Do artists change minds?

Asylum seekers, hate crimes, and same-sex parenting: Hot-topic performances aim to change attitudes but unless you get to diverse audiences, you are just preaching to the choir.
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The arts have a key role to play in helping us consider new ideas, challenging our preconceptions, and coaxing us outside our comfort zones. But when we stage works exploring socially progressive or political themes, to what degree are we preaching to the choir rather than to audiences for whom such productions might actually be confronting, thought provoking, and potentially valuable?  

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts