Arts leadership course gives voice to regions

Bunbury City Councillor Joel McGuinness has been accepted into the Masters in Cultural Leadership course at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

The highly competitive course last year accepted only 15 students from hundreds of applicants.

The course was designed for emerging leaders in arts and culture, consisting of week-long training four times a year, allowing McGuinness to continue with his community projects in Bunbury.

It’s a dream come true for McGuinness, who focused on his regional background in his application.

“I went in all guns blazing, because at times they gloss over regional experience,” he said.

“It’s amazing that cultural people can live and work in regional places, which is a great example of the excellence coming from regional areas.”

McGuinness is excited to have the opportunity to give regional areas a voice and ensuring cultural decisions are not dictated by the big cities.

“I really believe it’s something really important for regional areas to have a strong contemporary voice at the table for arts and culture,” he said.

“Culture is so important to people’s daily life, it’s what makes somewhere liveable, somewhere you want to open a business, bring up a family and not feel like you have to leave to have opportunities.

“I want people to feel proud of being from Bunbury and not be apologetic about it.”

Study at NIDA opens doors to international placements and collaboration with international arts companies.

McGuinness has started a Go Fund Me page to assist with his travel, accommodation and course expenses.