Chair’s introduction

The extraordinary challenges of 2020 showed what NIDA is made of.

NIDA’s team, community and students displayed amazing creativity, commitment and resilience when confronted with the unfolding crisis of a global pandemic. While public health lockdowns profoundly disrupted our normal operations – and our sector – NIDA found ways to continue to offer excellence in education. We developed new ways of engaging via digital delivery, reimagined use of our spaces in the building, and adopted new COVID-safe practices. Our CEO Liz Hughes, who took the helm in late 2019, faced an immediate and radical change in her job description – as did many throughout the organisation. Instead of just running the organisation, Liz had to make some fast and furious decisions about how to keep the school open and introduce virtual teaching. Her leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit shone through and I would like to acknowledge the fantastic job she has done in getting NIDA re-opened, back on track and firmly focused on our exciting future. The commitment of NIDA’s staff was also highlighted throughout the year as they adjusted their teaching techniques and found opportunities for innovation amidst ongoing uncertainty. Our students adapted to virtual learning and the limitations of lockdown with impressive inventiveness and resourcefulness, embracing the possibilities of a range of technology platforms and learning practices. While we are proud of the rapid pivot to these new approaches, it’s a great relief to have our everyone back on campus, where we can most effectively undertake our studio-based, practiceled learning. The Hon Paul Fletcher MP congratulated the NIDA class of 2019 in the first-ever virtual graduation ceremony, held on Sunday 28 June 2020, as NIDA officially launched the careers of 163 creative artists. Creative leader Baz Luhrmann (Acting, 1985) delivered an inspirational and thoughtprovoking Occasional Address: ‘The tectonic plates of history are smashing together at this moment. Everything that was, isn’t necessarily so. And what it’s going to be, we don’t really know. But there is one thing that is universal, and that is [your] craft. Whether you are an actor or writer or a tech or designer, the craft of storytelling is not going to change.’

Vital to the return to our activities has been new Government support through JobKeeper and the Sustainability Fund. This stabilising funding has helped to maintain short-term viability and to safeguard our high standards of training, while enabling us to relaunch income-producing initiatives impacted by COVID-19, rebuilding for sustainability into the future, and ensuring the longevity of Australia’s creative sector. 2020 also brought profound reflection and re-evaluation among NIDA’s leadership and staff amidst the cultural reckoning of the global Black Lives Matter movement – in which NIDA, along with many other cultural organisations, was called to account. Several courageous former students spoke of experiencing insufficient support and a lack of cultural safety during their studies with us. NIDA’s Board and leadership responded with an apology for any distress caused and commissioned a major independent review of organisational culture. The review, along with extensive consultation with our community, has contributed to the development of an Inclusion Action Plan that draws on NIDA’s new Board Principles. These Principles recognise First Nations sovereignty, reaffirm NIDA’s obligations and committment to proactively ensure a safe and inclusive environment, and respond to calls for meaningful and substantive structural change. Along with greater equity and increased relevance, NIDA sees tremendous creative possibility in a more inclusive culture and community. Coupled with the now accelerated transition to digital platforms, and a heightened focus on the importance of our corporate partnerships, the learnings of 2020 have set the scene for an exciting strategic transformation.

The NIDA Board provided exceptional support, including extra commitments of their time, during 2020 – their suite of skills came to the fore in assisting Management throughout the crisis. We have worked closely with the NIDA Foundation Trust Board to continue to build relationships with our loyal supporters and partners who share our vision to continue to develop ‘the world’s most wanted storytellers’. I would like to thank NIDA’s passionate team and my fellow Directors for their great dedication, including Professor Ross Harley who, in late 2020, retired from the Board. Ross had been a Director since May 2018, a Member of the Governance, Nominations and Renumeration Committee and from March 2019, Chair of the Academic Board.

2020 has shown us that NIDA’s commitment to talent, imagination, creativity and collaboration give us great purpose and direction. Building on these strong foundations will empower NIDA and our graduates to shape and inspire Australian and global cultural sectors towards a truly exciting future. Noel Staunton NIDA Chair

Images, this page: Technical Theatre and Stage Management students and Graham Henstock (Director Centre for Technology, Production and Management) working from home, Orlando (Photo: Lisa Maree Williams) Images, opposite page: Make-up students (Photo: Denise Sheppard), Baz Luhrmann live at the Graduation Ceremony (Photo: Maja Baska)