Change. Risk. A hopeful future.
Is it time to restump this house we call the performing arts sector — better foundations, not just a fresh coat of paint on the same walls?
APAX 2026 starts from a simple premise: change isn’t coming, it’s already here. It’s time to tackle the tectonic shifts within the sector, starting at your own doorstep. Moving away from a diagnosis of what’s holding us back, we’ll move firmly into treating the condition — and what that looks like in your community, regardless of its size and scale.
In a sector where everyone is under pressure, the focus is adaptive strategy: recognising where you’re at today, and what it takes to thrive tomorrow.
Joining you at APAX will be the people who understand your day-to-day, in the same room, at the same time. Because you don’t restump a house on your own — you need other hands, other eyes, people who can see the angle you can’t from where you’re standing. And some from outside the sector: we’ll hear from people who’ve left the arts altogether, what they’d change if they came back, and what we could stand to learn from industries also dealing with what’s currently on our doorstep.
Conference sessions will bring sharper economic thinking to a sector that talks often about impact and not enough about risk; an unhyped, practical look at AI from the artist’s perspective through to the ethical frameworks guiding its use; a shift away from the narrative of audience decline toward real discussions about systems and structures that better enable organisations to reach audiences – creating the experiences and environments that attract audiences in the first place; leading work in arts-readiness for climate change; and a frank look at workforce issues, and what it takes to lead through crisis or transition well.
Expect the economic wake-up call. Systems change in practice. Risk tools you can actually use. Updates from across the sector on who’s doing what. And plenty of the connection and joy APAX is known for.
Change is here. The good, the bad, and hopefully, the brave. Are you ready?