Arts precinct could harness real cultural opportunities for Townsville

Following the Federal Government announcing its preference to fund a new concert hall in Townsville under the remaining $140M City Deal funding, Townsville Enterprise is today calling on those funds to flow sooner rather than later.

Funding towards a new arts and cultural precinct in Townsville has been a part of Townsville Enterprise’s State and Federal Government advocacy platform for a number of years, along with two other projects also indicated but not confirmed for a share of the funding – the Lansdown Eco Industrial Precinct and the Aquaculture Accelerator.

Initial analysis estimates that an $80M investment into a new concert hall and arts precinct would not only create 270 jobs and $87M in economic output during construction but inject $11M annually into the regional economy upon opening and support 55 ongoing jobs.

Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said a world-class Northern Australia music and arts precinct would create community pride and global opportunities for the region.

“A world-leading cultural facility would put North Queensland in the box-seat to harness international visitation and support improved liveability for our region,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.

“Cultural infrastructure can do so much more than provide pure tourism benefits, with access to arts and recreation facilities an important factor for people when deciding where to live.

“It’s encouraging that this project has been identified by the Member for Herbert as our existing venues have unfortunately been unable to keep pace with current growth and future demand.

“International cultural visitors to Australia stay 25% longer and spend 20% more than other visitors, which is why events like the Australian Festival of Chamber Music are so important to our economy by attracting audiences from across the globe for 10 or more days.

“Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that majority of the Australian population (82.4%) are attending cultural venues and events, and households are spending more than $25 billion a year on cultural goods and services, demonstrating a significant demand nationally for exactly this time of infrastructure.

 “This is a market which locally Townsville is already strongly supporting through our wonderful NAFA and AFCM events, but we can have a bigger piece of the pie with a new facility bringing a vibrancy of events and culture 365 days a year.”

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation recognises that areas that have a focus on cultural tourism achieve growth much faster. This can be seen in regions across Australia which have flourished from investment into major cultural attractions and facilities.

The Museum of New Art (MONA) in Tasmania attracts more than 1.5 million visitors annually and has indisputably changed the Tasmanian visitor economy and been a catalyst for a raft of new events and festivals. Melbourne City is a global cultural destination and has been able to use this platform to drive investment and attract events. This has helped Melbourne to be considered one of the world’s most liveable cities in the world. Real investment into cultural infrastructure and in particular this concert hall would provide Townsville North Queensland a real competitive advantage.

Chair of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Sandra Yates said the desired outcome of the concert hall was to offer the perfect acoustic to visitors.

“We want the world’s best acoustic offering that only Paris, New York and Tokyo have at the moment,” Ms Yates said.

“We can be the cultural gateway in the Southern Hemisphere and position ourselves on the world map; but we must get it right, it can’t just be a fancy building to be globally recognisable.

“If for example the world’s most admired acoustician, Dr Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, was engaged at the planning stage and in the choice of architect for the Concert Hall that would give Townsville a unique selling point.

“Dr Toyota has most recently designed the acoustics of the Elb Philharmonie in Hamburg and the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

“He does not appear to have created a concert hall from its inception for Australia so the anticipated outcome of his involvement could be a unique facility for Townsville, providing Australia’s best acoustic.

“As the arts and culture capital of Northern Australia, Townsville needs a state-of-the-art venue comparable to the standard and talent of our thriving arts community. An investment of $80M will ensure the delivery of a world-class Concert Hall for the North.”