Perth International Arts Festival
The GSDC is the main sponsor of the Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) Great Southern Program. The festival gives the regional community the chance to experience a wide range of world class entertainment previously not offered in regional areas, provides professional development opportunities for local artists and performers, and encourages tourism visitation to the region over the festival period.
The PIAF Great Southern Program 2009, held from February 10 to March 15, was another outstanding success and for the second year in a row the entire program was sold out, drawing a total audience of about 13,000 people. This was more than double the number who attended the first program in 2003. The program featured a diverse range of attractions including instrument making workshops, theatre, film, jazz, world music, chamber music, literature, comedy, visual arts, and culinary and community events.
The GSDC contributed $25,000 to the PIAF Great Southern Program through the Regional Development Scheme. Other funding partners included the City of Albany, Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Water Corporation, the Albany Western Australian Museum and the State Government.
In addition to the main sponsorship the GSDC supported two regional components of the PIAF Great Southern Program, namely the Southern Edge Arts production Café Shakespeare and the Newarts event Paperartzi, both of which received $2500.
In 2009 the GSDC also supported the promotion of the PIAF Great Southern Program in Perth by funding a $7800 promotional campaign that included a feature article in the West Australian magazine and by organising a competition offering free accommodation in Albany and festival tickets for the Great Southern Program. The competition generated almost 1000 entries from Perth, Mandurah and Bunbury and in doing so raised the profile of the Great Southern Program.
The GSDC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PIAF which should ensure programming in the region until at least 2011.
