OUR CITY IN SUMMER ANNUAL REVIEW
“… A LIVELY CELEBRATION OF THE CITY’S CULTURAL LIFE; THE EMBODIMENT OF SYDNEY’S CREATIVE SPIRIT.” RICHARD WATTS, ARTSHUB
Festival Village at Hyde Park, photo Prudence Upton.
“BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT, A BEAUTIFUL GESTURE IN AN ODE TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.” JILL SYKES, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
SECTION 01 SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 02 SNAPSHOT 03 AUDIENCE PROFILE 04 2015 ARTISTIC FOCUS 05 FESTIVAL VILLAGE 06 PARRAMATTA 07 A FESTIVAL FOR EVERYONE 08 ARTS & CULTURE INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS 09 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 10 DEVELOPMENT 11 VOLUNTEERS 12 THE FUTURE – 40TH ANNIVERSARY 13 SUPPORTERS 14 SPECIAL THANKS
PAGE 4 6 8 10 22 26 28 32 34 42 48 50 52 54
CONTENTS
Tabac Rouge, photo Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
3
01 SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 A MESSAGE FROM LIEVEN BERTELS, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
BANKSTOWN:LIVE, photo Jamie Williams.
4
Sydney Festival is known as Australia’s most diverse and inclusive summer arts celebration; a true reflection of our beautiful city. Front and centre in our 2015 program was the creation and premiering of new work, with 19 world premieres, a further 21 Australian exclusives and 15 Australian premieres. With the return of our hugely popular Festival Village in Hyde Park and a varied arts program across 25 different venues, our Festival continues to appeal to both tourists and Sydneysiders in 2015. Our exclusive centrepiece production Tabac Rouge by French choreographer James Thierrée was hugely popular with over 11,000 attendances, and was one of a record number of 27 productions to attract four- and five-star reviews this year.
our family friendly Parramatta Opening Party (POP) and the hugely popular circus theatre show Timber! More free family fun came courtesy of our large-scale outdoor installations Higher Ground and Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour, just two of our many visual arts projects across the city. A highlight for many is The Domain Concert Series, with three free concerts this year. The Seymour Centre hosted our About an Hour series of bite-size theatre and dance discoveries, and the ABC’s Beat the Drum concert at The Domain attracted over 25,000 people to celebrate the 40th anniversary of triple j. Sydney Festival 2015 was made possible through generous core and special funding from the NSW Government – supporting the Festival through Arts NSW and Destination NSW – alongside the City of Sydney and Parramatta City Council.
With its 39 year history, Sydney Festival plays a pivotal role in Australia’s arts landscape, Other artistic highlights included the first-ever and cements Sydney’s reputation for being a visit to Australia of the Latvian Radio Choir: the top destination for interstate and international ATOMIC BOMB! project celebrating the music of visitors in January. William Onyeabor with an A-list of international music talent, including Gotye and Money Mark; The Festival once again benefited from the and the world premiere of Kate Champion’s final support of principal partner The Star and Force Majeure dance piece, Nothing to Lose. leadership partner China Southern Airlines. Sydney Festival acknowledges the increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and ongoing support of many private donors embraced tradition and contemporary culture including our own Director’s Circle. across a wide range of projects, including Symphony in The Domain with didgeridoo Of course our Festival was the work of many player William Barton and author Anita Heiss, people: the artists, bringing us their creativity the premieres of dance and theatre works Long and skills; our dedicated Festival team, working Grass and Blak Cabaret, as well as concerts by hard to make this Sydney Festival one of Archie Roach and Roger Knox. the best ever; and of course the hundreds of Festival volunteers, providing help and Our 2015 program included a strong Asian assistance to our artists and the audience strand, with traditional temple dance from Sri during more than 1,600 volunteer shifts. Lanka, music theatre from South Korea and India, contemporary music from Japan and Our 2015 annual review brings back colourful Indonesia, and visual arts from China. memories and outlines our key achievements in facts and figures, while we look ahead to our Sydney Festival continued a strong commitment next one, marking 40 years of Sydney Festival to investing a significant portion of our available in January 2016. programming budget on free offerings and accessible family programming. In the city LIEVEN BERTELS centre we held a jam-packed Family Week FESTIVAL DIRECTOR 2013–16 in our Festival Village, while Parramatta hosted
Above: Lieven Bertels, photo Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
5
02 SNAPSHOT THE MOST WONDERFUL SUMMER FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD.
167 EVENTS
78
OF WHICH WERE
FREE
400 PERFORMANCES
19 WORLD
PREMIERES
21
27 COUNTRIES
15
25 VENUES
AUSTRALIAN EXCLUSIVES
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERES
95,060 77,506
12,590
INCREASE OF 36,174 2014 | 58,886
INCREASE OF 4,564 2014 | 8,026
FACEBOOK FANS
,118 1ARTISTS
TWITTER FOLLOWERS INCREASE OF 29,055 2014 | 48,451
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS
FROM
(INCLUDES ALL OUTDOOR)
1.2M VISITS TO THE WEBSITE (AUG 22 – JAN 26)
6
FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE
TURNOVER $18M INCOME
ART INSTALLATIONS
114,259
20%
THE DOMAIN CONCERT SERIES
57,791
15%
FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS
23,046
10%
TOTAL FREE
398,936
5% 0
LOCAL GOVERNMENT & OTHER INVESTMENT
25%
STATE GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT
203,840
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
FESTIVAL VILLAGE
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS & PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY
30%
OPERATING COSTS (INCL . STAFF)
FREE EVENTS
INCLUDING BOX OFFICE, CATERING, VENUE HIRE & OTHER
35%
OPERATING INCOME
40%
EXPENDITURE 60% 55%
155,186
45% 40% 35% 30% 25%
TOTAL AUDIENCE
554,122
20% 15% 10% 5% 0
PROGRAMMING
TOTAL TICKETED ATTENDANCE
50%
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
7
03 AUDIENCE PROFILE
Clockwise from top left to lower right: Spiegeltent late music, photo Jamie Williams; Spiegeltent audience, photo Camille Manley; Village audience, Village dancers, photos Jamie Williams; Summer Sounds in The Domain, photo Juan Pablo Reyes; Fire Garden, photo Jamie Williams; The Famous Spiegeltent, photo Camille Manley; festooning, photo Ken Leanfore.
8
Sydney Festival and Destination NSW conducted a visitor survey across a broad range of free and ticketed events, yielding more than 5,811 responses.
Sydney Festival continues to attract audiences of all ages and from all income brackets. Patrons aged 25–44 are most strongly represented, with 15–24 year olds following closely. 81% of attendees said they live in Sydney, with a high proportion living in the City and the Inner South. 19% of respondents came from further afield. Event attendance numbers and the demographic skew are influenced by the breadth and quality of programming as well as weather conditions in January.
VISITOR ORIGIN 9% 5% 5% SYDNEY
81%
REGIONAL NSW
5%
INTERSTATE
5%
OVERSEAS
9%
81%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME 0
2
4
AGE BRACKET 6
8
UNDER $20,000
8.6%
$20,001–$40,000
8.2%
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
17.4%
25–34
33.5%
13.4% 15.1%
$80,001–$100,000
13.2%
$100,001–$125,000
22.7%
35–44
12%
45–54
9.2%
$125,001–$150,000
$200,000+
16
15–24
$60,001–$80,000
$175,001–$200,000
14
11%
$40,001–$60,000
$150,001–$175,000
12
6.9%
55–64
8.9%
5.8% 8.7%
65 +
5.5%
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
9
04 2015 ARTISTIC FOCUS
Masquerade, photo Brett Boardman.
10
Sydney Festival presents a lively program of free and ticketed events by some of the world’s great artists. In 2015, the Festival continued its long-term practice of: • Introducing Sydney audiences to artists unknown to most Australians: Korean star Jaram Lee’s UKCHUK-GA, a Pansori version of Brecht’s Mother Courage; Belgium’s Charleroi Danses whose Kiss & Cry was a surprise hit of the festival; and Canada’s Cirque Alfonse whose lumberjack circus Timber! delighted family audiences from across the city. • Presenting well-established artists who have never been to Australia: Seu Jorge, Latvian Radio Choir, Alela Diane and Fez Hamadcha. • Presenting newly commissioned works by artists in immediate dialogue with contemporary life: Kate Mulvany’s Masquerade, David Chisholm’s The Experiment, Kate Champion’s Nothing to Lose and Roysten Abel’s The Kitchen. All of these works represented new ambitions and changes in direction for the artists who were supported in realising their vision with co-commissioning investment and presentation. • Continuing conversations with artists and companies over decades by showing their recent work: James Thierrée’s most ambitious work to date Tabac Rouge, Ed Kuepper doing a career retrospective with strings and Camille O’Sullivan performing Changeling with all her seductive intensity. • Presenting works by contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across artforms and contexts: Vicki Van Hout’s Long Grass as part of About an Hour, Malthouse Theatre’s Blak Cabaret at the Festival Village, Anita Heiss and William Barton performing with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the annual free Symphony in The Domain, plus Radical Son and Stiff Gins performing at Parramatta Opening Party.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
11
“IT’S PRETTY MEMORABLE WHEN A WORK INSPIRES YOU AND MAKES YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE AT THE SAME TIME ...” SIMONE WHETTON, ON NOTHING TO LOSE, VIA TWITTER
12
NEW WORK / NEW VOICES Sydney Festival fosters the creation of new Australian and international work by commissioning and/or premiering works, thereby brokering new contexts and audiences for artists. We are in constant conversation with artists and producing companies about ambitious ideas and works in development. Often, these opportunities enable artists and companies to make work on a bigger scale. Griffin Theatre Company and State Theatre Company of South Australia’s production for family audiences of Kate Mulvany’s Masquerade, was one such major work. Co-presented with Sydney Opera House at the Drama Theatre, this Major Festivals Initiative co-commission* enabled a small local company to create its most ambitious work to date. It will go on to second and third seasons in Adelaide and Melbourne enabling the work to mature with each outing.
“... FULL OF HUMOUR AND INSIGHT ... THEY BRING TO LIFE A COMMUNITY AND ENLIGHTEN US WITH STORIES OF LIVING ROUGH, OF LIVING ‘LONG GRASS’.” JULIA COTTON, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Sydney Festival premiered two new dance works by established Sydney choreographers bringing rarely heard ‘outsider’ perspectives to our stages. Kate Champion’s Nothing to Lose, co-commissioned with Carriageworks, was an ambitious undertaking by Force Majeure exploring the movement and sculptural qualities of the fat dancing body in a “highly confrontational, yet very often playful, piece”, Kate Hennessy, The Guardian. Vicki Van Hout’s Long Grass was her first work to premiere in a major festival and was a powerful piece exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories from the Top End.
The Sound / On Sound program at Carriageworks, a series of sonic adventures, featured four world premieres across installation and live performance. They included: Mira Calix’s Inside There Falls, a collaboration with Brett Clegg and Sydney Dance Company – a major maze-like sound installation with interventions by live performers; David Chisholm’s The Experiment**, an audiovisual journey to the dark end of ethics and Tamara Saulwick’s Endings, an electro-acoustic meditation on death, dying and the afterlife. In Western Sydney, three new works engaged artists and audiences in transforming and reimagining space: Information and Cultural Exchange’s Disco Dome, a walking tour of sights and scenes from Parramatta’s disco history; Legs on the Wall and FORM’s PUNCTURE, an exploration of social dance with audiences and performers sharing the stage at Parramatta Riverside Theatre; and Urban Theatre Projects’ BANKSTOWN:LIVE with its series of suburban front/back yard performances of contemporary local stories. Along with Auckland Festival and Holland Festival, Sydney Festival also co-commissioned The Kitchen, a new work by Indian director Roysten Abel – known to our audiences for his 2010 hit The Manganiyar Seduction. A show about the healing power of cooking, The Kitchen was a sumptuous, multi-sensory spectacle of vigorous drumming and wordless domestic drama.
“VISUALLY AND SONICALLY EXCITING ... THE KITCHEN LIGHTS UP ALL YOUR SENSES.” JASON BLAKE, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD *with Sydney Festival, Melbourne Festival, Griffin Theatre Company and State Theatre Company SA. ** also a Major Festivals Initiative commission with Adelaide and Melbourne Festivals.
Nothing to Lose, photo Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
13
14
“… AN INGENIOUS, INSIGHTFUL AND ACHINGLY TOUCHING SHOW THAT I SUSPECT WILL BE LOOKED BACK UPON AS THE STANDOUT HIT OF THIS YEAR’S SYDNEY FESTIVAL.” MAXIM BOON, LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE
THE WORLD STAGE Sydney Festival becomes a microcosm for great contemporary theatre and dance, from intimate exchanges in small spaces to works of scale in our big theatres across the city. In 2015, we were thrilled to bring back one of the world’s greatest physical theatre performers, James Thierrée, with his surreal and beautiful work Tabac Rouge. Sydney audiences flocked to the sell-out season of this work at Sydney Theatre over the length of the Festival. Both first-time and exclusive appearances from Belgium and France respectively were: Charleroi Danses’ Kiss & Cry, a sweeping cinematic romance represented live and onscreen by a duo of dexterous, dancing hands moving through miniature landscapes; and the delightful one-act Chekhov come live classical concert, On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco by Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord starring octogenarian actor Michel Robin. We presented Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena Dance Company with their new production of Dancing for the Gods, charting the evolution of the joyful ancient Kandyan dance and drumming tradition with the captivating dancer Thaji Dias who “dazzled on every level”, Deborah Jones, The Australian. One of the 2015 Festival surprises was the extraordinary power of Jaram Lee’s UKCHUKGA: Pansori Mother Courage in Pansori Project ZA’s first and exclusive visit to Australia. A unique blend of Korean traditional form, Brechtian theatre and contemporary music made for “... stunning, exhilarating theatre”, Ian Maxwell, The Conversation. Our mini-festival within a festival, About an Hour, moved this year to the Seymour Centre and featured a range of national and international works at the low price of $35 and a series of well-attended Artists Forums. Some highlights from Dublin, London and New York were: the Brokentalkers Have I No Mouth, a raw and powerful work about an unnecessary death; Danny Braverman’s exquisite portrait of his family in Eastern London over 50 years Wot? No Fish!!; and Adrienne Truscott’s blistering piece exploring the politics of comedy Asking For It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else!
Kiss & Cry, photo Maarten Vanden Abeele; The Kitchen, photo Jamie Williams; Tabac Rouge, Have I No Mouth, photos Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
15
MUSIC This year’s live music program presented a mix of classical and contemporary performances by artists from all over the world. The Latvian Radio Choir’s inaugural and exclusive visit to Australia was hailed as “a revelation in terms of what can be done with 24 fine singers, refined sensitivity to vocal sound, an ethos of quality and the sanctity of the musical experience, all combined, no doubt, with sheer hard work from the choir and conductor Sigvards Klava.”, Peter McCallum, The Sydney Morning Herald.
16
Also in our classical music program we presented: Alain Franco in a marathon performance of the 48 preludes and fugues of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, “a journey of breathtaking discovery” Maxim Boon, Limelight magazine; Czech violinists Iva Bittová and Hana Kotková performing Béla Bartók’s magnificent folk duos in Variations on Béla Bartók – 44 Duets; and The Artist Live in Concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the Sydney Opera House. The 2015 program highlighted unconventional uses of spaces and instruments. Belgian organist Bernard Foccroulle and Swedish artist, Anna von Hausswolff’s Australian premieres featured different but equally virtuosic use of Sydney Town Hall’s famous pipe organ, while Morocco’s Sufi Brotherhood, Fez Hamadcha, entranced a sold-out crowd in the Grand Lodge at the Sydney Masonic Centre.
On his first trip to Australia, Brazilian superstar, Seu Jorge played a masterful show at The Star Event Centre mixing MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), rock and disco-samba with a number of his sublime Portuguese-language Bowie covers. ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor lit up the Enmore Theatre over two nights paying tribute to the mysterious Nigerian synth pioneer with performances ranging from Gotye to free jazz legend, Pharoah Sanders and the Mahotella Queens. Beat The Drum celebrated 40 years of triple j in The Domain with a stunning array of Australian bands and cameos. This year also saw the triumphant solo return of internationally acclaimed artist Ben Frost to his home country, co-headlining with Tim Hecker in a co-presentation with the Sydney Opera House.
With the help of Jessica Pratt and Olivia Chaney, Alela Diane headlined a Festival opening night show featuring three of the folk world’s foremost new female singersongwriters. Australian legend Ed Kuepper collaborated with members of the Sydney Chamber Orchestra in a sold-out premiere performance with strings. The world’s greatest slide guitar player, Debashish Bhattacharya showcased his stellar fusion of Western and Indian music. 36 separate acts performed in The Aurora and Famous Spiegeltent venues, crossing a multitude of genres and continents. From Hawaiian slack key guitar masters, Led Kaapana and Mike Kaawa, to Brazilian hip-hop phenomenon Karol Conka, to the Byzantine folk of Xylouris White, Middle Eastern dance
music of Omar Souleyman and spaced out electro-pop of Argentina’s Frikstailers. There were also notable premieres from Australian artists including Perry Keyes launching his new Sunnyholt record while #1 Dads performed their first ever show and Firekites performed their new album, Closing Forever Sky in full for one night only. The Koori King of Country, Roger Knox rounded out the Festival with a set that drew heavily on largely overlooked songs written by his peers and predecessors that trace the history of Aboriginal country music.
“… ONE OF THE BEST PARTIES SYDNEY FESTIVAL HAS THROWN.” DANIEL JEFFREY, DAILY REVIEW ON ATOMIC BOMB! THE MUSIC OF WILLIAM ONYEABOR Left page: Karol Conka, Seu Jorge, photos Prudence Upton; Latvian Radio Choir, photo Jamie Williams; Omar Souleyman, photo Prudence Upton. Right page: ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor, Perry Keyes, photos Jamie Williams; #1 Dads, photo Prudence Upton; Olivia Chaney, photo Jamie Williams.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
17
“HUAN HAS CRAFTED AN AWE-INSPIRING OBJECT OF MEDITATION AND VENERATION THAT TOUCHES ON THEMES OF MEMORY, SPIRITUALITY, The National Art School Gallery exhibited a series of Bill Culbert’s works, including Pacific RENEWAL, AND THE Flotsam, curated into a fine exhibition of the artist’s exquisite illuminated environments. EPHEMERALITY OF LIFE.”
INSTALLATIONS / PUBLIC ART Sydney Festival proudly commissioned three major interactive installation works in 2015. Bold and colourful, Higher Ground by Irish artist Maser quickly became the photoplayground of the Festival and provided the visual world for the Village. This striped beacon let all Sydneysiders know that the Festival was on, and represented one of the largest temporary public artwork commissions Sydney Festival has ever undertaken. Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour was the largest of its kind that New York based company Dash 7 Design have ever created, and was a true celebration of summertime in Sydney.
18
The public space at Carriageworks was transformed by Zhang Huan’s large-scale installation Sydney Buddha, created with 20 tonnes of incense ash that gently decays over time. Carriageworks was also home to the world premieres of Mira Calix’s largescale installation Inside There Falls and Greg Barrett’s Spongebob Squaretimes.
NICHOLAS FORREST, BLOUIN ARTINFO AUSTRALIA
DOMAIN CONCERTS Three free concerts and a special ticketed event attracted almost 83,000 people in 2015. Kicking off the season with the sublime musicianship and infectious energy of Brazil’s hottest artists, the booming beats of hip-hopper Karol Conka and DJ Béco set the scene for the dance-ready rhythms of Seu Jorge.
Summer Sounds in The Domain, photo James O’Connor. Opposite: Sydney Buddha, photo Camille Manley.
Symphony in The Domain in 2015 was a collaboration between classical music and the sounds of contemporary Indigenous Australia. Conducted by Johannes Fritzsch with ARIA award-winning didgeridoo player William Barton joining the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a series of works by Barton, Sculthorpe and Beethoven were contrasted with poetry readings by Anita Heiss.
Opera Australia returned to the Festival with their annual Opera in The Domain for Sydneysiders performing exhilarating overtures from Rossini and Saint-Saëns, popular arias from Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Turandot and Tosca, and the most loved of all opera duets from The Pearl Fishers. The big addition to The Domain Concert Series was the ticketed concert Beat the Drum: Celebrating 40 Years of triple j. Honouring triple j’s passion for Australian culture and music, the line-up included: Hilltop Hoods, The Presets, Cat Empire, You Am I, Vance Joy and many others, resulting in the venue reaching its capacity of 25,000.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
19
“… A SHOW WHICH PUTS THE ART IN ‘CIRCUS ARTS’ FRONT AND CENTRE, AND THE AUDIENCE IN THE THICK OF THINGS, TO UNFORGETTABLE EFFECT.” RICHARD WATTS, ARTS HUB
This page left to right, top bottom: A Simple Space on Higher Ground, Between the Cracks, Camille O’Sullivan: Changeling, photos Jamie Williams; Leon Vynehall, Blak Cabaret, photos Prudence Upton; Vintage Quartestra, photo Jamie Williams. Opposite page: The Long Pigs, photo Prudence Upton; Dancing for the Gods, photo Jamie Williams; Long Grass, photo Heidrun Lohr; UKCHUK-GA: Pansori Mother Courage, photo Prudence Upton; Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It, Masquerade, photos Jamie Williams.
20
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
21
05 FESTIVAL VILLAGE
“IN A DECK CHAIR, EATING A MESSINA BURGER AND WATCHING PETER BIBBY, ABOUT TO HEAD INTO CORNELIUS AND SALYU. THIS IS THE BEST. #SYDFEST” ADAM LEWIS VIA TWITTER 22
Sydney’s favourite summer playground just keeps getting better. Over 200,000 people experienced the enhanced Festival Village in 2015. With greater visibility and larger capacity, the Village has fast become a second home for many Sydneysiders. Two Spiegeltents showcased over 45 performances while new bars and an expanded food selection kept appetites satisfied. The Aurora Spiegeltent’s larger capacity bounced with full houses while the more intimate Famous Spiegeltent made a welcome return. A new DJ truck and bandstand hosted free performances day and night throughout the Festival for everyone to enjoy. Visitors certainly could not miss the celebration of colour that the inaugural Artist in Residence added to the venue. Maser’s bold geometric pattern and colour choices
solidified the various areas of Hyde Park into one cohesive precinct. The success of Maser’s design grew to include Festival merchandise, shirts and marketing collateral. Adult audiences were well catered for with a diverse program of contemporary music, circus and cabaret. This included: the return of audience favourite, the energetic and otherworldly LIMBO; a season of Changeling by Irish-French chanteuse Camille O’Sullivan; Between the Cracks by feather-ruffling rabble-rouser Yana Alana; and seasons of Malthouse’s Blak Cabaret hosted by the inimitable Constantina Bush and The Wau Wau Sisters are Naked as the Day They Were Born Again! The Village also hosted an expanded free program with lunchtime concerts on the bandstand and extended Sunday Sessions with the Soul of Sydney DJ crew.
Festival Village, photo Jamie Williams.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
23
FAMILY PROGRAM This year the Festival introduced a new Family Week in the Village, focusing on children aged 12 and younger. Ali McGregor’s Jazzamatazz! made a spectacular return to The Aurora Spiegeltent while David Collins entranced crowds at The Luck Child in The Famous Spiegeltent. Outdoors, families had a range of free activities including music on the bandstand with Vintage Quartestra and The Vegetable Plot, Maserinspired fabric print workshop with Hotbed Designs and the enchanting Dear Hope Street by Maybe(_)Together. The City of Sydney Lawn Library returned and presented talks, story time, music lessons and craft workshops while the Australian Museum kept the youngest revellers entertained with the Animal House building blocks and for the older kids they curated a program of talks and workshops. Beyond the Village, we presented a wellreceived family program in theatre venues across the city. Cirque Alfonse’s Timber! and Michael Sieders’ The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show played to almost 12,000 people in Parramatta. Kate Mulvany’s Masquerade played at the Sydney Opera House to 5,600 people and The Listies Make You LOL! played at the Seymour Centre to 2,700.
Upper left to lower right: Ali McGregor’s Jazzamatazz!, photo Prudence Upton; The Luck Child, photo Jamie Williams; Family Week, The Vegetable Plot, photos Prudence Upton.
24
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
25
06 PARRAMATTA
One Australian exclusive and five world premieres made Sydney Festival’s largest ticketed Parramatta program to date. Headlining Parramatta Opening Party (POP) in the newly refurbished Centenary Square, Australian music legend Paul Kelly presented the world premiere of his new collaborative project The Merri Soul Sessions, featuring Dan Sultan, Clairy Browne, Kira Puru and Vika & Linda Bull. The line-up was big on soulful sounds with Radical Son and Christine Salem also sharing the main stage.
POP’s new urban location gave rise to new performance precincts. United Lane hosted the Soul of Sydney block party with special guest DJ $mall ¢hange from New York City. Street musicians “Uptown” Brown, Vintage Quartestra, Hi Tops Brass Band and the Waratah Drumcorps made 26
surprise appearances, and Civic Place was transformed into a relaxed piazza. People kicked back with a bite to eat while their host Tommy Franklin wove together an eclectic mix of music including the Stiff Gins, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Fez Hamadcha and Rattlin’ Bones Blackwood on the La Toosh rooftop. As the sun set, Darcy Lane flickered to life with Mike Robert’s enchanting Fire Garden. Accompanied by a sweeping soundscape by the Aboriginal artists from the Spirit of Things Collective, people took time out from the bustling event to wander through this shimmering installation. While rain may have dampened the event somewhat, it certainly did not detract from this spectacular highlight. Riverside Theatres was again the hub of Festival activities in Parramatta. This year Canada’s Cirque Alfonse presented a season
of their lumberjack family circus Timber! The stage was then transformed for the world premiere of an ambitious collaborative performance, PUNCTURE. The culmination of three years of work for Legs on the Wall, FORM Dance Projects and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, PUNCTURE celebrated the evolution of social dance in an uplifting and intimate performance. For younger audiences an adaptation of Eric Carle’s storybook characters charmed with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Sydney Festival’s ongoing collaboration with Information and Cultural Exchange gave rise to Disco Dome: The Lost Discotheques of Parramatta – a walking tour around Parramatta’s lost discotheques and cinemas. Disco Dome was the curatorial provocation of seven of Australia’s most exciting video and performance artists who responded with
a series of new works. Justene Williams, Khaled Sabsabi, Liam Benson, David Capra, Heath Franco, Fadia Abboud and Jerome Pearce under the careful curatorial hand of John Kirkman came together for this intimate series of uniquely Parramatta experiences. The sell-out hit of 2015 was Far From Folsom. Over 7,000 people snapped up tickets to this unique experience. The recently decommissioned Parramatta Correctional Centre was the perfect location to celebrate one of the greatest live albums of all time – At Folsom Prison. Tex Perkins gave life to Johnny Cash’s legendary album backed by his band, The Tennessee Four, and Rachael Tidd, who reprised the vocals of June Carter. Perkins’ gravelly baritone and charismatic performance inside the razor wire walls of Parramatta Gaol will be remembered by many as an all-time Sydney Festival highlight.
“... NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GO TO GAOL, SO GLAD I DID #SYDFEST.” MATILDA HALLIDAY, VIA TWITTER
Far From Folsom, photo Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
27
07 A FESTIVAL FOR EVERYONE FREE EVENTS & AFFORDABLE OPTIONS To ensure Festival events are accessible to people of all income brackets, the Festival offers a range of free and lower-cost events. Of the 167 events Sydney Festival presented in 2015, 78 were offered for free. 398,936 people attended free events and reinforced the importance the Festival’s ethos of making high-quality arts events accessible. From Western Sydney to the CBD, the Festival offered a wide range of free events including street celebrations, public installations, music, visual arts and the iconic summer concert series in The Domain. Tix for Next to Nix continues to be an important cornerstone of the Festival’s commitment to ticket affordability. Every day, for every show, tickets are available from the Village box office for that day’s events, for $25. A total of 1,574 tickets were sold as part of the program. Sydney Festival is also committed to delivering affordable options in a range of other ways. Events in the About an Hour program continued to be priced at $35, while many of the music concerts in the Festival Village were also priced at $30 or less. Promotions such as Festival Happy Hour and Daily Deals offered a broad range of tickets at half price. Reduced ticket prices were also offered to arts industry workers and community contacts.
28
ACCESSIBILITY We welcome all visitors to Sydney Festival events and make every effort to ensure that the program is accessible and inclusive to all. This principle is predicated on the recognition that Sydney Festival is for everyone, regardless of their individual accessibility requirements. Sydney Festival’s Disability Action Plan (DAP) is available via our website and the Human Rights Commission website. New in 2015, Sydney Festival offered an Auslan interpreted performance of Kiss & Cry, wheelchair access to the Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour and a special relaxed performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show for children on the autism spectrum. Other access services included tactile tours of Masquerade and Inside There Falls, an audiodescribed performance of Masquerade, and a captioned performance of Nothing to Lose as well as braille brochures, audio brochures and a team of staff who are available to assist with individual requirements. Sydney Festival aspires to improve access services each year, in consultation with members of our audience and our many stakeholders.
Inside There Falls, photo Prudence Upton; the box office at the Festival Village, photo Camille Manley; Waterfall Swing, photo Julie Jones; Eileen Kramer at Inside There Falls, pages of the Sydney Festival braille brochure, photos Camille Manley.
“FROM ART INSTALLATIONS TO MUSIC AND POPUPS, PLENTY OF ATTRACTIONS WILL COST YOU PRECISELY NOTHING AT SYDNEY FESTIVAL.” ELISSA BLAKE, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
29
SUSTAINABILITY Sydney Festival’s vision is to be the most sustainable major performing arts festival in Australia. For some years we have been working towards making Sydney Festival a more sustainable event. The 2015 Festival saw us take a much more serious step to achieve this. We have made a commitment towards fully understanding our impact and identifying ways to minimise the negative and maximise the positive environmental, social and economic legacies of Sydney Festival. The Festival has set long-term targets to progress towards meeting sustainability goals.
30
ACTIONS IN 2015 INCLUDED: • Promotion of more sustainable transport options to Sydney Festival patrons through the provision of bike racks, and encouraging the use of public transport, cycling and carpooling. • Introduction of the Closed Loop Turnstile to ensure that 80% of the waste from our major outdoor events is diverted from landfill (Closed Loop Turnstiles are a mobile on-site waste sorting facility). • Waste reduction through the use of recycled materials, including the compulsory use of compostable and recyclable food service
ware by Festival caterers, provision of reusable cups at Festival bars, use of recycled paper at the Festival office, refillable water bottles and water stations. • Recycling of materials including Festival signage, cooking oil from Festival venues, and harvesting of rainwater from The Domain stage canopy for use in the Royal Botanic Gardens. • Printing on sustainably sourced paper stock with printers that meet independently assessed performance measures.
Smoking Ceremony, BANKSTOWN:LIVE, photo Jamie Williams.
RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN (RAP)
period, and both our successes and mistakes The Sydney Festival Reconciliation Action Plan outlines our commitment to ensure that we keep have informed our strategy for the next stage moving forward on this vital issue for our nation. of the plan. We are committed to closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and their fellow Australians by creating and fostering an organisational environment that cherishes respect, creates opportunity and builds cultural awareness.
We have set ourselves new measurable goals, at the same time as maintaining ongoing initiatives and we look forward to the successes of our second RAP as part of the ongoing journey for this organisation and our communities.
We set ourselves specific goals in 2013/14 and we are pleased to report the vast majority were achieved, but there is still so much more we can do. We’ve learnt a lot in the first 12-month SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
31
08 ARTS & CULTURE INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
Seymour Centre, photo Jamie Willams.
32
Sydney Festival is both a leader and a participant in a rich landscape of crossartform festivals, presenters, producers and artists. We foster connectivity and dialogue across and between these sectors and participate in networks both locally and internationally wherever possible.
INVITING INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION – ARTS CARD Sydney Festival Arts Industry Program returned in 2015. Introduced in 2014 as a means of providing artists and arts workers with the opportunity to participate in the Festival and its surrounding conversations, in 2015, we made the benefits of the program simpler to access over an extended period. 273 artists and arts workers were admitted into the Arts Industry Program and offered access to reduced price tickets and priority access to the Festival Village and forums.
HOSTING NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL DELEGATES Every year, Sydney Festival hosts a mix of invited and self-selected national and international guest presenters and colleagues – offering opportunities to see work and engage with Festival artists and companies. In 2015, we hosted two events that intensified the level of engagement with our national colleagues. We hosted the fourth Australian Theatre Forum: MAKING IT at the Seymour Centre, an event that brought together professional artists, presenters, producers, managers and policymakers from around the country. Produced by Theatre Network Victoria, and curated by practitioner David Williams, it was a four-day forum, with 62 events, that engaged 400 industry delegates, speakers and guests. Most attendees came to the Festival Village and other events building the discursive and networking context around the arts program. We also produced the Major Festivals Initiative Development Site – a two-day event of the Confederation of International Arts Festivals’ programmers and CEOs. Nine producing companies from around Australia pitched works of scale to potential co-commissioning partners. The 70 attendees included: Australian Festival delegates, potential commissioning partners from regional and city venues, and international delegates from New Zealand, Canada and Hong Kong.
“FORCE MAJEURE IS LIVING PROOF OF THE FESTIVAL’S PROUD AND ONGOING SUCCESSFUL SUPPORT OF SYDNEY-BASED ARTISTS.” KATE CHAMPION, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF FORCE MAJEURE
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
33
09 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
34
BRANDING
WEBSITE
The 2015 Festival visual branding was an evolution on the established ‘This is our city in summer’ tagline and brought Sydney Festival artists to the front and centre of the campaign. James Thierrée of Tabac Rouge, and dancers Kathryn Puie of PUNCTURE and Ally Garrett of Nothing to Lose graced the cover of the 2015 brochure, city flags, digital advertising, and featured on outdoor advertising and signage throughout the city.
The Festival website was redesigned for 2015. New filters allowed events to be searched by date, venue, time, price and genre, while dynamic ordering allowed popular events to be easily found. Increased investment in the mobile site also contributed to a rise in mobile web traffic, now accounting for 44% of all Festival web traffic.
THE CAMPAIGN The 2015 Festival’s integrated marketing campaign ran for over five months with an early announcement, in collaboration with Destination NSW, of James Thierrée’s Tabac Rouge on 22 August 2014. Sydney Festival’s Parramatta program was announced on 22 October and the full Festival program was launched on 23 October.
The My Festival tool saw 1,931 people create their own highlights lists and share them with friends, resulting in 92,454 views. The My Festival tool was also used to feature highlights from Festival advocates including Zan Rowe (triple j), Elissa Blake (The Sydney Morning Herald), Amanda Palmer (Sydney Festival 2014) and Sarah Wilson (I Quit Sugar).
1.2M VISITS TO THE WEBSITE WITH 7.7M PAGE VIEWS (AUG 22 – JAN 26) 3.6M CUMULATIVE OUTDOOR
ADVERTISING REACH*
316 DIGITAL ADS WITH 25.5M REACH 90 PRINT ADS WITH 21M READERSHIP 5,836 MEDIA ARTICLES 9.6M IMPRESSIONS OF 6,894 #SYDFEST INSTAGRAMS IN JANUARY
1.8M EMAILS SENT TO A DATABASE OF 78,727 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS 44 BLOG POSTS READ 33,425 TIMES *Total reach data via APN and Adshel.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
35
CONTENT & EMAIL MARKETING Sydney Festival invested strongly in content marketing across its platforms, with 44 blog posts being read 33,425 times. Original imagery from events and sponsor activations formed a large part of the Festival’s social media content, complementing Festival-goers thirst for documenting and sharing their #sydfest experiences. Email marketing is an area of growth for the Festival with 1.8 million emails sent resulting in 97,825 visits to Festival and sponsor properties online. A new email layout also allowed for greater flexibility in the stories told.
CONTENT DISTRIBUTION & BROADCAST Sydney Festival performances were recorded live by broadcast media partners for audiences to enjoy after the experience. ABC Classic FM: Variations on Béla Bartók – 44 Duets, the Latvian Radio Choir and Bach and the Italian Style. ABC Jazz: Maria Schneider, Jef Neve and the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. ABC Radio National: Fez Hamadcha, Alela Diane, ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor, Camille O’Sullivan: Changeling, Far From Folsom and Xylouris White. FBi Radio: Wye Oak, Dan Deacon, #1 Dads, Tiny Ruins, Blank Realm, Firekites and Zammuto.
Opposite page:
POP, photo Jamie Williams; Festival Village What’s On boards; Seymour Centre steps; Festival-goers on Higher Ground, photo Nadia Al-Munir; Parramatta Launch; Festival Village entry.
36
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
37
“… SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 IS TRULY KALEIDOSCOPIC IN ITS DIVERSITY.” GARRETT BITHELL, CULT MAGAZINE
PRESS ADVERTISING National newspaper: The Australian. Major metropolitan newspapers: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun Herald, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, mX. Local newspapers: Inner West Courier, Canterbury Bankstown Express, Parramatta Advertiser, Blacktown Advocate, Hills News. Specialty street press: The Music, The Brag, Cult, SX Weekly, Blaze, Gay Summer Guide, Queensland Pride, Indian Link. Magazines: Gourmet Traveller, Limelight Magazine, The Monthly, RealTime, FilmInk.
TV, RADIO, CINEMA ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS TV: Channel 7, 7mate, Channel V, MAX, STUDIO TV. Radio: ABC 702, ABC Radio National, ABC Classic FM, ABC Jazz, FBi Radio, WSFM, 2SER, Fine Music, Indian Link. Cinema: Palace Cinemas, Dendy Cinemas, Event Cinemas.
ONLINE ADVERTISING ArtsHub, Concrete Playground, The Daily Telegraph, Facebook, Faster Louder, FilmInk, Fine Music, Gay News Network, Google Adwords, Indian Link, Junkee, The Monthly (Shortlist), The Music, Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald, Time Out, Twitter.
38
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING & SIGNAGE
PRINTED COLLATERAL & DISTRIBUTION
Adshel Audience 1,352,000 Large-format digital billboards and street furniture in Sydney, Western Sydney and Canberra.
A broad range of Sydney Festival marketing collateral was distributed through the following channels: direct mail through Sydney Festival’s customer database, household distribution to targeted postcodes, distribution to arts audiences through seat drops and mail-outs, peer-to-peer promotional activity at commuter hubs, various displays (including Avant Cards) at cafes, arts and leisure hotspots.
APN Audience 2,615,000 Large-format digital billboards, roadside posters, and bus backs across Sydney, Parramatta, Canberra and Melbourne. Cross Trak TV billboards screening Sydney Festival TVCs throughout Sydney’s CBD and metropolitan railway interchanges.
Fairfax Media continued their support for Sydney Festival and produced a dedicated Festival supplement which was inserted into The Sydney Morning Herald (readership of 863,000) the week Festival tickets went on sale.
Rova Media Advertising on the back of taxis across Sydney, Western Sydney and Melbourne. There were 33,600,648 opportunities to see this advertising on the streets throughout the campaign. Executive Channel Audience 1,878,466 Digital advertising in foyers across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney Airport Audience 703,279 Supersites, digital displays and welcome banners at Sydney Airport. In addition to the above: 739 street flags and banners in the Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach and Parramatta. 41 information columns in Sydney CBD, The Rocks and Parramatta.
Top to bottom, left to right: Sydney Festival flags on George St, photo Jamie Wiliams; Sydney Opera House digital screen, photo Nikola Keavy; APN Outdoor Melbourne, photo APN; Festival-goer reading The Sydney Morning Herald pullout guide, photo James O’Connor; triffid at Circular Quay, Adshel screens at Martin Place Station, photos Camille Manley. Following page: LIMBO media call on Higher Ground, photo Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
39
PUBLICITY Sydney Festival 2015 attracted extensive local, national and international media coverage. A total of 5,836 Festival-related reports ran across print, online, television and radio. 5,836 FESTIVAL-RELATED ARTICLES 10,524,000,000 ACCUMULATED AUDIENCE/CIRCULATION $91,131,250 IN AUSTRALIAN ADVERTISING SPACE RATE VALUE Sydney Festival used a new media monitoring company in 2015, The meltwater group. All reported data is based on media coverage received from 22 August 2014–9 February 2015.
ONLINE Online media produced the most coverage of Sydney Festival with a total of 4,376 reports captured by media monitors. Coverage of Festival events, news and reviews online drove 60,718 click-throughs to the Festival’s website between August 2014 and February 2015. While the majority of online coverage was generated by traditional media outlets, there was increased engagement from additional online and blog websites. 40
The most considerable web traffic was driven by ABC.net.au, Time Out Sydney, The Guardian, Broadsheet Sydney, and Concrete Playground. The Sydney Morning Herald was reported as the leading online publication with 150 articles (equating to an advertising space rate value of $9,187,992), followed by The Canberra Times and The Guardian Australia. In collaboration with Destination NSW, The Guardian Australia covered the Festival extensively online and through its Culture hub with 32 major features reaching a potential viewership of 4,686,994,615. The Guardian Australia also dedicated their January podcast to a special Sydney Festival edition.
PRINT 431 articles National and local print media demonstrated very high levels of interest in Sydney Festival, with cover stories and extensive coverage in major daily newspapers, monthly magazines, free street press, regional and local newspapers, and specialist publications. 23 cover stories This included: The Weekend Australian Review, The Sydney Morning Herald’s “Spectrum”, “Shortlist” and “S”, Where Sydney and mX.
The Sydney Morning Herald was again the leading publication with 127 articles printed from August to January, with additional multimedia coverage and extended reviews hosted on their website and syndicated nationally across Fairfax mastheads. Sydney Festival and The Sydney Morning Herald jointly produced a Festival guide which was inserted into “Spectrum” to coincide with the main program announcement in late October. Time Out Sydney was a major supporter of Sydney Festival, with 19 major features and significant mentions in its December– February issue alongside further interviews, event listings and reviews online.
TELEVISION In 2015, television coverage was greater than in previous years, with 30 weather crosses to Sydney Festival sites and 12 in-depth television interviews and/or performances with Sydney Festival artists. 308 national and local syndicated reports on commercial stations were picked up through media monitoring (with many more reports outside of this).
INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE In 2015, international coverage exceeded that of previous years with 972 online reports. International coverage was received in The Independent (UK), The Huffington Post (US), Harper’s BAZAAR (UK), The Guardian (US), The Guardian (UK), Pitchfork (US), Time Out (US) and many more international publications with individual stories driving up to 1,450 click-throughs to the Festival website.
ABC News and commercial television stations again responded well to the Festival Village and the diverse program of Festival events, with national coverage broadcasted on ABC, Channel Seven, Channel Nine, Channel Ten 702 ABC Sydney was again the top performer, and SBS stations. Three significant ABC 730 with 50 interviews including 14 live in-studio report stories on ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor, Far From Folsom and performances. In 2015, the number of on-air Nothing to Lose promoted the events to mentions increased significantly with 302 a national audience. mentions reported across the station to a potential audience of 195,394,000. Studio TV’s Festival TV continued to have a valuable impact, filming 20 Festival shows Interviews, live performances, guest present segments, reviews and mentions were spread and installations which were shared as mini-episodes online and aired on Foxtel across Radio National, ABC Classic FM, throughout January. Independent online Double J, triple j, ABC Jazz, ABC Dig Radio, syndication through Upworthy and Bild.de 2UE Sydney, 2GB Radio, SBS Languages, quickly took the Nothing to Lose Festival TV Koori Radio, 2SER Radio, FBi Radio, Eastside episode to 150,000 hits on YouTube. Radio and other community stations.
Sydney Festival worked with Destination NSW to host interstate and international journalists to cover this year’s program of events. Journalists from target media outlets in New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, Belgium and across Australia were invited to cover the Festival in 2015.
Local street press titles The Brag and The Music each printed special Sydney Festival editions with exclusive covers and considerable coverage both in print and online, as well as reviewing and listing events during the Festival. RADIO Radio continues to be a vital element of Sydney Festival’s promotional campaign. 721 reports were captured by media monitoring, along with a significant number of interviews and mentions on community radio stations which are not included in these figures.
Sydney Festival again used PR Newswire, an international online distribution service, to target media outlets in the USA, UK and Asia. The video news releases created for Sydney Festival allowed international media to gain access to releases, pictures and videos driving traffic directly to the Festival website. In 2015, there were a total of 3,358 views of the VNR releases issued to a potential audience of 71,090,000. SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
41
10 DEVELOPMENT Sydney Festival earns almost half its revenue directly through its operations which include ticket sales and catering. The remaining income is earned through partnerships in both the public and the private sector.
Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour, photo James O’Connor.
42
PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS NEW PARTNERS Sydney Festival would like to thank our many highly valued partners. Each partnership is tailored to the brand’s key business and communication objectives. Our partners have the opportunity to create unique campaigns that connect with the Festival’s loyal and engaged audience members.
THE STAR
The 2015 Festival welcomed a number of important new partners including Lion, Santos and Laurent Perrier.
PRINCIPAL PARTNERS NSW GOVERNMENT – ARTS NSW The continued investment from Arts NSW (one of the founding partners of Sydney Festival in 1977) has been instrumental in the Festival’s ongoing success. Additionally, Arts NSW’s investment in many performing arts companies and venues is also of great benefit to the Festival.
We welcomed The Star Sydney as Principal Corporate Sponsor for the second year. This partnership demonstrates The Star Sydney’s commitment to Sydney and provides the opportunity to showcase their range of services, from restaurants to bars, clubs and retail to CITY OF SYDNEY Festival patrons. Along with Arts NSW, the City of Sydney was a founding partner of the Festival in 1977. In The Star Sydney’s partnership included the 2015, the City of Sydney’s investment included return of the Sky Terrace, a venue offering access to city venues including Sydney Town sweeping views toward the Sydney Harbour Hall and Hyde Park, home of the Festival Village. Bridge with an entertainment program of renowned international and local DJs programmed by Sydney Festival. The Brazilian superstar Seu Jorge filled the Event Centre at The Star Sydney with thousands eager to celebrate his first Australian performances. In addition, The Star Sydney hosted a number of major events from the Festival launch party to networking drinks, as well as continuing to provide hospitality at The Domain Concert Series.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
43
LEADERSHIP PARTNERS CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES China Southern Airlines celebrated its fourth year as the Festival’s Official Airline Partner. The partnership involved a very successful alignment with The Domain Concert Series, and a special screening of the Academy® Awardwinning movie The Artist Live in Concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. PARRAMATTA COUNCIL This was the fourth year of the Sydney Festival Parramatta program, providing diverse and high-quality programming in Sydney’s West. The investment is matched by the NSW Government with the aim to enhance Parramatta’s position as the demographic centre of Sydney and the third biggest economic zone in Australia. The 2015 program included the big free open-air street celebration POP (Parramatta Opening Party), a popular circus production Timber! at Riverside Theatres and three sold-out performances of Far From Folsom, featuring Tex Perkins at Parramatta Gaol. The program successfully drew large audiences to Parramatta – from across the Sydney region and surrounds. DESTINATION NSW Destination NSW has been a long-term investor in Sydney Festival. Through the support of productions that were “Only in Sydney”, Destination NSW aims to attract visitation to Sydney for Festival productions. These productions included Tabac Rouge, Masquerade, The Kitchen, Timber!, Far From Folsom and Seu Jorge. Destination NSW’s extensive “Sydney in Summer” marketing campaign also provides support to Sydney Festival, boosting visitation numbers from interstate and overseas markets.
FAST FESTIVAL FEASTS Now in its 15th year, Fast Festival Feasts saw thousands of Festival-goers take advantage of Festival offers at our partner restaurants. The program engaged 30 restaurants in Sydney’s CBD, the Inner West and Parramatta. Supported by an extensive marketing campaign across print and digital platforms, the Fast Festival Feasts program, supported by Gourmet Traveller, continues to be a huge success.
44
Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Channel 7 at The Domain, The Star, China Southern at The Domain, Accor Hotels, Sydney Airport, photos James O’Connor; Laurant Perrier at the Festival Village, photo Tim Levy; yellow tail glow bar, Festival Village, photo Jamie Williams; Ferrython, photo James O’Connor; The Sydney Morning Herald Festival Guide; Lululemon yoga in Hyde Park, Kirin Bit.fall at the Festival Village, photos James O’Connor.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
45
PHILANTHROPY & DONATIONS YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS
Philanthropy continues to be an increasingly important income source for the Festival and we are very grateful to all those who came on board to support Sydney Festival 2015.
Supporters of the Festival’s Associate Producers program are aligned with one or two Sydney Festival highlight productions each year which require additional financial support in order to be realised. In 2012, I Am Eora was made possible by the commitment of our inaugural Associate Producers followed by the groundbreaking work Black Diggers for the 2014 Festival. This year the Associate Producers supported Long Grass, a new dance work by Indigenous choreographer Vicki Van Hout, and a new Australian theatre work, Masquerade, by Australian actor and playwright Kate Mulvany.
Over the past four years the Festival has been building a philanthropic program which offers our supporters the opportunity to get closer to the Festival and its artists. It enables us to create a Festival with artists from all over the world, providing great experiences – free and ticketed – to the people of Sydney and beyond. The program offers various levels of support with a variety of benefits including priority booking, VIP access and exclusive events.
We especially thank Peter and Lou Freedman who made a six figure donation which will Our donors provide great feedback on the contribute to Sydney Festival 2016. Peter Festival program and other insights that help Freedman said “I am really proud to be our Board and Festival Management continue to supporting Sydney Festival because it brings improve its offering. together two of my passions: the joy of Sydney
Pictured from left to right, top to bottom: Peter Freedman, Marita Supplee and John Kaldor; Ros Hunyor, Nell Schofield, Judith Casson, Jonathan Casson and Gil Appleton, photo James O’Connor; Malcolm Moir, Judy Garb, Kate Champion and Claire Edwardes; Ros Hunyor, Gil Appleton, Vicki Van Hout and Kathryn Hunyor; Kate Mulvany and Mary Read; Carolyn Lowry OAM and Peter Lowry OAM; Di Jorgensen, Chris Tooher and Kathryn Lovric.
46
in summer and exciting performances from local and international artists. Sydney has been fantastic to me and my family, and at RØDE we are always inspired by the performers who use our products. This is an opportunity to give back to my city, and support Sydney Festival as it reaches new heights.”
GET INVOLVED AND JOIN THE FUN IN 2016 Learn about the various giving levels and the difference you can make. Visit sydneyfestival.org.au/support or contact Marita Supplee on 02 8248 6510 or marita.supplee@sydneyfestival.org.au for further details.
“THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK TO MY CITY AND SUPPORT SYDNEY FESTIVAL AS IT REACHES NEW HEIGHTS.” PETER FREEDMAN, MAJOR DONOR
The Artist Live in Concert opening night fuction, photo James O’Connor.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
47
11 VOLUNTEERS
“YOU GUYS HAVE AMAZING VOLUNTEERS – SO CHEERFUL IN YESTERDAY’S HEAT, SO WELCOMING AT EVERY VENUE. LOVE THEM AND THANK THEM @ SYDNEY_FESTIVAL.” VIRGINA GORDON, VIA TWITTER 48
VOLUNTEERS
INTERNS
Sydney Festival’s army of dedicated volunteers made this year’s event possible.
Our internship program saw tertiary students observe and work alongside managers and coordinators in production, marketing, programming and development departments.
Eventeamwork returned for a third year to manage the Festival’s volunteer program. This year’s Team Leader program saw 18 Event Management and Creative Industry students gain valuable industry experience through managing small teams of volunteers.
Intern roles varied greatly, ranging from event research to assisting with production schedules, offering real-life contexts to apply theoretical studies.
In total, 356 volunteers worked 2017 shifts from We thank this year’s interns and wish them December and through to Australia Day in roles every success for their future. ranging from creating artist packs to collecting donations at our big free events and managing queues at major public artworks.
“SYDNEY FESTIVAL HAS PROVIDED ME WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, WORKING ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE MOST INSPIRING MARKETING LEADERS WHO ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP YOU LEARN AND GROW.” NATALIE ZAGALIA, MARKETING INTERN
Pictured left and upper right: Festival major donors, the Martin-Weber Family, enjoyed an extra level of participation this year with a volunteer shift at this year’s Waterfall Swing installation. The cousins aged from 11–30 joined forces to give back in this very special way. Photos James O’Connor. Pictured right: Festival volunteers at Higher Ground, photo EvenTeamwork; Festival Village, photo James O’Connor.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
49
12 THE FUTURE SYDNEY FESTIVAL 40
50
In 2016, Sydney Festival turns 40 and whilst there will be much to celebrate with 40 years of great success, it is also an important time to lay the groundwork for the Festival’s next 40 years of success.
The Festival’s newly adopted governance structure ensures that it is best positioned to optimise its future success. A refreshed Board of Independent Directors brings together a diverse group of business and community leaders, all of whom are experts in their field with a passion for the Festival and its role in the broader cultural landscape. Their leadership will drive Sydney Festival’s vision and strategy to ensure the Festival remains a major iconic Australian event. The Festival will also soon welcome its next Festival Director, who will start with the delivery of our 41st Festival in January 2017. Following a world-wide search, the announcement is expected mid-2015. This is an exciting time for the Festival – an opportunity to ensure it continues to evolve and grow with the vibrant community that makes up this great city. The Festival will continue to engage, surprise and delight our audiences as it continues to exceed the expectations of our many varied stakeholders. Thank you for joining us on the journey to date, the Festival is only made possible through the support and advocacy of our stakeholders. We look forward to celebrating 2016 and to paving the way for many years to come.
Pictured top to bottom, left to right: Semele Walk, Sydney Festival 2013, Dido & Aeneas, Sydney Festival 2014, photos Jamie Williams; Assembly, Sydney Festival 2012, Grace Jones, Sydney Festival 2009, photos Prudence Upton.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
51
13 SUPPORTERS FOUNDATIONS Sydney Festival wishes to acknowledge the following Foundations who have supported us over the last 12 months: Anthony and Sharon Lee Foundation The Martin-Weber Family
DONORS Sydney Festival wishes to thank the following individuals for their generous donations over the last 12 months: MAJOR DONOR Peter and Lou Freedman
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE President: Michael Crouch AO Members: Anonymous (1) Antoinette Albert Peter Hunt AM Rebel Penfold-Russell OAM FESTIVAL HEROES Anonymous (1) Robert Albert AO and Libby Albert Andrew Cameron AM and Cathy Cameron Brett Clegg and Annabel Hepworth The Hon. Ashley Dawson-Damer AM Dr Kathryn Lovric and Dr Roger Allan David Mathlin and Camilla Drover
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRINCIPAL SUPPORTERS
PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT PARTNER
LEADERSHIP PARTNERS
STRATEGIC PARTNER
MAJOR SUPPORTER
SPECIAL DISTINGUISHED PARTNER
DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS
STAR PARTNERS
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS The Arcadia Group Gillian Appleton Jonathan Blakeman and Dr Heather Worth Angela Bowne SC Jonathan and Judith Casson Ros and Alex Hunyor Dianne Jorgensen John Kaldor AM and Naomi Milgrom Kaldor AO Dr Carolyn Lowry OAM and Peter Lowry OAM Penelope Seidler AM Kim Williams AM and Catherine Dovey
FESTIVAL LOVERS Aliza Bartfield and Bill Updegraff Lieven Bertels Anne Blau Sharon Cowin Carolyn Crawford Jennifer Hole Suzanne Maple-Brown Adam Max Julianne Maxwell Dr Ann McFarlane Lyndall McNally Mary Read Dr Jennifer Solomon Christopher Tooher Sam and Judy Weiss Margaret Whealy
CORPORATE PARTNERS PRINCIPAL PARTNER
LEADERSHIP PARTNER
MAJOR SUPPORTER
SPECIAL DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS
STAR PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNERS MAJOR SUPPORTER
SPECIAL DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS
DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS T A X I
M E D I A
STAR PARTNERS
RESTAURANT PARTNERS 360 Bar and Dining ARIA Balla BLACK by ezard Cafe Sydney Chefs Gallery Chiswick at The Gallery Chophouse
The Dining Room at Park Hyatt Sydney El-Phoenician The Emporium Fat Noodle Food Society glass brasserie Gowings Bar & Grill
CONTRIBUTORS La Rosa The Strand The Malaya The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room Opera Kitchen The Pavilion PizzAperta Manfredi Puntino Trattoria
Red Lantern on Riley Riley St Garage Rubyos Sokyo Steel Bar and Grill Ventuno Pizzeria e Ristorante
Aesop Alphabet Studio Artbank Australia Bar Coco Clifton Productions Closed Loop Coates Hire EPS
Hapag Lloyd Lipton Ice Tea Motorola Solutions Australia The Nest Pureprofile QT Sydney RDA Research Secure Parking TFE
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2015 ANNUAL REVIEW
53
14 SPECIAL THANKS The following companies and productions acknowledge the support of:
Australian Theatre Forum Claire Edwardes David Chisholm Force Majeure Griffin Theatre Company Information and Cultural Exchange Insite Arts Legs on the Wall Long Grass Malthouse Theatre Maria Schneider, Jef Neve and the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra Performance Space Puncture State Theatre Company SA Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Tamara Saulwick Urban Theatre Projects
Australian Theatre Forum Carriageworks Force Majeure FORM Dance Projects Griffin Theatre Company Information and Cultural Exchange Legs on the Wall Long Grass Performance Space Puncture Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Urban Theatre Projects
54
AUSTRALIAN THEATRE FORUM Business Events Sydney Destination NSW Theatre Network Victoria Seymour Centre BANKSTOWN:LIVE Bankstown City Council Bankstown Sports Club Bankstown Arts Centre Community Relations Commission Metro Screen Office for Ageing VA Digital Hire University of Western Sydney BLAK CABARET Vic Health DEAR HOPE STREET Arts Victoria DISCO DOME Screen NSW ENDINGS Arts Victoria Arts House THE EXPERIMENT Arts Victoria Bundanon Trust Centre Intermondes Institut Français FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS The Department of Culture and the Arts of Western Australia Malthouse Theatre FAR FROM FOLSOM Government Property NSW Jeff Stein FESTIVAL VILLAGE Australian Museum Mark Hammer HAVE I NO MOUTH Culture Ireland Dublin City Quaternaire The Arts Council Project Arts Centre I GUESS IF THE STAGE EXPLODED ... In Between Time SPILL Festival Barbican Arts Council England ICIA Bath
KISS & CRY Producers: Charleroi Danses, Centre chorégraphique de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and le manège.mons, Centre Dramatique Co-producer: Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, with the support of the Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles and Wallonie Bruxelles International Acknowledgements: Daniel Cordova, Frank Feitler, Anne Lenoir THE KITCHEN Auckland Festival Holland Festival LONG GRASS Critical Path The University of Sydney’s Department of Performance Studies Darwin Entertainment Centre MALTHOUSE THEATRE Arts Victoria NOTHING TO LOSE City of Sydney ON THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF TOBACCO – CONCERT IN ONE ACT Emmanuelle Denavit-Feller Institut Français PUNCTURE Riverside Theatres Parramatta City Council Bundanon Trust Ars Musica Australis TIMBER! Canada Council for the Arts Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec UKCHUK-GA: PANSORI MOTHER COURAGE Korea Tourism Organisation Korean Cultural Office WOT? NO FISH!! Arts Council England Battersea Arts Centre JW3 (Jewish Community Centre for London)
SYDNEY FESTIVAL PATRON His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC, Governor of New South Wales BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT The Hon. Mike Baird MP, Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Western Sydney CHAIR Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney DIRECTORS The Hon. Troy Grant MP Minister for Hospitality, Gaming and Racing, and Minister for the Arts Monica Barone Simon Corah Matthew Melhuish Sam Weiss ALTERNATE DIRECTORS Mary Darwell (for The Hon. Troy Grant MP) The Hon. Ashley Dawson-Damer (for The Hon. Mike Baird MP) Ann Hoban (for Monica Barone) Nell Schofield (for the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore) SYDNEY FESTIVAL STAFF Festival Director Lieven Bertels Executive Director Christopher Tooher FINANCE AND OPERATIONS Head of Finance and Operations Tanya Bush Accountant Caroline Brosnan Payroll Carina Mision Executive Assistant Corey Zerna Executive Projects Coordinator Fiona Jackson Administration Officers Julie Crawford, Courtney Lewis Receptionist Melissa McShane
PROGRAMMING Head of Programming Fiona Winning Producer, Major Outdoor Events Vernon Guest Program Managers Adam McGowan Stuart Rogers Programming Associate Rachel Grimes-Carmichael Programming Coordinator Ione Davis Program Coordinators Laura Badertscher Rita Khayat Janelle McKenzie Michelle O’Brien Project Manager Beatrice Hendry Artist Liaisons Sally Blackwood Craig Gilliver MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SERVICES Head of Marketing and Customer Services Tina Walsberger Marketing Manager Ainslie Lenehan Digital Marketing Manager Julia Thomas Publications Editor Aimee Huxley Marketing Coordinators Christine Petrou, Kate Williams, Chris Zajko Publicity Manager Jessica Keirle Publicists Anna Shapiro, Gabrielle Wilson Publicity Coordinator Stephanie Langridge Graphic Design Manager Camille Manley Graphic Designer Nikola Keavy Signage Coordinator Alice Larmer Ticketing Manager Tara Easlea-Harding Ticketing Systems Coordinators Erin Garman, Sarah Toner Guest Ticketing Coordinator Cheryl Haynes Ticketing Assistants Alexina Coad, Jane Doutney, Allison Stapleton Media Ticketing Assistant Carina Lamprecht DEVELOPMENT Head of Development Malcolm Moir Philanthropy Manager Marita Supplee Senior Sponsorship Manager Anna Matthews Sponsorship Manager Brooke Ravens Sponsorship Executive Jane You Sponsorship – Special Projects Amalina Whitaker Sponsorship Coordinator Paloma Gould
PRODUCTION Head of Production John Bayley Production Manager Mick Jessop Catering & Sustainability Manager Fernando Motti Production Coordinators Elise Brokensha, Whitney Eglington Project Coordinator – Parramatta Nathalie Taylor Transport Coordinator Emily Workman Crewing Coordinator Alycia Stanley Hospitality Coordinator Blake Smith Festival Village Venue Manager Gordon Rymer Production Assistant Kat Anastasiou-Bell DOMAIN STAFF Domain Manager Alycia Bangma Site Manager Damon Jones Domain Construction Manager Damion Holling Domain Coordinator Gemma Rowe Electricians Craig Adamson, Iain Godfrey THANK YOU Michael Abbott, Accessible Arts, Alberts Music, Alphabet Studio, Auslan Stage Left, Luke Banfield, Benchmark Design and Print, His Excellency Mr Aldis Birzulis, Chrissy Blackburn, Brett Boardman Photography, Rebecca Bourne-Jones, Loretta Busby, The Captioning Studio, Carriageworks, John Chase, City of Sydney Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel, Danni Colgan, Deirdre Corley, DENHAM The Jeanmaker, Cheryl Elvey, Uncle Max Eulo, Eventeamwork, Ally Garrett, Derek Gilchrist, Golden Age Cinema and Bar, Matt Jones, Darryn King, Alicia Kish, The Leading Edge, Rachael McNally, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, The Nest, Nikon Australia, Offset Alpine, Performance Space, Sydney Opera House, Tim Pack, Kathryn Puie, Mary Stielow, James Thierrée, Tonic, Prudence Upton, Katinka Van Ingen, Vision Australia, WikiSpectacle, Jamie Williams.
“XXXXXX” QUOTE
Photo
Hightops Brass Band performing at POP, photo Jamie Wiliams.
Symphony in The Domain, photo Prudence Upton.
“ANOTHER STUNNING NIGHT FOR #SYMPHONYINTHEDOMAIN. ITS BEEN A PLEASURE HOSTING @SYDSYMPH AND @SYDNEY_FESTIVAL.” ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, VIA TWITTER
Level 5, 10 Hickson Road The Rocks NSW 2000 Australia T +61 2 8248 6500 F +61 2 8248 6599 E mail@sydneyfestival.org.au sydneyfestival.org.au