THE BLEACH* THAT CONQUERED COVID

The 11th BLEACH* festival metaphorically closed its doors on Sunday evening. Over 11 days, BLEACH became the catalyst for conversations about our city’s identity, ideas for our city’s future, and served as a timely reminder of the broader community we are part of.

From concerts in sheds, to burlesque on buses, to promenade performances on the coastline,

BLEACH* 2022 invited people to experience the city differently. Off the back of a tumultuous two years for the arts industry and the city, audiences showed strong support for the festival with good attendance across the festival.

Stories of place, and cultural dances, food shared across artisan tables, bog night skies filled with home grown songs, this was BLEACH* at its best.

Festivals and events are key economic drivers for our city, particularly as part of the city’s Covid recovery.

In 2020, the federal government, through the Australia Council for the Arts, released the Domestic Tourism report. Key insights from the report reveal domestic arts tourism is growing. The highest growth rates are regional cities and regional towns.

At the moment, the Gold Coast lags behind other regional cities in attracting cultural tourists and day trippers.

BLEACH*, as the city’s flagship festival, is well placed to leverage this, particularly given the strong national media coverage this year including Channel 7’s Sunrise, which reaches on average 1.2 million viewers.

Recognising and supporting a vibrant cultural landscape on the Gold Coast is critical in our city’s recovery and identity as a vibrant, safe, contemporary liveable city. It will also ensure the continued economic and social benefit the arts and culture play.

The report also revealed an increased appetite for First Nations cultural experiences that are authentic, and selfdetermined. BLEACH* audience data confirms this, with the First Nations program well attended, and in most instances selling out during to audience demand.

In essence, arts tourists are high value tourists. They stay longer and spend more when travelling for art and culture than domestic tourists overall.

And that’s not at the expense of the incredible value local audiences bring when dining out in their hometown, lured because of the cultural invitation from the festival.

The BLEACH* identity has been built of the local community. Year on year, we expand our reach and the festival’s social capital. And what is apparent, is that when “cultural tourists” arrive to town, they seek out experiences that locals value.

Art makes the place, and our place, here on the Gold Coast, is all the better for its cultural vibrancy.

Rosie Dennis is the Artistic Director of BLEACH* Festival.