NAPACA at Arts on Tour Salon

NAPACA co-hosted the networking drinks at the Arts on Tour Salon at The Rebel Theatre (Pier2/3), home of Australian Theatre for Young People in July, 2022. Peter Ross, Manager of Entertainment Venues in Tamworth and Vice President of NAPACA welcomed guests. Here are his words…

“How fabulous it is to finally be in the same room as everyone – what a rotten last three years we have all had – but if nothing else, it has cemented how important it is that we keep doing what we do!

Nothing beats the shared experience of live performance - you feel it in your soul. That gathering together to be transported and ultimately moved and changed by the magic of storytelling.

So who is NAPACA?

NAPACA is the peak representative body for Performing Arts Centre’s across regional and metropolitan NSW and the ACT, supporting a vibrant network of around 30 members. Our members share a vital commitment to ensure their theatres and programming ignite the creative pulse of their communities through encouraging participation and engagement with the performing arts.

We aren’t just venues for hire or venues that just buy in and present shows. Many of us are developing partnerships with producers and artists and commissioning and producing work.

We are more than just theatre spaces, many NAPACA members also offer rehearsal, workshop, social, conference, exhibition and event facilities and are fundamental to the cultural life of the areas we service.

Our members are cultural leaders within our communities and collectively we deliver important economic, social, cultural, educational and health outcomes for our cities, towns and communities by providing a safe place for people to gather, speak, listen, tell stories, exchange ideas, build tolerance and resilience, engage creatively, connect socially and celebrate the arts.

NAPACA’s future focus is about the relationships we have with our fellow venues, audiences, artists, companies and all stakeholders across the performing arts sector with the ultimate aim of securing a strong future for our members and the greater ecosystem of the performing arts across NSW and the nation.

We believe NAPACA has a lot to offer – more now than ever as we collectively rebuild our industry and nurture audiences back to our venues and productions – With our network of venues and presenters right across NSW and the ACT we are at the intersection between ‘the art’ and the audience. We can be immediate and informed about what audiences want and how valued the performing arts are to our various communities. We are actively participating in stakeholder conversations including Create NSW and only last week we meet with Create Infrastructure to contribute and inform their NSW Theatre & Film Infrastructure Strategy.

NAPACA meet regularly and our members have found the sharing of knowledge, issues and solutions across the sector invaluable as we strive for best practice. We have Box Office, Marketing and Technical sub-networks and ultimately, we are great bunch of passionate and approachable people!

We encourage you to reach out to NAPACA or to us individually.

Start the conversation – you might be surprised where it takes you. Where it takes ‘us’!