Arts managers from around the globe converged on the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Academy’s Arts Management course.

The conference, held on Saturday 13 February, saw graduates and current students of the course come together with invited industry practitioners to share their arts management experiences, providing a unique professional development and global networking opportunity.

In a day devoted to exploring international best practice in arts management, the conference attendees were invited to discuss two key issues affecting today’s arts managers: how to ensure sufficient and diverse income streams in a financially-straitened world, and how to manage a sustainable and fulfilling career.

Keynote speakers for the conference were Bill Gillespie, General Manager of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and former Director of WAAPA, and Ian Scobie, Director of Arts Projects Australia, an independent arts and event management organisation.

Gillespie opened the conference by outlining the challenges that arts managers face in the future, while later in the afternoon Scobie used his extensive experience in the industry to address the issue of building a career in arts management.

In addition, six graduates from WAAPA’s Arts Management course discussed how they used their degree to build careers that span the globe.

These graduate speakers included Ali Happenstall, Managing Director of b2b Partnerships Ltd in London; Damien Hewitt, Executive Marketing Manager of the UK’s Ambassador Theatre Group; Meredith Potter, Director of Meredith Potter Arts Management in Canada; Chiaki Nemoto, Accounts Manager for Young Associates in Toronto; Rikki Bestall, co-producer of the film The Soloist and recently appointed Development Manager of Perth’s ScreenWest; and Amanda Morrison, Managing Director of Perth’s 4UMEDIA.

These graduates, most of whom had flown to Perth especially for the conference, also addressed what they see as the key challenges and opportunities for arts managers today.

WAAPA’s Arts Management course is just one of the Academy’s internationally recognised training courses. With only twenty places annually available, the course is extremely competitive.

Now, 25 years after its first intake, the course boasts over 400 graduates who work across the arts industry in film, theatre, radio, music and television both in Australia and overseas. From general managers of theatre, dance and music companies, to marketing and sponsorship leaders, to top government players influencing arts policy and planning, Arts Management graduates from WAAPA are found across the industry.