APAX 2025: A Landmark Gathering in Garramilla
The Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX) is where Australia’s performing arts sector comes together to connect, share knowledge, and create opportunities for work to reach audiences nationwide.
More than a marketplace, it’s where relationships are forged, collaborations take shape, and ideas spark into action.
In 2025, APAX travelled north, hosted in Garramilla, Darwin on Larrakia Country. Delegates swapped winter coats for the tropical heat, with the Darwin Festival in full swing adding an extra layer of energy to the week. The setting was significant, an opportunity to gather in a place rich with culture and creativity, and to reflect on the importance of place in shaping the stories we tell.
A Record Year
APAX 2025 was massive. It was our first-ever sold-out event, with more than 450 delegates joining us at APAX. We saw:
- 80+ participants in the training intensive programmes exploring leadership, practice, and sector strategy
- 4 venues across Darwin buzzing with activity
- 85 bursary recipients, broadening access and inclusion
- 9 artists and producers in our First Base
- 50+ producers and artists presenting in the Arts Market
- 65 speakers sharing expertise across the programme
- 3 showcase performances bringing ideas to life on stage
The numbers are big, but the energy of the event was bigger, with artists, producers, presenters and advocacy bodies coming together to share knowledge and ideas.
Conversations That Mattered
The Arts Market remained a highlight, with 52 of Australia and New Zealand’s leading artists and producers introducing bold, exciting and challenging work to presenters and programmers. Delegates engaged in honest conversations about the challenges and opportunities ahead, including sustainable touring, shifting audiences, leadership renewal, and cultural equity. The intensives and conference sessions gave space for deep dives into strategy, artmaking and our audiences, funding, sustainability and more. Alongside this our informal moments of gathering, when we shared conversations in foyers, cafés, and on balmy Darwin nights, were just as valuable. Everywhere, there was a sense of collaboration and being in this together.
A Shared Future
What made APAX 2025 truly special was the spirit of connection. Delegates started the work of building new relationships and seeding new ideas for change in the sector. The gathering was a reminder that while the sector faces pressures, it also holds immense resilience and creativity. As the week closed, delegates left Garramilla with renewed purpose. APAX 2025 serves a purpose more than just being a market and a conference, it was a landmark gathering that reaffirmed PAC Australia’s vision: to ensure the right work reaches the right audience, at the right time.
APAX 2025 in Garramilla I Darwin (Photo credit: Alex Sibbison)
APAX 2025 in Garramilla I Darwin (Photo credit: Alex Sibbison)
APAX 2025 in Garramilla I Darwin (Photo credit: Alex Sibbison)
APAX 2025 in Garramilla I Darwin (Photo credit: Alex Sibbison)