Artists and Industry Across Remote Australia Don’t Need a Quick Fix, They Need to Be Taken Seriously (Op-Ed)

From Aug. 7 – 9, music experts, artists, policymakers, academics and community leaders from the NT and beyond will gather in Darwin for the inaugural Regional And Remote Music Summit.

With the objective of determining new pathways for regional music-making, the summit hopes to sow the seeds for a new music ecosystem that truly supports and strengthens the artists and industry creatives whose art is being born out of Australia’s regional and remote areas.

So why is this important?

With approximately 28% of Australia’s population residing in these areas, it’s simply unreasonable to consider the country’s regional and remote areas as less than a priority, particularly when it comes to national conversations of accurate and adequate levels of support provided to them – across all sectors.

And when it comes to music and creative spaces, there has never been a more exciting or important time to be elevating and properly supporting storytellers and artists from these areas.

A concept such as the Regional And Remote Music Summit isn’t new. Opening pathways of communication, collaboration and sharing of knowledge in a music industry space is something we see happen all around the country at multiple calendar points during any year.

But where this summit is hoping to create a point of difference, is by positioning those living and working in these areas on a platform where they can provide visiting industry with key insights of their own.

In short: instead of sending a cohort of East Coast music industry to the NT to leave anecdotes on the table for locals with solutions to problems offered, but perhaps not followed through on, the aim here is to centre the voices of the local industry as a priority.

Key to this is the introduction of a roundtable discussion that has invited representatives from the NT music space – offering them the platform to voice their concerns, their aspirations and visions for the future. It will also give participants the opportunity to discuss the challenges they face as artists and industry that are specific to their region.

The panel I am chairing as part of the summit will bring the findings from the NT roundtable to the larger audience of attendees, as we look at the importance of our regional and remote storytellers within the national framework.

Where the National Cultural Policy – ‘Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place’ – recognises the value of diverse stories; the conversation around who actually gets to tell them, and with what support, is one that is rarely given prominence.

So, with a curated program of visiting speakers from various industry backgrounds gathering with open minds and decades of experience to offer, it is my hope that new conversations and collaborations are developed.

Our creative landscape in Australia is changing more in recent years as a result of recent history spent losing revenue, venues, and sustainable pathways where they were once guaranteed.

Pouring consideration and effort into uplifting and sustaining the regional and remote live music industries, bridging skill gaps and developing artists in a way that supports their connection to culture, artistic vision and ambitions – frankly, it has never been more important.

A three-day conference isn’t going to put permanent solutions in place. But in demonstrating its clear intent in centering the artists and voices who need to be amplified the most, I hope to see the echoes ripple out from here and start to enter more national conversations.

Artists and industry across our vast remote and regional areas aren’t looking for the quick fix of success; but what they do need, is to be taken as seriously as their major capital cousins.

The talent and vision is there – now is the time for the infrastructure and framework to stand up to match it.

Sosefina Fuamoli is an award winning Samoan-Australian music journalist, broadcaster, and content producer, whose work has been featured in such titles as Rolling Stone Australia, Junkee, NME Australia, Time Out, Beat Magazine, The Age, The Australian and more.