Visual Art Touring Strategy
With consultant Ricky Arnold and Associates
Image credit: Install for How Did I Get Here, 2020 at East Pilbara Art Centre. Photo by Jack Pam
Consultant Ricky Arnold, Fiona Sinclair, Michelle Broun
and Paul Caporn-Bennett are the team developing the
new Visual Art Touring Strategy for ART ON THE MOVE.
The Visual Art Touring Strategy is a framework which supports a five-year touring circuit of visual art in the regions beyond the end of the current RETB Program in 2023. This will increase social, cultural, and economic activity in the regions and further support WA’s visual arts industry and regional gallery sector.
To enable this, the capacity of regional art galleries and centres, partners, artists and arts workers will need to be considered.
The objectives of the Regional Visual Arts Touring Strategy are to develop and recommend framework(s) considering:
- Touring strategy to support regional visual arts and galleries
- Tour(s) of the WA State Art Collection held by the Art Gallery of Western Australia
- Tour(s) of Aboriginal art
The Strategy is being delivered as part of the WA Government’s Regional Exhibition Touring Boost (RETB). The RETB is a six-year program (2018-2023) that aims to increase the access to, and sharing of, WA art and culture across the State. It is administered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) and is currently jointly delivered by the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) and AOTM.
The objectives of the RETB are to share Western Australian culture widely within the regions, attract visitors through more touring and higher quality visual arts exhibitions, improve state-wide access to the State Collection held by AGWA, and build the capacity of regional galleries.
Meet the Team: Ricky Arnold, Fiona Sinclair,
Michelle Broun and Paul Caporn-Bennett.
Ricky Arnold has a thirty-year experience of working within Western Australian arts and cultural fields.
This includes twelve years (2002-2014) within the Department of Culture and the Arts, delivering strategic funding programs and policies increasing State Government resourcing to the regional arts sector.
Major initiatives include the national Contemporary Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, implementing Ignite funding packages aimed at regional development through the Looking Forward Fund, capital investment through the Arts Capital Fund, delivering Artist in Residence (AIR) funding programs for schools, and overseeing the triennial funding processes.
As an arts consultant, Ricky worked with ART ON THE MOVE in 2014 to facilitate consultation with the regional visual arts sector at Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, identifying key issues for the sector.
The consultation resulted in the plan put to the State Government to initiate a strategic relationship with Royalties for Regions funding, resulting in a pilot Regional Exhibition Touring Boost package.
It is also from this consultation that GalleriesWest was born, a new organisation to focus on the developmental needs of the public gallery network.
Ricky contributed to the formulation of the Freighting Ideas approach to the partnership between ART ON THE MOVE and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, facilitated sessions between the partners and the regional gallery and Local Government managers who would be involved in the first pilot tour, exploring issues, resourcing, audience development and promotion strategies, and building a new collaborative relationship between all participants.
Currently working full-time as an arts consultant, Ricky will lead the team in the consultation and shaping of the new five-year Regional Exhibition Touring Strategy for Western Australia.
Since 2005, Fiona Sinclair has coordinated the Understory Art & Nature Trail in Northcliffe. As the core driver of the vision since inception she has been responsible for artist and community liaison, commissioning, marketing & management.
She manages the Painted Tree Gallery, with an annual program of between 10-12 exhibitions featuring a diverse rotation of artists, arts approaches and media.
This has included bespoke tours with partnering organisations such as Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, Mix Artists Albany, Manjimup Art Gallery and individual artists.
From 2017-19 Fiona co-ordinated the ‘Connect to the Creative Grid’ project, one of three projects within the ground-breaking Regional Arts Partnership Program (RAPP) developed by Regional Arts WA (part of the Royalties for Regions funding package; Creative Regions).
This ambitious project was the first of its kind in WA. It involved 60+ regional and metro organisations in capacity building the regional WA visual arts sector. It included public art commissions, a video series commemorating regional arts expertise, mentorships, group & solo exhibitions, and PD workshops.
It culminated in The Alternative Archive exhibition at John Curtin Gallery, an exhibition currently touring Western Australia’s regions with ART ON THE MOVE.
Michelle Broun works collaboratively with community members, researchers, contemporary artists and other stakeholders to develop projects which empower Aboriginal people and build bridges across cultures.
She has over 25 years’ experience working on Indigenous and community cultural development projects as well as planning, project management, partnerships, programs and policy.
She has worked independently as an artist and curator, for Local and State governments and the Not- for-Profit sector, at local, regional, national and international levels.
As Manager of Community Arts Network, she has produced 30 short films at the Film and Television Institute of WA. She was lead curator for the Indigenous Stories gallery Ngalang Koort Boodja Wirn at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
Michelle currently works as Curator, Australian First Nations Art at John Curtin Gallery.
Paul Caporn-Bennett is a visual artist and Director of Parallax Productions, an arts service and consultancy company delivering professional services to Western Australia’s visual arts and museum sector for over 25 years.
Well-known as a problem solver, his experience and approach to the resolution of issues within the arts brings to each project a wide range of skills and a rich and distinctive blend of artistic, technical, and conceptual expertise.
Paul has contracted his services to most local government councils within the Perth metropolitan area, as well as to regional councils. This has included the provision of exhibition design and installation, collection management advice and support, and public art conservation maintenance.
Paul was contracted as Production Manager to ART ON THE MOVE prior to its transition to its move to Fremantle. He also delivered training in regional galleries on condition reporting, crating, lighting, artwork handling and exhibition installation.