2016 Activity Report in December 2015, Adelaide Was Designated a City of Music by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

2016 Activity Report In December 2015, Adelaide was designated a City of Music by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with, and among, cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The 116 cities which currently make up this worldwide network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at a local level, and cooperating actively at an international level. Learn more about the UCCN at: en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home This report has been compiled by Sarah Bleby and Rebecca Pearce, Director Office of Adelaide UNESCO City of Music. Contents 4 Mission, Vision, Objectives, Strategic Pillars 5 Introduction 8 Background & Context 11 Visibility & Promotion of Adelaide UNESCO City of Music 15 Activities & Progress in 2016 24 2017 Activities 26 Vision for the coming 3 years Mission, Vision, Objectives & Strategic Pillars Our mission is to amplify music as Strategic Pillars the heartbeat of Adelaide. 1. Enhance and promote collaboration, Our vision is to be a creative city, with excellence, diversity and sustainability in music as its heartbeat, outward looking all aspects of music making throughout and internationally engaged, enriching the City of Music, including urban 4 the whole state of South Australia. and regional South Australia. Our objectives are 2. Build international pathways for the City of Music throughout the UNESCO • connection through music, Creative Cities Network and beyond. locally and internationally 3. Advocate locally and nationally on • strong music education at all levels behalf of the City of Music and the entire music sector to fully integrate • music integrated with health, culture and creativity into policy and wellbeing and social cohesion sustainable development plans. • visibility and promotion of Adelaide 4. Develop and facilitate connection and UNESCO City of Music. collaboration for music with Industry and all other creative sectors. 5. To foster lifelong love for, and engagement with, music within our entire community through education and participation. Introduction Adelaide’s designation as a UNESCO city’s fabric; they are central to its identity. City of Music in December 2015 has In UNESCO’s language, Adelaide has been galvanised the already diverse music recognised as a City of Music by the Creative culture present in the city and across the Cities Network because it sees creativity— state. The acquisition of this prestigious especially in the form of music—as a key driver title acknowledges how far Adelaide has for the sustainable development of the city. 5 come musically and creatively, but also aspires to how much further it can grow. Numerous commentators1 have noted musical, cultural, and entrepreneurial shifts across It acknowledges both the city leadership’s Adelaide over the last few years. These intentions and attitude, as well as the large shifts have seen movement in many different role that music has played in Adelaide’s history quarters and in multiple directions. There have and urban culture. The palpable rejuvenation been changes in regulatory frameworks and of the city’s live music scene, together discourses, a definite creative groundswell, with policy shifts which have fostered this some concerted policy and strategic refreshed energy, formed a central component changes in industry environments, as well of Adelaide’s submission to the UNESCO as artistic development and recognition. Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Since the designation, connections have blossomed The State Government of South Australia has throughout education, industry, tourism driven much of the policy development and and community music sectors, and have followed through with concrete application gathered momentum alongside continuing initiatives including a residency by Martin artistic and audience development. Elbourne as Live Music Thinker in 20132 and the subsequent establishment of the Music Development Office. The City of Adelaide Why Adelaide? has been a key partner in supporting regulatory change which has enabled strong Adelaide’s membership to UNESCO’s progress for live music and creative industry Creative Cities Network was granted in development, and in developing a highly recognition of the quality, diversity and productive relationship between the two commitment to music and creativity. This levels of government in the live music space. recognition acknowledges both the current trajectory and the many decades leading up Alongside leadership at the policy level, to this point. We need only look at recent there has been a simultaneous surge in Adelaide artists such as Sia, the Hilltop musical activity at a grassroots level, as Hoods, Guy Sebastian, opera’s darling Greta well as some significant development and Bradman, and Tkay Maidza, to see this truly transformation of some of the state’s major international artistic impact. The designation music organisations. Music SA, for example, was made not because Adelaide is the biggest has developed into a vocal and active force or the best, but rather, because creativity, the arts and especially music are woven into the 1 “The changing face of Adelaide’s CBD, four years on”, 30 May, 2014, The Daily Telegraph; “New Frontier: CityMag 2017–18”, 1 September 2017, CityMag; “Activity Hub a ‘new paradigm for SA entrepreneurs”, 6 May, 2014, Adelaide Now 2 “The Future of Live Music in South Australia”, Martin Elbourne, 2013 for contemporary original local music in recent WOMADelaide, Australia’s favourite outdoor years. Not to be left behind, the Adelaide music festival, has had an undeniable influence Symphony Orchestra has taken bold and on the way Adelaide understands music. audacious strides, engaging Nick Carter3, Attracting tens of thousands of people each the first Australian chief conductor of a major year, WOMAD audiences may never have Australian orchestra in 30 years and one of heard of most of the artists on the bill, but the youngest ever. They have also embarked they trust the curators and seek adventure on groundbreaking artistic initiatives, and discovery through attending. As South developing new work with some outstanding Australia’s biggest music festival, its economic local jazz and contemporary musicians. impact in 2014 was $12.8m, and around 45% of its audience comes from interstate. Through recent mapping and research, Adelaide’s position in the Australian music Apart from measurable and economic impacts, landscape is becoming more significant. these “mothership” festivals bring a couple We now know that there are more than of very important cultural effects. Firstly, 330 live music venues operating in through participating in our festivals, artists 6 South Australia, and an average of 950 from elsewhere become powerful advocates live music gigs take place every month for Adelaide and its culture; Adelaide’s in Adelaide’s metropolitan area. reputation in creative communities around the world is fed by our festivals. Secondly, In a tally made in 20144: festivals provide impetus for grass-roots cultural participation and development • total employment from making live music throughout the year. The Adelaide Fringe— in SA was estimated at 4,100 jobs, which with its thriving open-access model—was is around 6.3% of the national figure. born from the need and desire of local artists who fell outside the “main” Adelaide Festival • SA ticket sales for music events program. The substantial growth of Adelaide totalled $59.7m, which equates Cabaret Festival has spawned Cabaret Fringe, to 6% of the national spend. which has been running since 2008, and in 2016, Adelaide Guitar Festival’s Guitars in • live music contributed $263.7m to SA’s Bars program arose alongside Adelaide’s economy, or 0.3% of Gross State Product. newest winter music celebration, Umbrella Winter City Sounds with a similar open-access ethos and in response to a similar demand. City of Music as a Festival City Adelaide is widely known as a festival city; Designation by UNESCO its cultural reputation has been built on festivals. Adelaide Cabaret Festival is the The submission to UNESCO’s Creative biggest cabaret festival in the world, and Cities Network (UCCN) was led by Adelaide the Adelaide Fringe is the second largest Festival Centre with strong support from arts festival on the planet, coming in behind the State Government through the Music only Edinburgh (Fringe) in scale. Adelaide Development Office and the City of Adelaide. Guitar Festival is the most significant event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and As well as detailing the recent developments of course the Adelaide Festival has been in Adelaide’s music sector, the bid drew on one of the nation’s leading multi-artform Adelaide’s historical connections with music festivals since it was founded in the 1960s. and the arts, such as the fact that Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium is the oldest tertiary music school in Australia, founded in 1883. One of its directors, John Bishop OBE, was 3 “Nicholas Carter, 29, named ASO Chief Conductor”, 9 April, 2015, Limelight Magazine 4 New research is currently being undertaken to update these figures for 2017. a leading reformer of music education and The following pages offer an overview of the held a position on the UNESCO Committee background, context and activities of the for Music in the 1960s. He founded the Office of Adelaide UNESCO City of Music Australian Youth Orchestra in

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