivering high quality performing arts and cultural events, the Adelaide Festival Centre has developed an international reputation for excellence for its programs dedicated to Australian and Asian cultural engagement – in particular the OzAsia Festival and the Moon Lantern Parade.
Also a proud sponsor of the OzAsia Festival, the University of South Australia has strong links across the Asia-Pacific region through its research and teaching and a network of successful alumni in China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia.
The University also runs one of the oldest Arts and Cultural Management education programs in Australia and its graduates work across the country and the region. Leading lights such as UniSA graduate Luqiang Qiao, Deputy Director of the Executive Coordination Office for Beijing’s National Centre for Performing Arts, help to promote the inclusion of Australian cultural performances and exhibitions in China.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership represents a huge step forward in underpinning a real renaissance of cultural and education exchange across the region.
“This Centre will be an invaluable underpinning for further growth in the arts and arts education in the state and at the same time it will build an all-important depth of engagement with our neighbours in the region,” Professor Lloyd says.
“The arts are a burgeoning multimillion dollar enterprise across the Asia-Pacific and this new Centre will ensure we can help to meet the demand for skilled arts leadership in the region.”
CEO and Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Centre Douglas Gautier says while the importance of economic links and partnerships with Asia are widely recognised, people don’t fully understand the vital role of cultural links.
“In most Asian cultures economic partnerships go hand in hand with cultural partnerships,” Gautier says.
“This new Centre will help to cement those partnerships and that’s a great thing for the arts and education in South Australia and will create benefits that touch on all aspects of SA life.”
The new Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership will bring together the skills of two South Australian Institutions that are leading the nation in a productive engagement with our region.
The Centre will:
- Provide high quality training programs for arts administrators at various levels of seniority from Asia Pacific countries;
- offer the University of South Australia's Masters in Arts and Cultural Management and develop tailored educational offerings in the field of Arts and Cultural Leadership;
- provide for the placement of interns from the Asia Pacific;
- develop the Centre as a national hub of Australian-Asia-Pacific cultural engagement based on training, exchange of personnel and artistic presentations;
- develop research programs in Arts and Cultural Management and Leadership.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: 08 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email: Michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
