ENGAGE!
ENGAGE!
Contemporary Asian Australian Performance and Arts on Tour share a common goal: to enrich our regional stages with diverse stories and artists, engaging audiences, and communities alike. The Engage! Report and Toolkit, a collaboration between CAAP and AOT, distils insights from the 2022 Double Delicious tour into practical steps for touring presenters and venues across Australia.
Photo by Louise Purvis
The need for Engage!
Drawing from community engagement activities at The Art House Wyong, Bunjil Place, Merrigong Theatre Company and Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, these resources explore everything from effective community engagement strategies to making foyers more welcoming. Dive into the 'Engage! Report' for real-world case studies and insights from our findings, then explore the 'Engage! Toolkit' for practical steps and further reading to inspire continued action.
This initiative represents a significant shift towards meaningful connections with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse* communities and beyond. It's more than just filling seats—it's about creating lasting connections and more welcoming spaces for all! Join us in making the performing arts landscape more inclusive and vibrant for everyone.
How did this initiative come about?
Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP), as a producer of performance works, has been a trailblazer in presenting Asian Australian works on a national scale. In 2019, CAAP partnered with Arts On Tour to tour In Between Two to 13 regional venues nationally – engaging for the first time with regional audiences across Australia, from Portland to Karratha. The tour highlighted the need for an exploration of how we as a sector approach engaging with CALD audiences: Engage! was born out of this exploration.
A hit of Sydney Festival 2016, In Between Two is an autobiographical ‘slide night like no other’ based on the fascinating family histories of hip hop artists Joel Ma (Joelistics) and James Mangohig. Consummate storytellers and charismatic performers, this is a joyful and captivating show to celebrate our diversity and start conversations. Two hip hop artists take to the stage to explore what it means to grow up Asian in Australia. Having proven that this kind of work is able to hold its own within the Australian performance sphere, CAAP, alongside Arts on Tour, are now refocusing on how to reframe an approach to community engagement with CALD communities.
DEVELOPED BY Contemporary Asian Australian Performance and Arts on Tour
SUPPORTED BY Creative Australia through the Re-Imagine Sector Recovery Fund
WRITTEN BY Phillip Mar, Haneen Mahmood Martin and Sandi Woo
*Yes, we know this term is complicated - read the report for more!
ENGAGE!
The ENGAGE! Report and Toolkit is designed to support touring presenters and venues to build meaningful connections with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse* communities and beyond.