Interview: Anywhere Festival 2023
Picture: Paul Osuch at the Anywhere Festival ‘22 Fish Lane Opening (Picture Credit: Creative Futures Photography)
Paul Osuch finds time to chat with Catherine Lawrence, for Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane, ahead of the Anywhere Festival 2023 opening…
Catherine Lawrence: For me, Anywhere Festival is unique, special, creative, and often inspiring. How would you describe it to someone who has just arrived from Mars (or London)? Feel free to do this in long form, but I’d also be keen to hear your ‘in ten words’ description…
Paul Osuch (Paul): Anywhere Festival is all about discovering shows, places and people you wouldn't expect, where you wouldn't expect. It is a way to come to Brisbane and Moreton Bay and feel part of something, instead of just being a visitor. Anywhere Festival is an anti-festival; instead of thousands of people in one place, it is a whole bunch of intimate events spread over hundreds of square kilometres where discovering and exploring the location is as much of the experience as the performance, whether it is theatre, comedy, music, cabaret, dance or something we can't quite categorise.
So.. in ten words: discovery, explore, unexpected, fun, community, intimate, life-changing, and (dare I say the over-used word), immersive.
Catherine: I love the ‘anti-festival’ tag! So… what first inspired you to co-create Anywhere Festival?
Paul: The thing that first inspired me is the thing that hasn't changed….wanting to make storytelling something that happens where we live, work and play… instead of concentrating on big custom-built venues where ‘the arts’ has to become an industry to survive.
The moment we started building custom-made performance spaces was the moment we started dividing people into people who tell stories and people who sit and watch. Storytelling is about sharing stories. Anywhere is about bring artists and audiences closer together—and it’s about showing there is a way for artists to create and develop shows without having to rely on the bricks and mortar performing arts complex (where 80% of the costs are about keeping the building running, instead of 80% going to the artists that create art for buildings that have no other reason to exist).
Catherine: On the subject of spaces, what is your experience of working with such non-traditional venues? I am guessing that Anywhere Festival has helped them to build an audience/gain experience/develop artistically, so does that mean they stay with the Festival for a long time?
Paul: Many locations do one to two years. What we find happens is that we discover an underused space, or a location comes to us and—after a year or two—their profile is built up so much that they are too busy to offer rent free space for performance - which is a major part of what we want venues to offer. Having said that, there are residential homes participate in Anywhere—including the Australian Modern house in Carina that did house concerts before we came along, and now sees May as the time to curate and arrange their own house concerts—and we feel there is definitely a lot more scope for others to use a similar approach.
Catherine: As Anywhere Festival is now in its second decade, any personal highlights from the first 10+ Anywhere years—be it venue, show, artist, or Festival Director moment?
Paul: The first festival will always have a special place in my heart, because it just came together. Every festival I feel I begin from the ground up and build it in response to what we see around us, with the core being ‘performance anywhere but a theatre.’ There are so many shows that still stick in my mind and for different reasons:
- Circus Delivery with Vulcana happening in driveways after our lockdown, and being one of the first shows anywhere in the world post covid….
- the Skype (remember that ;-) multi country online show You Are Invited, and through to
- the launch event for the first Sunshine Coast Anywhere Festival, on Chambers Island.
Picture: Vulcana’s 2020 Anywhere Festival Circus Delivery (Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography).
Picture: Melissa Western and band in 1994-Ella, Etta, Ertha at Australian Modern, 2021 Anywhere Festival (Credit: Creative Futures Photography).
Picture: Glitter Martini’s 7 Mortal Sinners at St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Anywhere Festival 2022 (Credit: Creative Futures Photography).
Catherine: Turning to the 2023 Anywhere Festival…and first, congratulations on the program and website. Every year, Anywhere Festival brings new acts to entertain existing fans and attract new audiences. I’ve found the ‘23 printed program really easy to navigate, and love how the website offers information sorted by venue, artists and shows …Do you have particular target market? Who is going to LOVE Anywhere Festival?
Paul: The joy of Anywhere is that it attracts people because performances happen in quirky places near where people live. That's the commonality and community by location is such an important thing that we possibly take for granted. People who are connected because they live in the same street or suburb.
There's that, and also one of the great things is that there is a range from comedy and theatre to music and immersive and dance. We wanted to create a program that everyone looked at and found at least one thing they thought sounded interesting
Catherine: Would you say that this year’s festival leans in the direction of a particular genre? I’m thinking music perhaps, but I’m guessing you will have the stats at your fingertips…
Paul: Theatre is always a big part of it—new, fascinating theatre—and that's because the format of unusual locations allows artists the freedom to explore and respond to space that isn't a black box.
Music is definitely bigger this year, with a lot of acts in houses, backyards. Yep, music has definitely grown over the past year, as I think a lot of musos have realised this is a great way to do one or two intimate gigs and do things they couldn't do on a big stage, and the audiences come because they know it will be up front and personal.
Catherine: Any hints you want to offer to someone who has never been to an Anywhere Festival show, as to how to go about selecting a few things to spend their hard-earned cash on?
Paul: We've designed the programs in Brisbane and Moreton Bay so that people can open up the fold out program, and see the whole thing at a glance. If you can't find a hard copy, you can download and look at it from the anywhere.is website. Some people love to open up the show side and pick that way or flip the program over and look at interesting venues and see what shows are on there.
Or you can just go to the website and select "show me what's under $20" or "show me all the cabaret."
Catherine: And what about tips for Anywhere Festival addicts? I’m guessing you might suggest they hunt a new venue or artist… in which case, any new places or acts that we should look out for?
Paul: The Moreton Bay Anywhere Festival is in its third year, and Creative Producer Melissa Western and the Moreton Bay Regional Council team have done an amazing job building a really fun program that does have something for everyone—with from dance that you can watch or participate in, ranging from Lyndon Davis and Gubbi Gubbi Dance through to Dancing in DBay. And there are also some fantastic spoken word events.
Also, the Moreton Bay program has a bunch of new spaces and performers involved this year, from a waterside amphitheatre to the Harry Potter Store of Requirements. Everything in the program is colour coded so you can find it and simplify your choice. The thing I really love is that each week has a shape with many activities you can experience in places that are pretty close together, regardless of where you are in Moreton Bay, which covers a huge amount of territory.
Brand new venues also include the Herston Quarter, the art deco Archerfield Airport Departure Lounge (that I didn't realise was the Brisbane International airport until it moved to its current location). And then there are the two hub spaces. The old Stefan Salon in South Brisbane (now the Fringe Brisbane space) has a range of venue takeovers and escape rooms, as well as some of the best comedy in Brisbane. We're also creating a mini festival hub for the last three days (19-21 May) at the old Taubman's Paint Factory in Yeronga. So yes, lots to see in both festivals!
Catherine: I’m counting down to the Fish Lane Opening Night Takeover. Last year’s event was great fun. Any hints as to who we might expect to join you for the opening?
Paul: We loved last year, and lots of people loved the idea it was the first year back out in public. We are working with Explore Fish Lane to do a bigger takeover this year. So people can come along, discover some acts they may want to book to see the full show, explore nooks and crannies of Fish Lane…. and then go to a bar or restaurant, or head over to the Fringe Brisbane building (around the corner) for the first ticketed shows.
Catherine: I know that Anywhere Festival would not be possible without the hard work of your colleagues, volunteers, interns, community reviewers and photographers… and also the support of your partners. It’s so great to see that you have built a strong Anywhere Festival community.
Paul: You're right. The festival is nothing without everyone who makes it happen—from the performance makers and creatives and venues, and the teams around all of the different shows, through to the amazing interns we have this year. From the very beginning, the festival wouldn't have happened without the financial support from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and now, with Brisbane City Council and Moreton Bay Regional Council financially supporting the festival, it makes it possible to provide the support for artists and provide the best festival experience for everyone.
We have a "Get Involved" page on the website. We are always happy for new people to get involved, especially if you're not sure how. Just let us know you are keen to help out, and we'll suggest some ideas that support the artists and will also be a lovely experience at the same time.
Catherine: I know we are talking about Anywhere Festival 2023… but I guess that some artists and venues are really already thinking about 2024. When do they need to start applying for Anywhere Festival 2024?
Paul: We'll be making an announcement it directly after the Anywhere Awards are announced—which is a few weeks after the festival. But we do want to make it possible for more ambitious acts to have more time to plan than the current end of year application process. Stay tuned to the website, or join our email list.
Catherine: Thanks for being so generous with your time, and thoughts. I have three quick final bigger picture questions… Firstly, do you see a time when Anywhere Festival might be Australia-wide—or even global?
Paul: Anywhere Festival could be anywhere, but in many ways it is the perfect thing here. From its origins in Brisbane, to Sunshine Coast and Noosa (that that we hope will be back), and now Moreton Bay, it just makes sense here: there aren't enough venues, the ones that are here are, on the whole, too expensive for artists to use and make a living and do interesting shows at the same time, and (most importantly), there has always been this thing that I think we've seen with music that comes from this region.
This region is all about pushing boundaries; a bit punk and anti-establishment in attitude, from audiences who don't want to just see the next shipped-in product… through to local acts from Circa taking over the world … or The Saints, Regurgitator, Custard and even Savage Garden. And I think there is still space, and a demand.
Also, we can't forget the climate here. It's so good most of the time that there has to be a really good reason to go see a show instead, and the mix of art and exploration of nooks and crannies seems to suit us down to a tee.
Catherine: You mentioned the Fringe Brisbane space as one of the two Brisbane Anywhere Festival hubs this year. When might we expect to hear about future Fringe Brisbane programs?
Paul: 2022 was really successful, and there was a huge demand from artists and audiences for a fringe in Brisbane. Were really happy with the model, but we've decided to spend some more time to get it right and come back in 2024.
Catherine: Looking forward to it.. so… the promised final question….do you have time to be thinking about anything else?!
Paul: I'm just always working on making Anywhere Festival better. Every year I get to the end and all I think about is what I can do to make it better.
The reason for Anywhere's existence is still so vital, but it feels like what we do is still a drop in the ocean towards where I feel we as a community need to be—with artists and storytelling at its core. Which is why I would really like to see what could be done at a government and council level, to make performance anywhere the norm. Imagine if you didn’t have to wait for Anywhere Festival every year to see shows happening in non-traditional performance spaces. I'd love to know on any day of the week I could discover a house or small business somewhere and meet new people, see a show and connect to my local community and other communities. At the moment, it still feels so hard to do that.
Catherine: I think that has to be the perfect thought-provoking note on which to let you get back to working on Anywhere Festival 2023. Thanks so much for your time, Paul. Can’t wait for that Fish Lane Opening Night Takeover, and the start of Anywhere Festival ’23.
Picture: The Girl on the Moon, Yeronga Paint Factor, Anywhere Festival 2022 (Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography).
A version of this interview first appeared at Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane.