STP&A is the oldest and one of the most influential academic gatherings of researchers and practitioners in the field of arts management and cultural policy.

The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in conjunction with STP&A is pleased to offer the public FREE access to three keynote lectures as part of the conference. These include the Opening Plenary with Professor David Throsby AO, Distinguished Professor in Economics of Art and Culture and Professor Julian Meyrick, Strategic Professor of Creative Arts at Flinders University and the Plenary and the Arts Panel with Douglas Gautier, CEO & Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Opening Plenary – Friday 11 December

During the Opening Plenary Professor David Throsby AO, Distinguished Professor in Economics of Art and Culture will present on ‘Cultural industries and cultural policy: problems and prospects’. David will discuss how in recent years the cultural industries have moved to centre stage in the formation of cultural policy in a number of countries. He will outline the reasons why this trend has occurred and discuss some of its implications. The presentation will draw illustrations from recent shifts in Australian cultural policy and, in a wider international context, from efforts to incorporate culture in the formulation of the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goals. David is Distinguished Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia and is internationally recognised for his research and writing on the economics of art and culture.

Professor Julian Meyrick, Strategic Professor of Creative Arts at Flinders University will also present. He will discuss ‘Telling the Story of Culture’s Value: Ideal Type Analysis and Integrated Reporting’. Julian aims to use his presentation to encourage the reunion of economics and sociology in respect of culture’s value currently underway in the work of David Stark and Michael Hutter. Julian is Strategic Professor of Creative Arts at Flinders University, the Artistic Counsel for the State Theatre Company and an Honorary Associate at La Trobe University.  He was Associate Director and Literary Advisor at Melbourne Theatre Company 2002-07 and Artistic Director of kickhouse theatre 1989-98.

Plenary and Arts Panel – Saturday 12 December

The plenary presentation with Douglas Gautier, CEO & Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Centre will investigate ‘Cultural Institutions in a Multicultural Society’.  This presentation will be an exploration of the opportunities and responsibilities of key cultural organisations and institutions in modern day multicultural Australia. Douglas will question how these organisations are responding to the rapidly changing dynamics of the cultural characteristics and demands of the community and Australia’s position as an integrated member of the Asia Pacific region. Douglas has had a long career in the arts and entertainment sectors across a number of cultures internationally. In 2013, he was elected as the Chair of the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres (AAPPAC).  Douglas is also the Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership, a joint venture of the Adelaide Festival Centre and the University of South Australia.

The Plenary will be followed by an Arts Panel that will discuss ‘Arts and Culture in the Asia-Pacific Context’.

Information on the full conference program may be found on the STP&A website.

FREE Registration: Social Theory, Politics and The Arts Conference – Keynote Addresses
Friday 11 – Saturday 12 December 2015
Allan Scott Auditorium, University of South Australia, City West campus

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, The University of South Australia and The Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership.