Multicultural Australia and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre have forged a multi-year partnership aimed at linking the multicultural community in Queensland with the arts sector. The Connecting Through Arts partnership was launched in the presence of the Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch, and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Leanne Linard.
The partnership will concentrate on engagement, participation, and experience. It promises initiatives like the launch of the MOSAIC Choir, which celebrates cultural diversity through song and is set to perform at QPAC’s 2023 Songs of Hope concert (Formerly Songs of Hope and Healing) on 6 June 2023. This concert seeks to raise funds and awareness for HEAL, a charity offering expressive arts therapies to young refugees in Queensland.
Another notable feature of this collaboration is the Changing the Conversation series, a set of four events throughout the year designed to explore various facets of cultural diversity. Future instalments in the series include topics around “Cultural and Human Rights in the Digital Age” (14 June), Brave Conversations About Multiculturalism (August 2023) and Creating Belonging Through Storytelling (November 2023).
Furthermore, the partnership aims to create work placement opportunities, mentoring, translated performances and tours, and ways to connect the multicultural community with South Bank’s broader cultural precinct.
Christine Castley, the CEO of Multicultural Australia, emphasized the partnership’s role in enhancing access to and equity in arts for the multicultural community throughout Queensland:
Our Connecting Through Arts partnership is an opportunity to transform the arts landscape in Queensland. 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.
John Kotzas, the Chief Executive of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, expressed a similar sentiment, underscoring the importance of accessibility in establishing a flourishing arts culture for everyone:
It is important that we work towards creating a sector that reflects the communities we serve and our state. Our partnership with Multicultural Australia is a systematic and creative approach that will move us in the right direction.
