Evaluation of Australian Performing Arts Market 2014-2018: Year Two Report 2016

In the awarding of the tender for APAM by the Australia Council to Brisbane Powerhouse for the delivery of the market in 2014-2018, a requirement is that a formal evaluation of the three iterations of APAM be undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology, Creative Industries Faculty, under the leadership of Associate Professor Sandra Gattenhof. The agreed research model delivers reporting on outcomes not only in the year in which APAM is delivered (2014, 2016, 2018) but also in the years between (2015, 2017).\ud \ud APAM sits within a context of other Markets internationally. Other Markets include International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) and American Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), both annual showcases/conferences held in the United States of America; Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS), held yearly in October; and International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), which holds two Congresses every year – one in New York and one in a different region of the world.\ud \ud Unlike other Markets, which welcome the inclusion from outside the country in which the Market takes place, the focus of APAM is solely on the presentation of Australian and near-neighbour country (New Zealand) performance works, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, ready for national and international touring.\ud \ud This report provides an analysis of data for the period January to August 2016. It also draws on comparative data from four previous reports developed in 2014 and 2015. As such, it falls into phase 3 of the research process outlined on page 8 of this document. The outcomes of the analysis are delivered through a set of narratives about the impact of APAM and its outputs, the activities that are enabling it to have this impact, and any barriers that may be preventing it from having the anticipated impact. The comparative report has been constructed through an analysis of data from the reports provided in May 2014, October 2014, August 2015, December 2015 and June 2016, which capture ongoing development of APAM. As such, it falls into phase 3 of the research process outlined on page 8 of this document. \ud \ud Data for this analysis has been drawn from the following sources:\ud \ud 1. Online delegate survey delivered to all APAM 2016 delegates ten days after the event \ud \ud 2. Event observations undertaken by the QUT research team\ud \ud 3. Vox pops (vox populi) undertaken by the QUT research team immediately after performance presentation, pitches or delegate networking events\ud \ud 4. Two focus buyer’s focus groups that occurred during APAM 2016\ud \ud 5. Interviews with 2014 and 2016 case study artists and company representatives \ud \ud 6. Interviews with key Brisbane Powerhouse and APAM staff \ud \ud 7. Interviews with key stakeholders identified by APAM staff. \ud \ud The report highlights nine key trends emerging from the data:\ud \ud 1. The majority of 2016 delegates indicate in the survey response that they will return to APAM 2018 and that 2016 was a positive experience\ud \ud 2. The enhanced attention to include Indigenous staff, delegates and programming, particularly with the First Nations focus, was highlight of the event\ud \ud 3. The central reason for attending is the networking opportunities the Market affords \ud \ud 4. Respondents are confident that a range of new relationships forged at the Market will afford long-term interest and buying opportunities \ud \ud 5. Respondents affirmed that greater attention to networking activities within the program enabled touring outcomes\ud \ud 6. The multi-venue model was still a concern, but is much reduced compared to delegate responses from 2014\ud \ud 7. The level of expense incurred by producers to present work at APAM, particularly at a time of severe funding cuts to the Australian small to medium companies, remains an issue\ud \ud 8. There is a need for recalibrating around the value proposition of APAM to respond to better stakeholder needs\ud \ud 9. APAM will need to respond to the development of ShowBroker, a new Market in Adelaide, that will see its first delivery in February 2017.\ud \ud Throughout this report, there are extracted data from the online survey responses, Case Study artists and companies (2014, 2015 and 2016), data from interviews with key stakeholders and APAM 2016 delegate vox pops. These will be tabled to develop a narrative in response to the key research aims outlined in the Brisbane Powerhouse Tender document (2011). A full version of the collated responses to the survey questions can be found in the appendices of this report