Audience as Catalyst
Open House Melbourne’s Catalyst Podcast series looks at themes or issues that act as catalysts for creative design thinking and clever design solutions. Joining Open House Melbourne Executive Director and Chief Curator, Tania Davidge, each episode features a designer or creative in conversation with a client or field expert to unpack the topic through the lens of design and the built environment.
In this episode, we are looking at Audience as a Catalyst for design through the lens of Performing Arts Centres. The modern performing arts centre has its roots in the 1960s. These centres were designed as iconic buildings which spoke to their important role in our cities and towns. Although they were founded with great intentions- of bringing the arts to a wider public audience – they have traditionally showcased the ‘high arts’ to a relatively narrow cross section of the community. Contemporary arts institutions, however, aspire to reach a broader demographic and tell stories that connect with a greater cross-section of the community.
Tania Davidge speaks with Professor Katya Johanson from Edith Cowan University and architect and founding director, Ian McDougall from ARM Architecture, to help us unpack the relationship of audience to the design of the contemporary performing arts centre.
If the Arts are for everyone – what is the role of the Performing Arts Centre in contemporary society and what does this mean for the design of these Centres? As the role of the Performing Arts Centre has evolved and the audience it’s seeks to speak to has broadened what does this mean for the for the design of the Performing Arts Centre?
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Ian McDougall, ARM Architecture
Ian McDougall is nationally respected for his contributions to architecture, urban design, and design education. In 1988, alongside Stephen Ashton and Howard Raggatt, he co-founded ARM Architecture, which has since become one of Australia’s leading architectural firms. Ian has played a pivotal role in nearly all of ARM’s arts projects, from the initial study in 2003 to establish a Recital Hall for Melbourne to the recent renewal of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
He led key projects, including the Hamer Hall Redevelopment, Melbourne Theatre Company/Melbourne Recital Centre, and the recently completed Geelong Arts Centre Stage 3. Ian has also been instrumental in the master planning of significant urban projects such as the Melbourne Docklands, the Arts Centre Melbourne Master Plan, the Adelaide Riverbank Arts Precinct and Festival Plaza, and the 2020 Sidney Myer Music Bowl Master Plan. In 2018, he led the team that developed the blueprint for the current Southbank Arts Precinct (now MAP Transformation).
Ian’s contributions have been widely recognised. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 and is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects. In 2016, he received the AIA Gold Medal, the institute’s highest honour. A passionate advocate for the performing arts, Ian established the giving circle “Dancing Architects” in 2014 to support contemporary dance and was a founding patron of BalletLab@Temperance Hall. He also served as a Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival from 2011 to 2017 and was Director/Chair of Lucy Guerin Dance from 2012 to 2023.
Katya Johanson, Edith Cowan University
Katya Johanson is Professor of Audience Research and Associate Dean for the Creative Humanities at Edith Cowan University. Her research is focused on how audiences engage with creative production across a range of artforms, including book publishing, performing and visual arts, and particularly on the factors that enable or obstruct a sense of engagement. These influential factors include the venue or spaces in which arts and cultural encounters take place. She is co-editor of the Routledge Companion to Audiences and Research (2022). Most of her adult life was spent living and working with audiences in Naarm (Melbourne), but she is now living in Boorloo (Perth). With Hilary Glow, she is also co-author of the article ‘The problem with permanence is that you’re stuck with it: The public arts centre building in the twenty-first century’
The Catalyst Podcast series was recorded at The Push, Collingwood Yards. The Push is a youth music organisation and charity with the purpose of giving every young person the opportunity to participate and thrive in Australian music. Over three decades The Push has supported millions of young people with access to contemporary music programs and events.
Produced with the assistance of the Alastair Swayn Foundation. Find out more at alastairswaynfoundation.org
