ABOUT US

PACT is situated on the unceded land of the Gadigal. We are privileged to gather and create on their land and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.

PACT sits in a low-lying area in inner-city Erskineville. Once a watercourse wound its way through the area from the Black Wattle swamp of Glebe to Camperdown, Redfern and Waterloo – a source of freshwater and food for Gadigal and Wangal, a meeting place.

We recognise the unbroken relationship First Peoples have had with this place since time immemorial and its ongoing significance as an urban centre, a birthplace of the Aboriginal civil rights movement and the National Black Theatre, for First Peoples from across Warrane, the Sydney basin, and beyond.

Gadigal, Bidjigal, and Yuin Elder and artist Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor remembers growing up around the corner from PACT on Sydney Street, in the house of her Aunty Ursula Stuart, and visiting her mother who worked at the TV factory that is now PACT. We acknowledge the living connection to land and waters, culture and arts, language, ceremony, protocol and lore that is embodied by Aunty Rhonda and other knowledge holders. We commit to supporting First Peoples’ cultural leadership and creative aspiration.

Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

Nura is Mother Earth (land). Nura for Aboriginal people is everything. It is our whole existence. To First Nations People Nura is our culture, our dreaming, our art, our ceremony… It is who we are as First Nations People and the custodians of the land, animals and water. We are one. Everything is connected. Nura, Mother Earth needs us, and we need her.

– Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor, 2023

OUR STORY

For over 60 years, PACT has been Sydney’s hub for multi-arts experimentation.

PACT’s vision is to provide a launchpad and testing ground for the emerging and experimental artists who will transform Australia’s stages, screens, and galleries.

Founded in 1964 by Robert Allnut, Jack Mannix and Patrick Milligan, in the period just before the New Wave of the late 1960s and early 70s, PACT Cooperative was the place for a burgeoning Australian arts scene and artists who would go on to make major contributions to Australian theatre, film, and television such as alumni Peter Weir, Jack Thompson, Leonard Teale, Grahame Bond, Alex Buzo and Dorothy Hewett.

By the mid 1970s, Jane Street, Nimrod Theatre, La Mama and The Pram Factory were providing a platform for new work and PACT shifted its focus to young people, becoming PACT Youth Theatre in 1974.

In the 1980s and 90s we moved to our current theatre in Erskineville and were at the forefront of a new movement in multicultural storytelling.

In 2009, a new generation sought a new name – PACT Centre for Emerging Artists – marking a return to the company’s original vision, the creation of new Australian work by experimental artists.

Highlights include groundbreaking works such as 1991’s bilingual Al Qamareya (The Moongate); the premiere of the stage adaptation of Looking for Alibrandi in 1995; the training ground imPACT Ensemble through the early 2000s; and public domain events Gathering Ground in collaboration with Redfern Community Centre 2006-2010, Tiny Stadiums 2010-2014, and Sound Out the Streets 2022-2023.

The true measure of our success is our artists – from Zoë Carides to Zoë Coombs Marr, Lara Thoms to Thomas ES Kelly, Taga Theatre Group to re:group and thousands more – 2020 analysis showed 1 in 5 artists programmed in Australia’s contemporary performance festivals had their start at PACT.

TODAY… PACT is highly regarded for the innovative and values-led way we champion artists and arts workers.

We employ 4 outstanding mid-career Associate Artists who come together in a unique multi-arts model of collaborative cultural leadership. We provide an annual development program to seed ideas, develop practice and build career pathways for emerging makers, designers, and theatre technicians; and produce performances, festivals, exhibitions, talks and other events throughout the year.

Are you an emerging artist? We want to know you! Visit our For Artists page for upcoming opportunities.

Do you want to support creativity in our community and experience exciting art and artists in the making? Check out What’s On.

“The standout shows people have seen in their lives have been here at PACT. It’s a company that is committed to what their business is – new work, experimental work – ensuring there is access for all artists. And it’s rare to have a place that is as genuine as this place is.”

– Claudia Chidiac

“I have PACT to thank for my whole way in the world.”

– Agatha Gothe-Snape

staff

Black and white of Justine Shih Pearson looking away from camera with serious expression

Justine Shih Pearson
Executive Director / CEO

Nick Power
Senior Producer

Shayne de Groot
Marketing & Engagement Manager

Milo Mclaughlin
Production Manager

Theo Carroll
Venue/Production Manager

BOH CREW

Anwyn Brook-Evans, Theo Carroll, Noah Cohen-Stoddard, Sonnet Cure, Justice Georgopolis, William Phillips, Sebastian Richardson, Juan Guillermo Robayo Gomez, Roisin Spencer, Nick Vagne, Gaby Whalland