Regional arts leverages cultural tourism

Small towns are building big business with festivals and exhibitions that bring people from larger population centres.
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 Image via Queensland Music Festival

For those who rarely venture past the outskirts of a major city, it is easy to forget that culture doesn’t only dwell in places with bright lights and tall buildings. Creative endeavours are both essential and active in regional areas, not only serving locals, but visitors as well. Indeed, it is the latter that helps the arts to flourish in small towns and surrounding districts. Travellers are drawn to far-flung locales to do more than just sample the sights, also looking to enjoy the artistic experiences on offer.

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Sarah Ward
About the Author
Sarah Ward is a freelance film critic, arts and culture writer, and film festival organiser. She is the Australia-based critic for Screen International, a film reviewer and writer for ArtsHub, the weekend editor and a senior writer for Concrete Playground, a writer for the Goethe-Institut Australien’s Kino in Oz, and a contributor to SBS, SBS Movies and Flicks Australia. Her work has been published by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Junkee, FilmInk, Birth.Movies.Death, Lumina, Senses of Cinema, Broadsheet, Televised Revolution, Metro Magazine, Screen Education and the World Film Locations book series. She is also the editor of Trespass Magazine, a film and TV critic for ABC radio Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and has worked with the Brisbane International Film Festival, Queensland Film Festival, Sydney Underground Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival. Follow her on Twitter: @swardplay