Punctum

BEYOND Pilot: A case study in 'slow touring'

Through the pilot of BEYOND in 2022, five regionally based organisations working in the fields of contemporary performance looked to the future of experimental practice in regional settings, establishing a collegiate model of collaboration and knowledge sharing that enables sustainable new work development and responsible national touring or mobility for regional artists.

Punctum brought partners including Kyneton Contemporary (VIC), SITUATE (TAS), Country Arts South Australia (SA) and Sunshine Coast Council (QLD) together post-COVID border closures, to replant opportunity, regenerate experimental practice development and production, and reimagine the future of touring and practice development in regional Australia.

In establishing BEYOND, Punctum and its partners formed a regionally based national cohort with shared values, resources and knowledge, and a readiness to test a new model of sustainable work development and responsible national touring and mobility for regional artists.

Across the 12-month pilot, the partners worked collaboratively, building a strong creative, connected, curatorial, arts practice and mobility framework. We tested the model through three case studies:

ArtsCoast – Sunshine Coast Council to Kyneton Contemporary
Sunshine Coast artists Courtney Scheu and Itamar Freed undertook initial research and development for a new work through a hosted field trip to Kyneton Contemporary Arts Triennial.

Punctum to SITUATE
Central Victorian artist Alvin Darcy travelled to Launceston to take part in two SITUATE Labs, ahead of the development of a new work.

Country Arts South Australia to Sunshine Coast Council
Lewis Major Ensemble spent three weeks in residence in Nambour, through Sunshine Coast Council’s Creative Spaces program.

Watch this short documentary on the Beyond Pilot Artists:

Read the report – BEYOND: A Case Study in ‘Slow-Touring’

Explore other experiments shared in our spaces and those created through Punctum’s residencies, partnerships and programs.
John Kachoyan
Sandra Minchin-Delohery
In partnership with Australian Art Orchestra