Media Releases

APAP 2008 – CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The Australia Council for the Arts is calling for submissions from artists and companies wishing to attend the 2008 Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference in New York next January.

Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference

APAP is an annual event held in New York in January. It is the largest performing arts market in the USA, attracting over 4,000 decision-makers from across North America and from around the globe who actively engage performing artists. The presenter base is largely drawn from the regional networks within the US market, with seven per cent of delegates (representing over 28 countries) coming from outside of the USA.

Delegates include: festival directors; programmers; producers; artist agents and managers; representatives from funding and philanthropic support agencies; and national and international government organisations.

Presenting organisations represented include: major performing arts centres; university presenters; artform-specific presenters; small-to-medium sized presenters; commercial entertainment; and independent cultural networks.

As a performing arts market, APAP profiles everything from dance, theatre and music (classical/jazz/world), family programming, musical theatre and comedy across both the artistic and commercial spectrums. The exhibit hall features 370 booths for touring artists and companies, artist representatives, booking agencies and presenting groups to meet buyers and presenting organisations. APAP has been traditionally a North American market; however, increasingly, international agencies and representatives are coming to New York to buy and sell work. For more information, visit www.artspresenters.org.

2008 program description

For 2008, the Australian presence at APAP will be extended to include contemporary dance, physical theatre and outdoor performance. Representatives for the selected artists and companies will be supported to attend the APAP Conference. The Australia Council for the Arts will coordinate a booth within the trade fair at APAP to raise the Australian presence and act as a point of contact between the Australian delegates and the APAP attendees.

The Australian presence will be branded as OzArts: Australian Performance Now under the Australia Council for the Arts banner. As in previous years, The Australia Council and the Australian Consulate General in New York will host a reception for the Australian delegates and key international promoters and presenters attending APAP 2008.

Submission process

Through a call for submissions up-to 10 artists and companies will be selected to attend APAP 2008 as part of the Australia Council profile.

Artists and companies working across art form for which movement practice is central to their creative endeavours will be encouraged to apply and who have an established reputation for innovation and excellence in dance and/or physical theatre practice, as well as touring experience.

Applications must be received at The Australia Council for the Arts by COB Friday, 31 August to be considered for the APAP 2008 delegation.

Selection criteria

Priority will be given to companies and artists with new work, which has not been featured in the past as part of the Australia Council activities at APAP. Our aim is provide greater access for the Australian sector to this key US market event, build new relationships between US presenters and the Australian arts sector and ensure that the Council features a broad range of work from the Australian arts sector within this US market. The final selection will be based on the merits of the work and the relationship between the work and the US marketplace for contemporary dance and physical theatre sectors.

Artists and companies must submit the following information:

A selection of one or more high quality export-ready works in repertoire, which have successfully toured within the last two years (this may also include national and regional touring)
High-quality promotional materials, including press kits, video, etc
A history of and/or commitment to touring and a comprehensive approach to the promotion of their repertoire internationally as part of a broader, long-term strategy for the export of their work
Demonstrated infrastructure to sustain and support invitations to tour in the US (ie manager, producer, agent to negotiate contracts, manage visa requirements, freight, etc)
Identify the US as a key target market for their work. Applicants should include a list of identified key US contacts for their work – festival directors, agents, presenters, promoters – that they will target at APAP, as part of this submission.

The final selection is made by a committee comprised of representatives from the sectors based on their artform expertise and knowledge of the US marketplace. Recommendations are made to the Executive Director, Community Partnerships and Market Development for final selection of delegate members.

Costs covered by The Australia Council for the Arts

Only one representative will be supported from each company by the Australia Council to attend the APAP Conference. Representatives may include managers, agents, producers, tour directors or artistic directors responsible for developing and negotiating performance opportunities and collaborations on behalf of the company and/or artist.

As part of the delegation, the Australia Council for the Arts will provide support for an economy return airfare, registration, hotel accommodation for a maximum six nights based on the early-bird conference rate for a single room (Jan 07/single room/APAP Conference Hotel rates e.g. US$175/night).

All other costs (ie taxis, per diems, salaries, promotional materials, etc) will be the responsibility of the artist and/or company.

Responsibilities of the individual delegates

As a member of the delegation, you are invited to:

Attend meetings and briefing sessions with the Australia Council and the contracted coordinator, Keep Breathing, as required
Participate in promotional activities related to the APAP 2008 presence, as required
Attend the Consul Reception co-hosted by the Australian Consul-General and the Australia Council
Be present at the booth during trade fair hours
Provide a brief written report on the outcomes from APAP 2008 within three months.

In addition, all arrangements for visas, travel and accommodation and other associated costs will be the responsibility of individual delegates.

Promotional activities and materials

Branded marketing materials will be produced by the Australia Council to support the Australian presence and the targeted promotion of selected artists and companies.

Key promotional materials include:

Booth banners
Compilation DVD
Promotional materials (ie mini-booklet and DL card)
OzArts Online, which will include a feature on APAP delegation.

All promotional materials developed for APAP 2008 will include the contact details, thumbnail images for all the artists and companies who are featured. Those artists and companies that have been previously featured at APAP will be profiled on OzArts Online.

Project management

Keep Breathing has been engaged to coordinate the Australian presence at APAP 2008 on behalf of the Australia Council.

Showcasing support

Some Australian artists and/or companies may develop showcases in New York during the APAP Conference. Travel support is available for these requests. Artists should submit a proposal, confirming the date, venue and local promoter. The applicant should describe how their performance will:

introduce their work to new markets and new audiences in the US
provide greater touring and performance opportunities internationally, and
fit into the artist’s overall career development plans for the next couple of years.

The grant will cover transportation and freight only. All other costs are the responsibility of the showcasing artist. Support will be based on the merit of the work, along with the details provided above. There is no deadline for this support; however, submissions should be received at the Australia Council no later than eight weeks prior to the showcase event during APAP 2008.

Key target outcomes

The ongoing development of presentation and touring opportunities for Australian contemporary dance and physical theatre artists and companies within the US market, particularly for those artists and companies who are in the preliminary stages of entering this substantial market
Ongoing promotion of the Australia Council-NDP Partnership to the US presenting community
Live presentation and promotion of Australian dance and physical theatre in the US market
The support of a range of delegates from the Australian dance and physical theatre sectors (performing arts sector) who will enhance the Australian presence at the Conference and who will actively network with their US and international colleagues to support their own objectives and endeavours
Public acknowledgement and thanks to past Dance Down Under US ‘Ambassadors’.