NBN Co set to take Sydney Festival content to regional Australia

Friday, 18 December 2020 11:23

NBN Co set to take Sydney Festival content to regional Australia Featured

Sydney Festival Director Wesley Enoch,

NBN Co has been named Sydney Festival’s first Regional Partner in a move the National Broadband operator says will help connect audiences across Australia with creative content and cultural performances.

The partnership with with Sydney Festival, with see NBN Co help enable digitisation of the arts and support the rollout of creative content across the country.

NBN Co says this is the first time that Sydney Festival will showcase 100% Australian content and will be the first time the festivalwill be accessible online to anyone with an Internet connection.

As part of the regional partnership, NBN will take a recorded performance of “Spirit: a retrospective 2021” by Bangarra Dance Theatre, on a roadshow, creating pop-up events in five regional locations across Australia in 2021.

NBN Co says it is envisaged that it will also host an ‘up close and personal’ Q&A session with Sydney Festival Director, Wesley Enoch to explore Indigenous arts and culture in a digital context and discuss the role digitisation can play in helping creators connect with new audiences.

“Partnering with Sydney Festival is the first of several initiatives nbn will undertake as part of its commitment to supporting the creative sector. nbn will engage and collaborate with key creative sector stakeholders to help connect artists with new audiences and develop innovative concepts and business models that take advantage of digital platforms,” NBN Co said in a statement.

Key initiatives include:

• Supporting festivals and events across the country and creating pop-up events in regional locationsthat willscreen high-quality performing arts actsto audiences often unable to attend major events.
• The creation of an Indigenous Arts Centre and Asset Enablement Program to help all Indigenous Arts Centres access internet connectivity and to ensure the Centres are aware of the options available to them to enhance and enable a strong and prosperous digital reach.
• ‘Innovate with nbn™’ – a grants program that is helping enable creators to innovate, collaborate and find new ways to bring their creative ideas to life through digital platforms. Applications closed 30 November 2020 and grant recipients will be Media Release announced in February 2021. Successful applicants may be eligible to access up to $35,000 to support their creative concepts, prototypes or designs.
• Curated arts content to be delivered utilising nbn’s existing Muster Trucks powered by Sky Muster™ satellite technology as part of an Arts & Culture Muster Truck Roadshow.

NBN Co says the roadshow will bring content to locations across the country.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the opportunities to use digital platforms to reach audiences, new and existing, and help contribute to the future success of the creative sector,” NBN Co notes.

“With 37% of Australians surveyed as part of an international study being delivered by Patternmakers, accessing online arts and culture activities more frequently now than before the pandemic, and 67% of those saying they will continue to do so after the pandemic, there is increased opportunity for artists to harness the power of technology and digital connectivity.”

NBN Co Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Stephen Rue said: “We are proud to partner with the Sydney Festival and look forward to the new ways that digital connectivity, made possible by the nbn network, will help support the arts industry, artists and audiences to create closer, more collaborative and innovative experiences in the future”.

“Whether it is connecting family and friends, businesses with customers, or artists with new audiences, the nbn network is here to support the nation’s digital connectivity needs.”

Sydney Festival Director, Wesley Enoch said: “We’re excited to partner with nbn to help Australians access and enjoy amazing creative content, at a time when traditional avenues of audience engagement are being challenged.”

“Despite the impact of COVID-19, this is a terrific opportunity to work together and support the recovery of the sector, collaborate with our artists and find new waysto provide communities across Australia with accessto rich creative content,” Enoch concluded.

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