Our Audience Development Capability Program will invest over $1.2 million into targeted opportunities, resources, and pilot initiatives over 2026 and 2027.
Audience Development remains a critical challenge for arts organisations and presenters as audience interests, behaviours and attitudes continue to change. Many organisations need to re-consider approaches to audience development and focus more on demand trends and strategies to engage and attract new audiences.
This suite of complementary programs is designed to support the sector with their approaches to audience development and provide a targeted capability uplift for a sustainable sector.
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Be the first to learn about Audience Passports when it launches, and news and updates on our Audience Development Capability program.
Audience Futures 2027
The Audience Futures webinar series will return in early 2027 with Dr. Sophie Lieberman GAICD joining as the host and facilitator. Sophie will host monthly webinars with leading audience development practitioners to surface what organisations are trialling, learning, and getting wrong to share learnings across the sector.
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Be the first to learn when the new series releases
Audience Futures: Lessons from the National Arts Participation Survey
The National Arts Participation Survey offers a detailed picture of how attendance patterns are shifting across Australia. Audience Futures is a series of three webinars to bring together practitioners and peers to interpret the findings on event attendance, with a special focus on performing arts.
Hosted by Tandi Palmer Williams and joined by leading guests from the Australian arts sector and beyond.
Understanding arts attendance: Interpreting the trends with practitioners and peers
Audience Futures: Understanding arts attendance
Host:
- Tandi Palmer Williams (Director, Patternmakers)
Panellists:
- Fergus Lineham (CEO, Carriageworks)
- Tzo Zen Ang (Principal, TZA Consulting & Advisory)
- Maitland Schnaars (Artistic Director, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company)
Auslan interpreters:
- Fiona Donaldson
- Marni van Vliet
Producers:
- Jden Redden (Manager, Capability Development)
- Crystal Ho (Communications Officer, Events)
Download presentation (PDF).
Navigating audience motivations: Sharing perspectives on what drives event-goers
Audience Futures: Navigating audience motivations
Host:
- Tandi Palmer Williams (Director, Patternmakers)
Panellists:
- Ebony Bott (Artistic Director, Brisbane Festival)
- Geoffrey Lim (Executive Director, Cypher Culture)
- Lucy Keeler (Chief Strategy Officer, Mandylights)
Auslan interpreters:
- Fiona Donaldson
- Stephen McPherson
Producers:
- Jden Redden (Manager, Capability Development)
- Crystal Ho (Communications Officer, Events)
Download presentation (PDF).
Investing in the next generation: Acting on opportunities for children and young people
Audience Futures: Investing in the next generation
Host:
- Tandi Palmer Williams (Director, Patternmakers)
Panellists:
- Dr John Nicholas Saunders (Senior Lecturer, Australian Catholic University)
- Zoe Scrogings (CEO & Executive Producer, Corrugated Iron)
- Hayden Tonazzi (CEO & Artistic Director, Australian Theatre for Young People)
Auslan interpreters:
- Fiona Donaldson
- Stephen McPherson
Producers:
- Jden Redden (Manager, Capability Development)
- Crystal Ho (Communications Officer, Events)
Download presentation (PDF).
Audience Data Explorer
In June 2026, Creative Australia released Creative Transformations: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey, the sixth study in the landmark research series exploring Australians’ attitudes towards, and engagement with, arts and creativity.
The Audience Data Explorer is an interactive way to engage with the results and trends of the Survey. The Explorer dives into live performance attendance, creative engagement, and unpack insights into motivations and barriers that Australians experience in their attendance or engagement.
For the first time, the Explorer allows you to quickly compare between two data sets and create custom filters to understand specific cohorts.
Audience Segments
The Explorer surfaces 5 audience segments that provide a quick way to split up the general population into smaller actionable cohorts. The 5 audience segments are the same segments from the 2022 and 2019 surveys allowing for longer term trends to become visible and be analysed.
Audience Development Pilot Opportunities
In 2026, we have invested in two pilot audience development capability programs for eligible Multi-Year Investment Organisations to test, share, and socialise innovative and whole-of-organisation approaches to audience development.
The Audience Development Innovation Fund seeks to stimulate new and bold approaches with outcomes and learnings shared with the sector. While the Audience Development Mentoring Program builds upon Creative Australia and Deakin University research into audience-centric practice, with a focus on whole-of-organisation capability uplift.
23 organisations from both the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework and Creative Australia's Four-Year Investment Organisations cohort were successful in the pilot round. All participating organisations from both programs will contribute to sector wide learnings and capability development through the creation and sharing of case studies, research reports, and other resources.
Audience Development Innovation Fund
The Audience Development Innovation Fund is a pilot initiative by the Capability Development team for eligible National Performing Arts Partnership (NPAPF) organisations that seeks to stimulate new and bold approaches to audience development with outcomes and learnings shared with the sector. Applicants could apply for investment of between $50,000 to $75,000.
In June, we announced the 12 successful applicants. At the conclusion of each of their projects the organisations will work with Creative Australia to share with the sector a case study, reports, or other resources. This will be an opportunity to socialise and unpack the insights, challenges, and learnings from their project and contribute to peer capability development.
You can read a summary of the proposed 12 projects including: the problem, the innovative approach, and intended outcomes.
Artback NT Incorporated
Artback NT Remote Music Touring Initiative
Artback NT will work alongside industry peers, such as Music NT, Remote Indigenous Media Organisations as well as shire and land councils to design and test a community-led model for touring live music to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. The work responds to distance, seasonal access, cost, limited infrastructure and the difficulty of sustaining local relationships. Drawing on existing initiatives, such as the successful Bush Bands Bash, this initiative aims to find pathways for further professional development and community engagement for remote music artists. The resulting case study and model aims to support future music, theatre and dance tours to remote communities.
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra t/u Brandenburg Ensemble Ltd
Brandenburg Companion
Each season, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra subscribers bring guests who are not identified when a ticket is shared. Brandenburg Companion will give those guests a registration pathway, personal seat allocation, pre-concert information, a hosted welcome and follow-up from a musician. The orchestra will compare return and subscription conversion rates for welcomed guests with a control group. It will also test a new Companion Package and share the results and a replication guide with other performing arts organisations.
Belvoir t/u Company B Limited
Producing Belonging: A Community-Led Audience Development Framework
Belvoir will draw on audience-centred practices developed through Counting and Cracking, The Jungle and the Sea and other productions to develop a documented methodology that can be applied across future work. Researchers and audience development specialists will examine past case studies, audience data, interviews and focus groups, alongside Belvoir’s existing cultural and community relationships, to identify what supports trust, access, repeat attendance and a sense of belonging. The methodology will be tested and refined through upcoming productions and community engagement, with findings informing an internal framework, evaluation report and resources for the wider sector.
Dancenorth Australia Limited
Arts for Workplace Wellness: A Pilot for embedding creativity in Employee Wellness Programs
Dancenorth will co-design a six-month Arts for Workplace Wellness pilot with a corporate partner. About 30 employees will take part in workplace arts experiences and receive subsidised access to Dancenorth performances and community programs. The pilot will test whether this approach reduces barriers such as cost, time, travel and low awareness while supporting wellbeing and social connection. Participation, ticket sales and stakeholder feedback will inform whether employers and arts organisations could use the model more widely.
La Boite Theatre Ltd
Your Neighbourhood Theatre - A cultural participation pilot for new Brisbane residents
Your Neighbourhood Theatre will invite newly arrived Brisbane residents into hosted experiences around two productions in La Boite’s 2027 season. OnTalent, Multicultural Australia and Queensland University of Technology will help recruit people arriving through relocation, migration, refugee settlement and international education pathways. Shared hospitality, guided attendance, artist conversations and introductions will reduce social, financial and cultural barriers. La Boite will track participation, confidence, connection and repeat attendance to learn whether theatre can become part of how new residents connect with the city.
Marrugeku Inc
Marrugeku Audience Development and Impact Program 2026-27
Marrugeku will extend an audience development and impact program first piloted during the 2026 regional Western Australian tour of Cut the Sky. In partnership with presenters and First Nations Elders, Traditional Owners and community organisations, it will tailor engagement for Cut the Sky Installation in five Kimberley towns and Ngurragabu in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. Pre- and post-show activities, audience surveys and presenter focus groups will test how the approach reaches First Nations audiences and supports presenters to build confidence. The findings will inform future touring and a possible multi-year program.
Musica Viva Australia
MVA Next Gen - strengthening connections with young participants
Musica Viva Australia has around 4,000 alumni of its Emerging Artists program but has limited contact with many of them after they complete their engagement. MVA will first research its young participants’ needs, motivations and barriers to live performance, then run a series of engagement experiments from January to June 2027. These activities will test forms of participation beyond discounted tickets and one-off concert invitations. Participant feedback and attendance data will shape future engagement initiatives for young people and recommendations for other organisations that run youth programs alongside mainstage work.
State Theatre Company of South Australia
New Approaches to Audience Development: Relevance and Resilience in South Australia
State Theatre Company South Australia will refresh its audience research with Tzo Zen Ang and Baker Richards, then turn the findings into an audience development plan. The work will focus on South Australian conditions, including price sensitivity, late bookings and low participation by people aged under 40, particularly single-ticket buyers. The company will test new approaches, explore an under-40 subscription offer for the 2028 season and build audience insight into programming and engagement. A case study will share the results with the sector.
Sydney Dance Company
Attracting new, younger audiences using Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
Sydney Dance Company will investigate how Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) can help audiences, particularly those aged under 30, search and discover its performances through AI-driven tools. With specialist support, the company will research prompt and query mapping, make technical adjustments to the discoverability of content through its digital channels (primarily website), create and test content for its first season of 2027 and track traffic from AI sources alongside ticket sales and attendance. The work will build internal knowledge in emerging shifts in audience information search behaviour, and the impact on digital marketing. Sydney Dance Company will document what works and share practical guidance with the wider arts sector.
West Australian Opera Company Inc
ARTELIZE: Increasing audience retention with AI powered analytics
West Australian Opera will introduce Artelize, an audience intelligence platform that connects with its Tessitura ticketing system. The platform will help staff identify first-time, returning and lapsed attendees, create clearer audience segments and tailor communications without replacing existing systems. The project will measure repeat attendance, reactivation, email engagement and time saved on analysis and campaign preparation. West Australian Opera will produce a case study and implementation guide to share with other performing arts organisations.
Windmill Production Company
Audience Development through Agency and Authorship with Toddlers: The VALERIE Co-Creation Pilot
Windmill will work with toddlers to develop a new production inspired by Valerie, the dachshund that survived alone for 529 days on Karta Pitingka (Kangaroo Island). Workshops and age-appropriate interviews will invite toddlers to shape the story, characters and sensory experience. Early childhood specialists, kindergartens and childcare centres will help Windmill develop safe and practical methods for this work. The pilot will track toddler contributions, partnerships and attendance by children aged under five, then share a method for co-creation in Theatre for Early Years.
Audience Development Mentoring Program
The Audience Development Mentoring Program is a pilot initiative by the Capability Development team for an eligible cohort of Four-Year Investment organisations (FYIO) working across live performance, that seeks to build organisational capability for audience-centric practice.
Organisations will participate in a structured 9-month coaching and mentoring program guided by one of four industry experts: Paschal Berry, Nicole Beyer, Karilyn Brown, and Katrina Torenbeek.
The program is informed by Leading Change: Audience Diversification in the Arts, a multi-year research partnership between Creative Australia and Deakin University into audience-centric practice.
Participating organisations will engage in a structured and guided program rather than proposing a self-directed project. This includes completing diagnostic activity, participating in regular advisory sessions, contributing to a Community of Practice, and documenting reflections, progress and learnings across the life of the program. At the conclusion of the program, participants will share their learnings and insights with sector through case studies.
The 12 successful applicants are:
| Organisation | Jurisdiction | Artform |
| Aphids Events Inc | Victoria | Emerging and Experimental Arts |
| Australian Dance Theatre | South Australia | Dance |
| Australian Theatre for Young People | New South Wales | Theatre |
| Barking Gecko Theatre Company Ltd | Western Australia | Theatre |
| Brown's Mart Arts Limited | Northern Territory | Theatre |
| Dancehouse Incorporated | Victoria | Dance |
| Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre Inc | South Australia | Music |
| Powerhouse Youth Theatre Inc t/a PYT | Fairfield | New South Wales | Theatre |
| The Performance Space Ltd | New South Wales | Emerging and Experimental Arts |
| The Substation Contemporary Art Space Ltd | Victoria | Multi-art form |
| Vulcana Womens Circus Inc | Queensland | Community Arts and Cultural Development |
| Yirra Yaakin Aboriginal Corporation | Western Australia | Theatre |
Audience Passports
In the coming months, Creative Australia will launch new resources, data, and tools for the sector that builds upon the 5 Audience Segments from the National Arts Participation Survey. We will soon introduce 12 audience personas that we are calling Audience Passports.
Audience Passports will be a powerful tool for the sector to have a shared language for talking about audiences, shared strategies of audience engagement, and a framework for unlocking audience insights. Audience Passports are designed for everyone from independent artists to our largest organisations, and even sector wide analysis.
We’re excited to bring this new audience development capability resource that responds directly to identified sector need surfaced through both the Audience Futures webinars and Centering Audiences dialogues.
Stay up to date
Be the first to learn about Audience Passports when it launches, and updates to our Audience Data Explorer.
Centreing Audiences: Leadership dialogues on audience development
In June 2026, Creative Australia partnered with PAC Australia to convene a series of leadership dialogues designed to:
- develop a clear, evidence‑informed understanding of current audience challenges in live performance
- translate lived experiences from across the sector into actionable insights
- stress‑test assumptions about where support, investment, and structural change would have the greatest impact
- explore audience demand and its connection to programming
- identify practical pathways for alignment, experimentation, and next steps
- seed shared and collaborative approaches to audience development.
The Dialogues brought together over 50 sector participants ranging from independent artists and producers; marketing and audience development managers; CEOs; and artistic directors over 4 days.
The insights and discussions from the Dialogues will help inform and form an evidence base for future investments in audience development capability.
Questions about the Audience Development Capability?
Jden Redden
Manager, Capability Development
jden.redden@creative.gov.au
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We acknowledge the many Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and honour their Elders past and present.
We respect their deep enduring connection to their lands, waterways, and surrounding clan groups since time immemorial. We cherish the richness of First Nations peoples’ artistic and cultural expressions. We are privileged to gather on this Country and to share knowledge, culture and art, now and with future generations.
