Just short of a year since the announcement was made about a new $150 million theatre to be constructed at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the successful concept design for the new theatre has been unveiled by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (Minister for Trade), Deputy Premier Jackie Trad (Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships) and Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch. The winners were Brisbane firm Blight Rayner and Norwegian practice Snøhetta.

QPAC Chair Professor Peter Coaldrake AO and CEO John Kotzas acknowledged the unveiling as a significant day for QPAC and the broader performing arts in Queensland. “The $125 million contribution by the Queensland Government to the Centre’s fifth theatre venue is considerable. I thank the Premier, Deputy Premier and the Arts Minister for this investment in the future of QPAC and the future of live performance in this state”, said Professor Coaldrake.

Kotzas highlighted the project as a rare opportunity to reimagine the future. “At QPAC, we have big and bold ambitions. The new performing arts venue, and this design, are integral to us achieving them”, he said, “It was of most importance to QPAC that the selected design envisioned a state-of-the-art venue, one that was welcoming, accessible and connected, and a theatre with the technical capacity to better share live performance experiences across Queensland. It was a place that grows with the aspirations of QPAC, the expectations of audiences and visitors, and the creative ambitions of performing artists and practitioners well into the future. Kotzas added,”what’s also important was how the new theatre connects QPAC today with the QPAC of tomorrow. This includes growing our capability to broaden the impact and reach of live performance in this state, including through digital means.”

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