Connections Through Culture

UK: Daniel Regan, Arts & Health Hub

Australia: Gareth Hart

What systems, manners and manifestations of care arise through queerness?

Globally, across environmental, political and community sectors, we notice a growing need for care and an alarming state of care as a radical act. 

Daniel Regan and Gareth Hart will deep-dive into thinking and practice, exploring how care can be a central force in creative and community contexts.

UK: c21 Theatre Company Limited

Australia: Fleur Murphy, National Celtic Festival, Portarlington

Belfast is an ambitious site-specific theatre project, marking Northern Ireland's c21 Theatre Company's first collaboration with Australian playwright Fleur Murphy. This innovative work explores the intertwined histories and futures of two coastal locations—Belfast in Northern Ireland and Port Fairy in Australia. It delves into the profound effects of climate change on these communities.

UK: Transform

Australia: Performing Lines

The Act is an innovative performance work that explores the intersections of dance and sex work, examining the body in professional service across these industries. This project, led by acclaimed Australian choreographer Amrita Hepi in collaboration with writer and sex worker Tilly Lawless, aims to create a nuanced, thought-provoking piece that challenges perceptions of labour, authenticity, and representation. 

UK: Dance North Scotland

Australia: BlakDance

In partnership with BlakDance, the national industry organisation for First Nation contemporary dancers and choreographers in Australia, and independent Moari dance artist Paige Shand, Dance North is conducting research and development to realise the vision of a co-curated Global First Nations contemporary dance festival and exchange programme for Dance North's annual festival of contemporary dance and performance, RISE, in 2026.

UK: SPILL Festival

Australia: Jodee Mundy Collaborations

SPILL and Jodee Mundy Collaborations are presenting a programme of peer-to-peer artist development and intergenerational creative outreach connected to Jodee Mundy’s virtuosic performance work 'Personal'. 'Personal' uses multimedia, documentary and access aesthetics to explore the contradictions of inhabiting two worlds: living in a Deaf family, where sign language is natural, and living in a society that sees only the family’s disability.

UK: Contemporary Music for All (CoMA)

Australia: Speak Percussion

March Static is a contemporary music work for massed wind, drum, and percussion players by acclaimed composer Thomas Meadowcroft (AU/DE). It is performed by an ensemble of local players directed by Speak Percussion (AU) and CoMA (UK). Ethereal chords wash over the audience, interrupted by fragments of marching percussion. The project reimagines the marching band, celebrating community and peace over military might.

UK: Upswing Circus

Australia: Quiet RIOT

"Off the Hook" is a pioneering project that reimagines the traditional variety show by merging circus arts with soul, funk, and physical performance, all set against a backdrop of contemporary social commentary. This cross-continental collaboration between Upswing (UK) and Quiet RIOT (Australia) brings together diverse artists from both countries, creating a unique platform for skills exchange and cultural dialogue.

UK: Naeem Dxvis

Australia: Lilah Benetti

Led by their global community, Lilah Benetti and Naeem Dxvis seek to amplify and reimagine Indigenous, Black, Queer, and Trans histories through innovative art-making and anarchiving methodologies. Within creative labs centred on reciprocal knowledge exchange, world-building and truth-telling, the initiative fosters resonance in global dialogues, addressing historical omissions while critically engaging with the narratives that shape us.

UK: In Between Time

Australia: pvi Collective

Special Envoy: Cultivating Connections is a new model of international cultural exchange based on ‘staying, not going’. A collaboration between Helen Cole, Kelli McCluskey, and Katherine Connor, Executive Director of PAC, Special Envoy is a powerful provocation with the arts sector to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint and create fairer and more equitable access to international networks and opportunities now climate change is a reality.

UK: Fierce Festival

Australia: YIRRAMBOI

YIRRAMBOI and Fierce will address the severe underrepresentation of Australian First Nations artists in the UK by initiating a research and development phase to build and develop a network to bring First Nations artists to the UK through presentations, commissions, and new collaborations.