❓ The Minister for Culture and the Arts addresses the impact of COVID-19 on WA's creative industries, highlighting adaptations and innovations by arts organisations and artists, including online initiatives and continued creative development.
AnsweredQoN 330Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
330. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Culture and the Arts:
I refer to the impact that COVID-19
has had on businesses and workers in the WA arts sector. Can the minister
update the house on what WA's creative industries have done to adapt to
the challenges during this time, including any innovative approaches taken by
businesses and workers?
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
330. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Culture and the Arts:
I refer to the impact that COVID-19
has had on businesses and workers in the WA arts sector. Can the minister
update the house on what WA's creative industries have done to adapt to
the challenges during this time, including any innovative approaches taken by
businesses and workers?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Perth for his question. It is a very important question,
because, as we know, when COVID-19 struck Western Australia and, of
course, the nation, and we saw almost overnight immediate closures of theatres, performing spaces and hospitality spaces and
places, the impact on our creative industries was immediate and severe ,
and remains so because many creative industries people require audiences, and
those who require live audiences need crowds of people to be able to experience
their creative talents. All of our performing arts venues and spaces are closed
at the moment, as are our galleries, museums and other cultural institutions.
We know that our creative people have been very much hurting during this
experience. That does not mean that they are not continuing to be creative with
their works, and that is the great thing about Western Australia's
creative talent. Whether they be dancers, performers, visual artists or people
involved in virtual reality, programming and gaming, all those sorts of
creative industry talents continue to demonstrate innovation. It is a good
question from the member for Perth, because in his community in particular he
knows the impact that the COVID-19 experience has had on our creative talent
right across the metropolitan area and the regions.
I
want to highlight a couple of important things. Our main performing arts
institutions such as West Australian Opera , West Australian Ballet and
Black Swan Theatre Company have continued to produce during this time. WA Opera is currently demonstrating its innovations
through the Ghost Light Opera —some people may have been
experiencing that. Every Saturday, WA Opera hosts an aria, obviously
online, for opera enthusiasts. The West Australian Ballet continues to move its
public dance classes online and is also featuring a range of dance interviews
on social media and showcasing a 12-part digital series of short contemporary
works that people can now watch from the comfort of their home. The West
Australian Symphony Orchestra has had the Let the Music Play On experience,
which focuses on utilising some of our magnificent musicians from WASO so they
are still being seen, and the experience can
be had via digital means. Although the Black Swan Theatre Company has had to
cancel its 2020 program due to COVID-19, it continues its creative
developments through The Cherry Orchard , and that work is ongoing. The
Art Gallery of Western Australia has released a virtual exhibition and tours of
current exhibitions such as Pulse Perspectives , which is the year 12
perspectives exhibition. That was the last event I was able to attend before
COVID-19 struck earlier this year. A number of Western Australian artists are
focused on those experiences.
The Fremantle Arts Centre had the
popular Revealed art market, which is where a number of our magnificent
Indigenous artists, particularly from the Kimberley and the north west, used to
have their showcase. That could not happen this year, but those experiences
have gone online so that we can continue to support Aboriginal artists in Western
Australia. As we know, we have some magnificent Aboriginal art, with high-class
artworks being experienced through those independent Aboriginal arts centres.
Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts, Australia is a very well
known Western Australian experience of disability arts provision, and it
continues to develop programs. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Fremantle
continues to demonstrate some innovation through opportunities for children in
particular. Co:3, one of our dance companies, has ongoing works. There is the
Awesome Festival. Our Perth Festival and our Fringe World Festival are already
looking at how festivals might look in January. We know that during this
COVID-19 period we have not been able to gather in large crowds. In fact, I still
find it quite remarkable that the last time we gathered in a big crowd was on
Canning Highway as part of Highway to Hell , and within two weeks we were
closed down; we had closed down a whole range of things.
I
will finish with this: the State Library of WA opened on Monday, like many
libraries across Western Australia, and over 300 patrons were there. Of course,
they adhered to the 20-person rule, but over a rolling period of hours, 20
people were replaced by 20 more people. Over 300 people were in the State
Library. That was happening in libraries throughout Western Australia.
Libraries are critical cultural institutions throughout communities all through
Western Australia, because they are central hubs for people to remain connected
to their community, to access resources that they need and to feel that they
belong. As we recover from this challenge, our cultural institutions and
creative industries will play a key role in recovery, because we know that
people will emerge from the experiences of COVID-19 in a variety of ways, and
one way that we need to ensure they reconnect is through cultural experiences
and institutions. That is why they play an important role. That is why we
absolutely support our creative industries people—our artists,
artisans, dancers, performers and writers. All those people are a rich part of
our story, and they will be back. As the Perth Theatre Trust said in its
campaign, ''We will be back after this interval.'' They will be
back and they will be back even stronger.
thank the member for Perth for his question. It is a very important question,
because, as we know, when COVID-19 struck Western Australia and, of
course, the nation, and we saw almost overnight immediate closures of theatres, performing spaces and hospitality spaces and
places, the impact on our creative industries was immediate and severe ,
and remains so because many creative industries people require audiences, and
those who require live audiences need crowds of people to be able to experience
their creative talents. All of our performing arts venues and spaces are closed
at the moment, as are our galleries, museums and other cultural institutions.
We know that our creative people have been very much hurting during this
experience. That does not mean that they are not continuing to be creative with
their works, and that is the great thing about Western Australia's
creative talent. Whether they be dancers, performers, visual artists or people
involved in virtual reality, programming and gaming, all those sorts of
creative industry talents continue to demonstrate innovation. It is a good
question from the member for Perth, because in his community in particular he
knows the impact that the COVID-19 experience has had on our creative talent
right across the metropolitan area and the regions.
I
want to highlight a couple of important things. Our main performing arts
institutions such as West Australian Opera , West Australian Ballet and
Black Swan Theatre Company have continued to produce during this time. WA Opera is currently demonstrating its innovations
through the Ghost Light Opera —some people may have been
experiencing that. Every Saturday, WA Opera hosts an aria, obviously
online, for opera enthusiasts. The West Australian Ballet continues to move its
public dance classes online and is also featuring a range of dance interviews
on social media and showcasing a 12-part digital series of short contemporary
works that people can now watch from the comfort of their home. The West
Australian Symphony Orchestra has had the Let the Music Play On experience,
which focuses on utilising some of our magnificent musicians from WASO so they
are still being seen, and the experience can
be had via digital means. Although the Black Swan Theatre Company has had to
cancel its 2020 program due to COVID-19, it continues its creative
developments through The Cherry Orchard , and that work is ongoing. The
Art Gallery of Western Australia has released a virtual exhibition and tours of
current exhibitions such as Pulse Perspectives , which is the year 12
perspectives exhibition. That was the last event I was able to attend before
COVID-19 struck earlier this year. A number of Western Australian artists are
focused on those experiences.
The Fremantle Arts Centre had the
popular Revealed art market, which is where a number of our magnificent
Indigenous artists, particularly from the Kimberley and the north west, used to
have their showcase. That could not happen this year, but those experiences
have gone online so that we can continue to support Aboriginal artists in Western
Australia. As we know, we have some magnificent Aboriginal art, with high-class
artworks being experienced through those independent Aboriginal arts centres.
Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts, Australia is a very well
known Western Australian experience of disability arts provision, and it
continues to develop programs. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Fremantle
continues to demonstrate some innovation through opportunities for children in
particular. Co:3, one of our dance companies, has ongoing works. There is the
Awesome Festival. Our Perth Festival and our Fringe World Festival are already
looking at how festivals might look in January. We know that during this
COVID-19 period we have not been able to gather in large crowds. In fact, I still
find it quite remarkable that the last time we gathered in a big crowd was on
Canning Highway as part of Highway to Hell , and within two weeks we were
closed down; we had closed down a whole range of things.
I
will finish with this: the State Library of WA opened on Monday, like many
libraries across Western Australia, and over 300 patrons were there. Of course,
they adhered to the 20-person rule, but over a rolling period of hours, 20
people were replaced by 20 more people. Over 300 people were in the State
Library. That was happening in libraries throughout Western Australia.
Libraries are critical cultural institutions throughout communities all through
Western Australia, because they are central hubs for people to remain connected
to their community, to access resources that they need and to feel that they
belong. As we recover from this challenge, our cultural institutions and
creative industries will play a key role in recovery, because we know that
people will emerge from the experiences of COVID-19 in a variety of ways, and
one way that we need to ensure they reconnect is through cultural experiences
and institutions. That is why they play an important role. That is why we
absolutely support our creative industries people—our artists,
artisans, dancers, performers and writers. All those people are a rich part of
our story, and they will be back. As the Perth Theatre Trust said in its
campaign, ''We will be back after this interval.'' They will be
back and they will be back even stronger.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.