Chapter 8 - The Australian Festival Network

Summary

This chapter charts the Australian international arts festival network to demonstrate how it operates as part of a decentralised national theatre and to suggest how this local network operates as part of a broader global arts producer and market. By commissioning, producing, and disseminating new, distinctively Australian work of international standard, this network nationalizes the performing arts repertoire and creates a space in which to explore the ambiguities and cultural conflict inherent in nation-building projects. Rather than being insular and inward-looking, constructing national identity in the context of international arts festivals is necessarily conducted in relation to other countries and identities and is outward-facing to both reflect and position ‘brand Australia’ in the global marketplace. Part of the goal of this national network is to facilitate the transmission of Australian cultural product abroad, on the one hand, and to showcase productions from around the world that are similarly representing their local cultures, on the other.