Alex Poots champions creative risk-taking at SXSW Sydney

How do you build a vibrant, future-focused cultural precinct? That question was at the heart of a conversation between internationally renowned arts and cultural leader Alex Poots and Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah at SXSW Sydney.

Julia Finn MP, NSW Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts, and Professor Jim McNamara, Acting Dean of the new UTS Faculty of Design and Society, welcomed guests to the event, which was supported by UTS and the Powerhouse Museum.

Ms Finn highlighted the NSW government’s investment in creative precincts across the state, including Newcastle and Wollongong, and their importance in shaping cities "socially, economically and imaginatively".

“Through projects like the Powerhouse Ultimo renewal, Creative Communities’ policy and the Western Sydney Arts Plan, we're reimagining what cultural infrastructure can be; open, inclusive and economically vibrant,” said Ms Finn.

“We're also embedding sustainability and collaboration at every stage, recognising that creative industries don't operate in silos. They spark growth across every sector of our society,” she said.

Mr Poots was named founding artistic director and CEO of The Shed in New York City in 2015, after a decade leading the Manchester International Festival in the UK and serving as founding artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory in NYC from 2012 to 2015.

In conversation with Ms Havilah, Mr Poots spoke about the importance of commissioning ambitious, interdisciplinary works. He shared an example of an upcoming project involving marine biologist Professor David Gruber and AI experts to explore the sentience of sperm whales.

“I think a project like that, to me, is inherently about human creativity, which is the foundations of arts. It is not something ‘over there’ for people who studied arts or who have an appreciation of it,” said Mr Poots.

“I think a centre like The Shed, and somewhere like The Powerhouse, really can have the widest range of inventive, imaginative, interactive work, that really is for the majority of people, rather than the minority.”

Mr Poots reflected on his time in Manchester and the development of the Manchester International Festival. He discussed the festival's approach to balancing local and international elements, and the importance of taking risks.

“That spirit of innovation, of risk-taking; that we can be different, we can be ourselves and we can be as great as anyone else. I think that is really the key to the success of Manchester,” he said.

He spoke about his transition from festival programming to institutional programming at the Park Avenue Armory and later his involvement in developing The Shed in New York, which he said pushed the form of cultural institutions forward.

“Initially it was going to be largely visual arts, and we made it interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary: it can do visual arts, performing arts, pop and all the spaces between.

"It was about looking to the future, taking risks and doing it at scale... This was the largest new cultural institution to be built in Manhattan in 50 years, since Lincoln Center.”

Mr Poots highlighted The Shed's open call program for emerging talent, its impact on the local artist community and its success in supporting emerging artists.

“It's had a huge impact and really embedded The Shed into the hearts of the artist community across New York as well, in terms of commissioning work and practice,” said Ms Havilah.

The discussion underscored a shared belief that the future of cultural precincts lies in bold ideas, creative risk-taking and the power of collaboration to connect communities through art and innovation.