Robyn Archer, City of Gold Coast strategic advisor, arts and culture
We know that arts and culture is alive and well here but we have to make sure that we start telling the true story of how the Gold Coast is evolving as a much more sophisticated and creative twenty-first century city ...
An internationally-acclaimed artist, singer, writer, director, artistic director, public advocate and all-round national treasure, Robyn Archer is one multi-talented lady! She also happens to be the strategic advisor for arts and culture here on the Gold Coast, Robyn took a few minutes out from her hectic schedule of rehearsals for The New Black as well as her many other commitments to chat with The Weekend Edition Gold Coast about culture, challenges and blue-sky dreams for this fine city.
What was it that initially piqued your interest about the role of strategic advisor for arts and culture?
The role evolved after I had come here to speak and conduct workshops. I was interested in the ambition around arts and culture and the potential for artists and arts workers from this region to fulfil that ambition.
You took the helm mid last year, before that had you spent much time here?
I started coming to speak here around July 2013, while I was Creative Director of the Centenary of Canberra. Before that I had spent no time here at all.
Was there anything you were surprised to learn about the Gold Coast?
There are many very surprising things I have learned about the Gold Coast – beautiful green spaces amongst the high rises, the hinterland, pristine environments such as South Stradbroke Island and lots of creative endeavour.
How would you diagnose the health of the city’s arts scene right now?
There are artists in all genres here on the Gold Coast. They work in pure artforms as well as applied forms in the creative industry sector including local Indigenous arts, visual arts, music, design, theatre, dance, children’s performance, musicals and circus. Many work at the amateur level and quite a few are working at the professional level, or are getting near to stepping into that world. I have helped the Arts and Culture unit of City of Gold Coast to bring in arts expertise to assist these artists with the skills and language they need to achieve their potential. This is showing great results and artists are feeling encouraged. The next step in that process is to create the platforms and make the connections for the presentation and promotion of the work they create. We have already done that in part by boosting Bleach* Festival, its expanded budget and new governance arrangements are paving the way for more local artists to present their work. In this year’s program, there were many artists who had come through the various mentorship and up-skilling programs we have undertaken. I am simultaneously working to open up fresh international possibilities for Gold Coast artists.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the city from an arts and cultural perspective?
The lack of visibility of arts and cultural endeavour on the Gold Coast. We know all of the above is going on and while this is just the beginning and it’s on a healthy trajectory, very few residents or visitors know about it. The Gold Coast is still promoted in high-profile campaigns as only sun, surf, and theme parks – this is not the reality of what the Gold Coast is now. All smart cities worldwide have understood for a long time that it is in the best interests of gaining new residents and tourists to promote its arts and culture, this is what must start to change. I travel Australia and the world and most people are surprised to know there is arts and culture activity on the Gold Coast as they are relying on old impressions. We know that arts and culture is alive and well here but we have to make sure that we start telling the true story of how the Gold Coast is evolving as a much more sophisticated and creative twenty-first century city. This could not be more important for the city’s future.
What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast?
I’d like to see a city with such beautiful natural advantages continuing its success as a drawcard for those seeking R&R, but in the future catering for all those visitors who would also enjoy taking part in arts and cultural activities while they are here. Cultural tourism is a huge contributor to the economies of smart cities and I don’t like to see the Gold Coast miss out. If this can be achieved, then more and more local artists will be able to remain here and make a living from their creative endeavours. At the same time, the arts and cultural activity will be making life richer for Gold Coast residents across all demographics – older residents, young people, families, children and all those from culturally diverse backgrounds. The residents themselves will be key to successful collaboration and participation and this process will lead to a greater sense of pride and unity across the city as a whole.
By 2018, what do you hope you’ve achieved?
I hope we are well on the way to all the above and that visitors coming for the Commonwealth Games experience not only the main event but discover a city they had not expected – one in which arts and culture are visible and provide an extra level of depth to the sun/surf/fun skin of the place. The general thrust of my hope is that we have achieved a change of perspective in which both residents and visitors have started to think about the Gold Coast differently, as a place where heritage is respected (both Indigenous and the mid 20th century development of the coast), but where the energies of contemporary local artists, artsworkers and those in the creative industries are equally respected and their creativity shared with audiences throughout the region. I also hope that my work as Chair of the Mayor’s Arts and Culture Reference Group has been able to give helpful expert guidance to the development of the new Cultural Precinct.
You’re currently involved in a production of The New Black, which is on tonight at The Arts Centre Gold Coast. Can you tell us a little about the show?
It’s a little ripper! The writers, Leeroy Bilney and Marcus Corowa, along with director Stephen Helper, are extremely talented. The songs are superb, there are some upbeat anthems and beautiful ballads and there are some really terrific voices amongst the excellent cast. It has a serious theme and you can hardly believe there can be so much light and fun about it, but I think audiences will find it hugely entertaining and uplifting. After all, Gold Coast audiences love their musicals and all successful musicals tend to have a serious issue at heart. The story centres on Jim Kokatha (played by Leeroy), a Ceduna-born man who becomes a flash lawyer in Brisbane, but is confronted by a huge family challenge. The show is all about his journey to self-realisation. And what a treat for the Gold Coast to get this important ‘off-Broadway’ season.
Besides your role with the City of Gold Coast and The New Black, what are you currently working on?
It’s always a long list! I devote half my professional time to the Gold Coast role – this was as much time as I could set aside when the role was first created. Of course, I have my own performances and this has included not only The New Black, but concert performances too. We are currently preparing my show The Other American Songbook for performance in October. My small festival, The Light in Winter, at Federation Square in Melbourne, is currently in preparation for opening on June 1. My duties as Deputy Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts take a lot of time and also as Member of the Federal Council for Australia Latin America Relations. I get a lot of invitations to make speeches and addresses – currently I am preparing to take part in the Australia New Zealand Literary Festival in London at the end of the month and have keynote addresses to write for the Australia Day Council conference and the Local Government Conference (both here on the Gold Coast), the Arts Hub Conference in Sydney, APACA’s inaugural Performance Exchange in Sydney, and the European Festivals’ Association Atelier in South Korea in September. An address of 50-minutes requires around 7,000 words, so they all take time. I also have a couple of strands of negotiations going on for shows of mine to have new productions and I am mentoring a number of artists and artistic directors on an ad hoc basis.
Wow! Tell us about work-life balance – how do you manage to fit it all in?
I think most people looking at my schedule for any day, week, month or year would say I have absolutely no work-life balance whatsoever! I think it’s also obvious that this lack of balance has done me absolutely no harm at all, so I don’t pay any attention to it. I love what I do and I love that it is so diverse. Even though there are very few days off and nothing like regular weekends or evenings, I take my breaks when they occur naturally and when I know my brain needs a rest. This can be a glimpse of the sunrise or sunset, a walk on my beach in Adelaide, the wonderful sound of the Pacific Ocean rolling in day and night here on the Gold Coast, snapping the odd picture, dinner out, or cooking is the real luxury. I am an AFL tragic and go to, or watch on TV, matches whenever I can. If I don’t have urgent papers to read or write, I love to read, my Kindle is a treasure chest of books. Time-management is very tightly managed to be able to fit everything in and take advantage of unexpected gaps appearing, even for an hour. I also plan very purposefully for time with my loved ones – that’s essential and non-negotiable.
What inspires you?
Courage, I think, in all forms – physical, moral, ethical. Artists are often extremely courageous, in performance, or choice of subject matter. But also people who are in the forefront of trying to change the world for the better. I saw many extremely courageous women at the World of Women festival in London in March – the woman who leads the campaign against female genital mutilation is an Iraqi politician who required heavy security because her life is continuously under threat. I came away with great admiration for these women. But it’s any situation in which individuals are prepared to put their own comfort aside and make themselves vulnerable in the defence of something they believe in, some action or words they hope will make a difference. I see artists do this all the time – what they do, and perhaps what they believe in becomes open to criticism on the widest level. It’s also the courage of my mother to face old age and dementia with a kind of instinctive courage and fight. It moves me.
You’ve achieved so much in your career and personally, what are some of your career highlights?
Truly impossible to pin down. I started singing in public when I was four and there have been decades of fantastic moments. The main happiness is that I have been able to do so many different things, not be locked into just one mode of expression and have been able to achieve such a high degree of freedom in my own creativity.
Let’s rewind a bit, you started your career as a singer. What is one of your favourite memories from the early days?
Coming down the stairs inside the British Hotel in Adelaide with my Nana. She was 72-years old at the time, a real Mrs Public House (she and her husband owned the pub), she would put her hand on my shoulder (I was four) and we would high-kick down the stairs. Nana would then place me on a table in the Ladies’ Lounge and I would sing for the customers – a song that she taught me. This is the earliest memory I have of performing.
How do you personally define success?
I enjoy every bit of what I’ve done and what I’m doing, but I also take a constant critical look at what I do and find so many things to keep improving on and working on. Maybe this is in some odd way a definition of success – that you continue to be offered terrific challenges and thus the opportunity to keep learning and lifting your game.
Do you have any words of wisdom to share?
Grab every opportunity you are offered – even if you think you can’t do it, grab it, and learn on the job.
Image credit: Heide Smith.