With a crisis both financially and in terms of people willing to volunteer time on committees, Pride and the events it runs, such as Fairday and the Parade, face an uncertain future.
Whether or not Pride will be closed down will be decided by Pride members at the upcoming Special General Meeting in February (date TBD). What is likely to happen as a result can only be a subject for speculation, but unless as a community we have decided that the time for such events has passed, there will be a need for either an overhaul of the existing Pride structure or for a new kind of organisation to arise.
Despite the recommendations of its constitution (2005 Constitution,13.6), Pride records have not been kept at the Gay and Lesbian Archives by committees since 2001, and documents that have otherwise been made publicly available have been to a large extent incomplete or inconsistent. So, it is difficult to ascertain with accuracy if the difficulties besetting Pride are long- or short-term trends.
With the future of Pride WA currently up for negotiation, OUTinPerth’s Scott-Patrick Mitchell had a look at other models of gay and lesbian arts festivals from across the country to see what was working elsewhere and what wasn’t. What follows is a comprehensive and at times personal look at Australia’s other major queer festivals from the people involved in producing them.
NATIONAL MODELS
MIDSUMMA – Victoria
Midsumma Festival Inc exists with one full time paid staff member ‘who works as the General Manager of the festival’ and one part time administration coordinator. They are governed by a volunteer Board of Management, whom are elected by festival members. Contract staff are then engaged for the three month period of the festival. They are then also joined by approximately 150 volunteers who help in the festival’s formation and the hands-on execution of the festival itself.
Program streams have been developed to better direct festival resources and have been created in regards to either a specific venue (Chapel off Chapel, The Butterfly Club, The Artery) or a specific art form (live music, performing arts, literature). Each of these streams are developed by a team of volunteers headed by a board member, who is also a volunteer. The goals of these program streams are to identify co-productions from the events registered, and consequently co-produce such events. They additionally aim to nurture community events by providing them with venues, technical support and the like.
The plus side of this model is that it is incredibly grass roots in nature. It encourages and strengthens a sense of community while highlighting the diversity of the people within it and presenting a rich and integrated program of cultural events. However, there is only so much that can be achieved by volunteers. Due to the high turnover of individuals involved, knowledge management becomes a difficult asset to recoup and pass along.
Midsumma’s income sources essentially come from three different areas. The first of these is from government funding on both a state and local level. The second source of income is from corporate funding. ‘The third source of income,’ explained Midsumma General Manager Jarrod Hughes, ‘comes from our annual Carnival Day, which is one of the largest income days in the program.’
‘We generate this income from a $5 donation on the gate. We then sell stalls to community groups and commercial traders, with prices ranging anywhere from $300 a stall up to about $1200 for a stall, respectively. And then there are bar revenues which come from handing the bars over to a licensed venue, to which we charge a licensing fee. We then receive a percentage of their turnover for the day.’
NEW MARDI GRAS – New South Wales
New Mardi Gras is a member based, not for profit organisation limited by guarantee. It operates on a many layered model headed by a Board of Members, who are an incorporated group subject to an annual election. Beneath this core group exist a number of different committees and working groups who are all volunteer based – in fact, according to New Mardi Gras Communications Co-chair David Mulally, 99% of the organisation is volunteer based.
There are committees which tackle the parade, the party, Fairday and the New Mardi Gras Arts Festival itself. There are then working groups, which ‘fit across’ these committees and include communications, marketing and medical working groups. From November to March, New Mardi Gras then contracts a small number of positions that deal mainly with events management. These contracted positions are overseen by two full-time paid positions, that of a General Manager and Secretary.
Through this model people who have specialist skills can make a positive contribution to the community year round; plus, the entire structure has accountability. The downside is that with only two full-time paid employees, there tends to be a regular change over of people and there is not always that longevity of corporate knowledge. Mulally also highlighted, as a further negative factor, the tendency for communication and information to breakdown between the committees due to differing management styles.
‘In terms of the committees, they are prone on occasion to silos, like all organisations that are structured in such a way where there are committees that have a start and end in terms of their responsibility, and that’s quite discrete from other groups that are organising various different things. But then that’s inherent in such a type of model. Mardi Gras has pulled together a couple of cross-functional groups to try and overcome some of those silos which can happen.’
The main sponsor of New Mardi Gras is Gaydar, who has presenting rights. Public funding is largely in-kind and relates mostly to the parade. For example, the City of Sydney won’t charge New Mardi Gras for cleaning or policing of the parade because it is considered a culturally significant event for the City of Sydney and the State of New South Wales. The Road and Traffic Authority also provide in-kind support for the parade, assisting in the closure of streets and such. New Mardi Gras works largely in conjunction with these public bodies in working out the logistics of the parade.
However, there is speculation within the community that New Mardi Gras may currently be seeking charity status, so they can garner further cost exemptions from the government. If they were to seek charity status, their festival would essentially be on par with Feast.
FEAST – South Australia
Feast operates as a not for profit charity organisation with three full-time paid staff, one part-time staff member and a number of volunteers. They are all governed by a board. Jennifer Greer Holmes, Feast Festival Manager, said that the benefits of having a board far outweighed any negatives their current model experienced.
‘The board is made up of professionals and art industry people from a pretty wide range of backgrounds and industry experience. Having a board means we have a large pool of expertise to draw upon. The paid staff, who all work more than a regular full time week, find this resource to be incredibly beneficial.’
Feast receives funding from the South Australia Tourism Commission and from the Department of Health and ArtsSA. This is the first year they’ve received sponsorship from Volkswagen, who is a major corporate sponsor. They also receive regular funding from Pink Sofa.
‘We have two major events which bookend the festival,’ Greer Holmes explained when asked where the festival’s major revenue came from. ‘The first of these is an opening night party, which is preceded by a Pride March. The Pride March, which is an independent registered event, attracts 3000-4000 people. It then meets the opening night party, which like the Pride March is a free event. So our main revenue from that night is alcohol sales, and we also sell a little bit of merchandise.
‘The second event is at the end of the festival which is Picnic In The Park and that’s been going for longer than what the festival has. That used to be free but now we ask for a $2 donation at the gate. That attracts 6000-8000 people and again beverage sales are the main revenue there. However, it is a BYO event, so sales could be higher if it weren’t so.’
The festival itself takes an open access format that anyone can hold an event within. They simply pay a registration fee to Feast but then Feast does not make any revenue from their ticket sales. Feast produced events do yield some revenue, although such things typically pay for themselves after venue hire, artist interstate travel and tech support are factored in.
BRISBANE PRIDE – Queensland
Brisbane Pride is the model that is perhaps most similar to Pride WA. They comprise of a working board of seven committee members. They are currently attempting to change the internal structure of the Brisbane Pride by bringing new committee members on board, but are finding the process tough with few and fewer volunteers making themselves available. This usually results in two of the seven committee members producing the month long festival.
‘Our major revenue comes from Fairday,’ explained Brisbane Pride’s Kylie Mitchell, ‘for which we usually get around 25 000 people through the gate. I’d say about 90-95% of our revenue comes from that one event. We changed its format two years ago so we could charge $10 entry because basically we couldn’t afford to sustain the event anymore for free.’
‘We also do make revenue from the bar. This last year was the first year that we actually brought in a pub to run the bar for us, and we took in 45% of the takings. They supplied their own infrastructure, but prior to that, we ran our own bars.’
LOCAL MODELS
While interstate Pride models provide a useful comparison, it is also clear that the expertise to create vibrant, viable community organisations already exists in WA’s queer community too. While every organisation evolves in response to the particular set of circumstances and the individuals involved in the organisations at the time (and therefore may, or may not, be suitable models for our community to emulate if it wishes to continue with Pride events as community run events), WAAC, GLCS and Club West (to name but a few) are examples of successful local models of community organisations and/or community events. OUTinPerth’s Craig Comrie asked them about the key factors contributing to their success.
Western Australian Aids Council – Clear organisational goals essential
After 10 years of successfully running Western Australia’s leading fashion fundraiser StyleAid, The Western Australian Aids Council is well placed to be giving advice on managing events and developing organisational sustainability. And what advice do they give? Be realistic, be clear about your goals, be willing to make the hard decisions and don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Trish Langdon told OiP that clarity in the organisation’s major objectives is essential and that everyone has to be on board.
‘Community based organizations (CBOs) need to have something to offer potential business sponsors/partners’ (a brand, a market, brand awareness, etc). The community-based organisation must be very, very clear about what they are about, what they offer, who their constituents are so that appropriate matches can be made with potential businesses,’ she said.
WAAC learned very quickly in the initial years of StyleAid that an effective business model and forward thinking was essential to the longevity of the project. In addition, Ms Langdon noted that administrative infrastructure, volunteer power and paid staff were vital in staging a successful event.
‘It is very important to note that StyleAid has been going for 10 years and WAAC has taken a long-term view about its development. The first few years did not turn a surplus, and in fact, it has taken 10 years to actually procure cash sponsorship. I think that it is important to note that WAAC is fortunate to have been established for over 22 years in which time it has paid staff including significant administrative infrastructure.’
‘WAAC has also taken some very hard decisions to stop doing certain thing events. We used to run the Perth Food and Wine Fair at Russell Square ‘a very complex event to run with big compliance and regulatory issues.’ I believe that you have to be brutally honest as an organization and cut things which are costing the Community Based Organisation in the long-term or are not sustainable, despite how lovely everybody feels about it,’ Ms Langdon said.
Club West – Encouraging inclusivity
Club West has been a sure fire favourite since its inception. Capitilising on the community’s desire to attend events that don’t revolve around the club or pub scene, Club West has been able to fill a niche and has attracted people from far and wide in Western Australia as well as bringing in thousands of dollars of revenue that has been donated to HIV/AIDS charities.
Established in 1990 by Ernie Madden and Terry Larder, the event focused on showcasing Perth’s burgeoning talents in a safe environment. Asked why he thought it worked so well, Club West Organiser Terry Larder told OiP that inclusivity was essential.
‘It’s inclusive for both men and women (gay or straight). It’s a non-threatening environment for those who have difficulty in coming out. The shows are all production, and it’s a seated venue with a cheaper option to stand. It also is the only cabaret show in Australia that signs for the deaf community,’ he said.
And the proof is in the pudding with ClubWest having donated substantial amounts to HIV/AIDS organisations.
GLCS – Meeting legislative obligations and corporate governance vital
The phone probably is ringing right now at the Gay and Lesbian Community Services (GLCS) office as yet another Western Australian is coming out and seeking support and advice from a trained counsellor. Thirty-four years after the first phone rang at GLCS, the organisation is still going great guns ‘with strong community participation, a committed board and a good handle on corporate governance and responsibilities.’
Being clear about legislative obligations and the specific requirements of its constitution has been essential in sustaining GLCS according to Chairperson Mark Woodman.
‘As an incorporated association our governance is guided by a combination of the broad provisions specified under the Incorporations Act and the specific requirements of our constitution. It is the responsibility of the Board to ensure GLCS carries out its operations within this framework,’ he said.
‘GLCS’s longevity and stability suggests we’ve been doing something right for 34 years. In practice, there are many challenges for the GLCS Board associated with meeting both its governance obligations and operational roles – two jobs that in an ideal world would be separate,’ he said.
Mr Woodman also identified funding as the major barrier to having the resources to separate governance and operational structures in community organisations like GLCS.
Mr Woodman said a cheap, secure and stable location, a dedicated board and consistency provided by a paid administrative worker were key factors in GLCS’s current stability and viability.
Perhaps one of the other vital parts of GLCS success is that the community feels a sense of ownership, in that many of them have called the organisation at some point. It is building on this feeling that along with smart thinking has kept it around for so long.
As evidenced by other, similar organisations, there are many options for Pride to emulate if it chooses to restructure. Essentially, though, the question comes back to Perth’s queer community. Is Pride still necessary and valued? Out of the thousands who attended Fairday, went to Pride functions this year, enjoyed festivals productions and participated in or watched events on Parade and Party night, only forty people, with current Pride memberships in hand, attended the meeting on December 19, at which it was proposed that Pride should be wound up. Will it be those same forty people, who, on the behalf of WA’s queer community, decide in February that Pride WA’s days are over?
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Zoe Carter, Scott-Patrick Mitchell and Craig Comrie
Disclaimer: News and Online Editor Megan Smith, Editor Zoe Carter, and Publisher Alex Maltby are Pride members and were present at the SGM. All abstained from voting on the grounds of conflict of interest. OUTinPerth is currently one of Pride WA’s creditors.
