Country Arts WA is currently seeking expressions of interest from individuals and organisations interested in becoming involved in its 2011 State Regional Arts Event, OPEN YOUR EYES.
 
Society and The Arts will be at the centre of the OPEN YOUR EYES program with nine 'breakaway circles' where delegates will be involved in sector debates such as Health and the Arts, Environment and the Arts and Aboriginal Australia and the Arts.
 
Delegates will be invited to listen to Keynote speeches from leading figures outside the arts industry to kick off each day of debate. Artistic Director Sean Doran took inspiration from the Mid West's SKA (Square Kilometer Array), one of the most 'silent' locations in the world in order to 'listen' to others.
 
A key driver of the event programming is the notion of Legacy Leaving – both tangible and intangible. Delegates will be engaged in creating a 2029 Manifesto which will be delivered to Parliament House after the event. The Manifesto will be renewed and taken further at each of Country Arts WA's future quadrennial conferences in the lead up to the bicentenary of Western Australia in 2029.  
 
Event organisers are aiming to create an arts event with a difference by placing arts at the centre of society and engaging across all levels of society rather than dwelling in the fringes.
 
The event will also be unique thanks to its location. At a 'Visions' launch Doran spoke extensively about the philosophy behind how the conference program is being developed.

"We have taken the conference's leading slogan OPEN YOUR EYES from the word Abrolhos which was coined in the 16th century by the three Portuguese words which roughly translate to OPEN YOUR EYES," said Doran.
 
"This sets the tone for the entire conference to become more issue-led than previously and take on a more global positioning for the WA regional arts debate.
 
"Indeed I feel drawn to design the entire event in a kind of biodynamic holistic way so that all themes and content embrace a strong sense of place (Geraldton as a place of colliding civilisations), respond to local need, stimulate legacies for the Geraldton and Mid West community and be particularly conscious in its inclusion of the local Yamaji Aboriginal community and the inclusion of young people leading the arts and society today in Western Australia."

"It is vitally important that every aspect of OPEN YOUR EYES is driven by the principle of leaving a legacy within the Mid West and WA and for delegates to return to their own communities with enduring vision," added Country Arts WA Chief Executive Officer, Jessica Machin.

"One of these legacies will be the creation of a vision for Society and Regional Arts through the delivery of a 2029 Manifesto for the future."

The Queens Park Theatre and the St Francis Xavier Cathedral form the nucleus for the conference's plenary precinct.

"These two imposing architectural buildings sit opposite one another, representing the balance of secular (Queens Park Theatre, where the delegates will speak) and the spiritual (where the delegates will be invites to 'sing the stones')," said Doran.

OPEN YOUR EYES is expected to attract around 400 visitors to Geraldton. Locals, tourists and conference delegates will all be encouraged to participate in activities surrounding the event including free Cathedral Chamber Music Concerts, an Artsfair at the Greenough Settlement and a festival club.
 
Tony Brun, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Geraldton-Greenough, said that OPEN YOUR EYES is a great coup for the City.

"The event is expected to attract around 400 people to the region for rigorous discussion and debate about the arts and its role within society.
 
"OPEN YOUR EYES will be book-ended by two City run events: the Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival which runs from 9 to 11 September and the Big Ideas Festival which runs from 16 to 17 September."

Country Arts WA will host OPEN YOUR EYES in Geraldton from 13 – 16 September 2011.
 
Visit the OPEN YOUR EYES website for more information or to sign up for news alerts. 
 
Support for OPEN YOUR EYES has come from the Royalties for Regions Mid West Regional Grant Scheme, State of Western Australia through the Department of Culture and the Arts and the City of Geraldton-Greenough.