The Living Room Theatre in association with the Inner West Creative Network

What happens when art is treated as an industry rather than a public good?

Justin O’Connor, author, keynote speaker, and global expert on cultural policy, explores how culture can move beyond the logic of the creative economy and be recognised for its human, societal, and civilising value. Drawing on his book Culture is Not an Industry: Reclaiming Art and Culture for the Common Good (2024), he reframes the public good not as a number, but as a space where we understand ourselves, recognise each other, and imagine change.

Presented by The Living Room Theatre, whose work for 25 years celebrates art from the edges and the quiet, lasting impact it leaves.

Justin O’Connor is Professor of Cultural Economy at Adelaide University and Visiting Professor at the School of Cultural Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Justin is an author, a sought-after keynote speaker and a global expert on cultural policy development. He seeks to move cultural policy away from creative economy towards a full restatement of culture as a public good and its centrality to any civilised, just society.​

AGENDA

6.00-7.30 Keynote & Responses
7.30-9.39 Drinks and launch of LRT’s 2026 program, Birds of a Feather. Tunes by DJ Dr. Norse.