Building Audiences: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts

Key Findings

The report reveals the key barriers facing audience attendance include:

• uncertainty about how to behave at cultural events and fear of offending
• lack of awareness with audiences not actively seeking information about Indigenous arts
• and outdated perceptions of the sector – that it is only perceived as ‘serious or educational’.

Building Audiences also considered several strategies to build audiences for Indigenous arts:

• providing skills development, advice and resourcing to Indigenous practitioners within the arts sector;
• increasing representation of Indigenous artists in the main programing of arts companies by including more Indigenous people in decision making roles;
• promoting relationships between Indigenous arts and non-Indigenous companies to present their work to wider audiences;
• introducing children and young people to Indigenous arts through schools and extracurricular activities;
• allowing audiences to feel comfortable engaging by creating accessible experiences;
• implementing long-term strategies to change negative perceptions of Indigenous arts.