Working in the Regions
Keynote Address — Dr Tracey Callinan, CEO Regional Arts NSW

You don’t go to the regions to be seen.
You go to see what you’ve been missing.

In keeping with LRT’s commitment to inquiry and artistic necessity, this keynote reframes what it means to work beyond metropolitan centres. This is not a talk about opportunity — it is a conversation about responsibility.

As Australia’s cultural landscape shifts, regional practice is no longer peripheral; it is central to the future of artistic ecosystems. Drawing on her leadership at Regional Arts NSW, Dr Tracey Callinan offers a grounded, sector‑wide perspective on how cultural life is sustained, strengthened, and transformed across the state.

Through insights from statewide initiatives, advocacy, and deep engagement with regional communities, this keynote explores:

• Service organisations as anchors of cultural life
• Arts‑led regeneration and its long‑term implications
• The importance of connection, collaboration, and local knowledge
• The evolving relationship between metropolitan (suburban) and regional practice

This session sits within LRT’s Connective Tissue: posture, not subject. It asks artists and cultural leaders to consider what is at stake in where they choose to work — and how their practice contributes to the ecosystems that hold us all.

Chair: TBC

Keynote Address — Dr Tracey Callinan, CEO Regional Arts NSW

6.30 – 7.15 Address
7.15 – 7.45 Q&A
7.45 – 8.30: Networking.