International experts to speak at National Arts Conference

CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE

19 June 2013
International experts to speak at National Arts Conference

Arts by, with, and for young people is the theme of Creative New Zealand’s sixth National Arts Conference.

International and national speakers, including John McGrath, founding Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Wales and Lee-Ann Buckskin, Manager of the Aboriginal Arts Development Programme for Carclew Youth Arts in Adelaide, will provide insights into how to increase young people’s participation in the arts; the educational and social benefits of involving young people in the arts and developing young audiences.

“Creative New Zealand’s annual arts conference provides a vital forum for our artists, arts practitioners and organisations to share ideas and insights,” says Creative New Zealand’s Senior Manager, Arts Policy, Capability Building and International, Cath Cardiff. “This year’s theme, young people and the arts, is of crucial importance to the future of the arts in New Zealand.”
Creative New Zealand has held an annual conference for the last six years, attended by arts leaders, managers and marketers from a wide range of arts organisations. This year’s will be held on 24 and 25 June in Auckland. Attendance is by invitation only.

The international speakers at this year’s conference:

John McGrath is the founding Artistic Director of National Theatre of Wales. His company has won awards for their landmark, large-scale, site-specific productions (The Persians, Coriolan/us, The Passion) as well as intimate events in a variety of spaces including a domestic house, a beach, and a forest; always rooted in local communities and often making use of digital technologies .
Lee-Ann Buckskin is a Narungga, Wirangu, Wotjobaluk woman from South Australia and Victoria and the first woman to chair the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Arts Board of the Australia Council. She manages the Aboriginal Arts Development Programme for Carclew Youth Arts in Adelaide, where she works closely with indigenous communities across South Australia. On four occasions Lee-Ann has produced Blak Nite, South Australia’s leading Indigenous Youth Arts showcase, as part of the Come Out Festival.

Dean Merlino is a lecturer at the Centre for Cultural Partnerships at the University of Melbourne. He is a researcher in music and sound and the role of arts in the community.

National speakers:

Dr Rosemary Hipkins, chief researcher, New Zealand Council for Educational Research; Michelle Hippolite, Chief Executive, Te Puni Kokiri and Pauline Winter, QSO, Chief Executive, Ministry for Pacific Island Affairs.
A wide range of New Zealand arts organisations will share their ideas and work, including The Mixit Project, an Auckland community arts project that uses creativity to empower young refugees and innovative Auckland theatre company, Massive.

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