The performances that audiences see on stage are typically the culmination of years of creative development and considered work from creatives dedicated to craft and storytelling.
Through meaningful collaborations, strategic investments and partnerships, QPAC is committed to sharing Queensland stories by providing artists and creatives with the time and resources they need to turn their ideas into new works of scale.
In recent years, QPAC has proudly collaborated with industry partners such as Brisbane Festival, Queensland Theatre and Opera Queensland to enable large scale new works including Boy Swallows Universe, Bananaland, Round The Twist The Musical, The Sunshine Club, Is That You, Ruthie? and Straight from the Strait.
As with any of our commissions and co-productions, we always hope these stories will continue to have a life beyond their premiere season at QPAC and go on to tour reaching audiences around Australia and beyond. In a few short years, the four-year Cultural Olympiad leading into the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a rallying call for Queensland’s creative community.
We are already working with our creative colleagues to seek out opportunities to showcase Queensland’s remarkable world-class creatives and artists. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us to create deep community engagement and a generational legacy and to well and truly establish Queensland’s reputation as a cultural tourism destination.
Gallery
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Love Stories, 2024.Photographer David Kelly. 
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Max Mckenna, Maxwell Simon, Georgina Hopson & Joe Kalou in Bananaland. 
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Love Stories, 2024.Photographer David Kelly. 
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Love Stories, 2024.Photographer David Kelly. 
Case Study
Inspired by a personal moment of profound love and generosity, bestselling author, Trent Dalton spent two months in 2021 gathering stories on his sky-blue 1960s Olivetti typewriter, on a prominent street corner in Brisbane’s CBD. What followed was Dalton’s unapologetically joyous book Love Stories, a best-seller following his already acclaimed debut Boy Swallows Universe.
On the back of the runaway success that was the Boy Swallows Universe stage production in 2021 (cocommissioned by QPAC, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Theatre) the creative team including director Sam Strong and writer Tim McGarry, reunited to bring to life Dalton’s latest warm, wise, poignant, funny and moving story about love, in all its guises.
A co-production with Brisbane Festival, Love Stories premiered in the Playhouse in September 2024, before touring to North Australian Festival of Arts in October. QPAC also co-produced a two-venue tour to Illawarra Performing Arts Centre and Adelaide Festival in February and March as well as a full Australian and New Zealand tour toward the latter part of 2025.
QPAC’s investment in the production began from initial conception, commissioning the work and the team to deliver it, through development and rehearsals and then into the season. Through its development, the production was shepherded by a dedicated QPAC producer and production manager and included conducting readings, workshops, casting, and production scoping. QPAC provided the production’s marketing and publicity leads and also delivered the national tour, leading venue negotiations and overseeing contracting and budgeting, with three full-time staff members travelling to oversee the season.
QPAC’s involvement in the development of new work such as this can often be the deciding factor in the success or failure of a project. Our in-house expertise in producing, event management, creative development, ticketing, marketing and publicity often provides the foundation for a potential project to move to a viable financial model that will extend the life of the production beyond one season. We are proud of the work we do in developing new work, providing professional development and mentoring for artists and creatives and recognise it is part of our responsibility as the state’s leading performing arts venue to contribute meaningfully to the future of our sector.
Fundraising Key Areas
Our fundraising focus spans six key areas that reflect the principles that guide QPAC as a Queensland cultural institution.
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Swan Lake – Ballet Preljocaj, 2025. Photographer David Kelly National and International Partnerships
QPAC has long collaborated and partnered with the most original, compelling and ambitious performing arts companies and artists, as well as their equivalents, from Australia and around the world to establish QPAC as a centre of arts excellence.
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Out of the Box - Wishing Wall, 2025.Photographer Peter Wallis. Young People, Education and the Arts
QPAC is seeking to build on its existing commitment to children’s programming by establishing a year-round education program catering to children of all year levels, recognising and demonstrating the importance of the arts in education and life-long learning.
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Digital Stage - Partnership launch at Arcare, 2025.Photographer Sam Mellor. Access and Outreach
QPAC's long-standing public engagement program seeks out opportunities to partner with external community organisations, establish community-based participatory experiences and identify regional outreach possibilities.
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First Gathering – Clancestry, 2023. Photographer Jo-Anne Driessens. First Nations Voices
Created, produced and managed by a team of First Nations creatives, our program supports new works in development and trains and upskills new artists and arts workers through full scale stage works, festivals, and community events.
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QPAC New Performing Arts Venue - Exterior Concept Only Fit-for-purpose Infrastructure and Facilities
A key part of the leadership and investment role that QPAC plays in the performing arts industry is providing the resourcing and facilities needed for artists and arts companies to flourish.