THE CITY: CREATIVE MIGRATION AND THE DEMISE OF LIVE MUSIC VENUES

Abstract

The centrality of the arts to liveability and community wellbeing is clear, yet opacity
surrounding the practice and conditions of creative artists presents a major impediment to
effective policy and planning. Drawing findings from recent research, this paper considers arts
practice in relation to the migration of creative artists from smaller cities and regions. The first
phase of research gathered data from Western Australian creative artists living in Europe, the
US and other Australian states. As expected, the dominance of major cities as centres of
economic and cultural activity emerged as an obvious migration factor. More surprising was
the strong link between local opportunities and the demise of small venues, which was most
apparent in relation to live music. Smaller live music venues became, thus, the focus of the
second research phase. The study found that creative artists most commonly migrate because
of insufficient local opportunities and a desire to make new artistic connections. The results
suggest that in order to fill large venues into the future, we must recognise the unique role
played by small venues in developing audiences and artists, and fostering creativity and
uniqueness.