Intro
Photo: by Edwin Sitt, taken at the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), 2026 in Boorloo/Perth.
The Australian Performing Arts Market, an initiative of Creative Australia and produced by PAC Australia, connects contemporary Australian theatre, dance, emerging and experimental art with national and international opportunities.
The scale of the 2026 event was impressive with more than 100 events across 9 venues, including 38 pitches, 25 showcases, 20 panel discussions, keynotes, roundtables and debates, 16 targeted networking events and an APAM-exclusive exhibition visit at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
With investment from the WA Government, Perth will be hosting the event in 2026, 2028 and 2030. This year’s APAM showed how in-demand the event is, attracting more than 600 participants.
Western Australia’s roadmap for growing and sustaining the creative industries — Creative WA — recognises that hosting events such as the Australian Performing Arts Market supports the growth of a vibrant creative ecosystem for the state. This was the first time in APAM’s 30 year history that WA had the honour of hosting the event. It isn’t hard to see why this is such a valuable activity, when considering the outcomes — 31 countries were represented at the event, with more than 170 international participants attending, alongside over 250 national delegates who converged in Perth for the event. The event is estimated to have delivered over $3 million in direct delegate expenditure to WA, driven by strong out-of-state attendance.
Photo by Edwin Sitt. Image from the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), 2026 in Boorloo/Perth.
For the Western Australian delegates, APAM provides opportunities to network, promote their work and build international connections. The WA Government provided travel bursaries and showcase support to ensure strong WA representation at the event, with more than 100 attendees from across Western Australia, including two WA showcase performances and 5 WA organisations pitching their work as part of the official program.
Photo: Georgia Landre-Ord, Producer, The Last Great Hunt. Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), 2026, Boorloo/Perth. Photo by Edwin Sitt
The Last Great Hunt showcased their work Le Nor [the rain] to APAM delegates at the State Theatre Centre, receiving a standing ovation.
Georgia Landre-Ord, Producer, The Last Great Hunt, described APAM as “an energising exchange of love for the performing arts”, saying, “APAM provided an opportunity to showcase The Last Great Hunt's show Le Nor [the rain] to delegates from all over the world."
“The APAM delegates 'open dress' of Le Nor [the rain] felt more like a rock concert with the enthusiasm and love from the audience, a true highlight…This response reaffirmed that TLGH, a local Perth based company, are right up there with the world's top creators making new, exciting, high quality theatre that resonates with people from all over the world.”
Photo: From Zoology presented by PICA at WA Museum Boola Bardip as part of APAM. Photo by Nick James.
Too Close To The Sun showcased their world premiere Zoology for APAM delegates over a number of performances, presented by PICA at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
Talya Rubin, Co-devisor/Writer/Performer/Visual Concept and Design, Too Close To The Sun, said, “this opportunity was immense for our company. Being based in Perth where we are relatively isolated and it is not easy to get exposure or traction and put the work we do in front of the right people to grow our profile and presence on the national and world stage, APAM has given us a unique opportunity to step into the world and share what we do with global audiences.”
Photo: Isha Sharvani pitching the work KiN by Isha Sharvani & Collaborators. Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), 2026, Boorloo/Perth. Photo by Edwin Sitt.
Isha Sharvani, who presented and pitched their show KIN, believes that “APAM offers an invaluable platform to share work that reflects Australia’s multicultural creative landscape. It creates opportunities for artists and organisations to connect with national and international presenters, programmers, and cultural leaders, opening pathways for touring, collaboration, and long-term exchange.”
Other WA works pitched included The Whale by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Raised in Big Spirit Country by Pigram Productions & Black Swan State Theatre Company, Ngurragabu [from the last night/next/tomorrow] by Marrugeku and a presentation on developing, creating and presenting work for an audience of children with disability by Sensorium,
And now the hard work and exciting outcomes really start to happen. With the 2026 event complete, the performing artists, producers and presenters continue to develop the seeds of their relationships with discussions that will grow into productive partnerships. Those partnerships can then become concrete plans for sharing stories that will extend their branches out to audiences all over the globe.
Bring on APAM 2028!