Workshop nuts out big-picture issues

More than 200 arts professionals, along with representatives from the business community and government, this week attended an all-day workshop organised by the Committee for Perth to discuss how Perth can develop its vision of the arts and culture.

The event was opened by Woodside chairman Michael Chaney and Treasurer Eric Ripper, and included some of Perth's most prominent arts figures.

The first step of a project led by a taskforce of leaders appointed by the Committee for Perth, the workshop aimed to generate ideas for a new 'vision for arts and culture' for the city, with the outcome to form a report to be distributed to state and local governments in September.

The taskforce is chaired by University of WA academic Prof Margaret Seares and overseen by Committee for Perth founding director John Atkins.

"It was a very positive day, there was a lot of energy and willingness to look at long term and big-picture issues," Mr Atkins said.

"The vast majority of participants were from the arts because the idea was to have an opportunity supported by business which needed to be owned by the arts."

Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker said the next step would involve refining the various themes that emerged from the workshop, discussing them with specific industries, and putting them online to encourage community involvement in the process.

"Some of the themes that have emerged are, for instance, the need to look at infrastructure, how technology can play a more significant role to bring people closer to Perth, how to bring the capital city and the regions closer, the brand, how to get young people involved and have different sorts of offerings," Mrs Fulker said.

A strong, recurrent theme was how to improve what Perth already had and activating places to make them world class, she said.

According to Mr Atkins, the business voice will become involved via the committee's board, the taskforce and the online consultation process.

"The business community contributes to create a framework and methodology to allow the concept to go forward," Mr Atkins said.

The Committee for Perth has an interim board comprising some of WA's foremost business minds, including: Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh; BHP Billiton vice-president Ian Fletcher; Freehills partner John Atkins; KPMG partner Gary Smith; Tourism WA chair Kate Lamont; and is chaired by former banking chief and high-profile director, Tony Howarth.

Chief executive of Australian Capital Equity, John Langoulant and managing partner of Ernst & Young western region, Jeff Dowling, joined the board last May.