In navigating the Street Theatre through the "horror" that has been the COVID pandemic, chief executive officer Caroline Stacey said she felt most deeply for the artists who have struggled to cope with the near-endless setbacks and roadblocks.
In receiving her Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to the performing arts through administrative roles, Ms Stacey said the award was one which deserved to be shared across the Canberra arts community.
"There's a whole community in this award; I see this as a shared recognition," she said.
"Yes, from a personal perspective it's wonderful to receive it and to be recognised but theatre is an entirely collaborative effort and I certainly offer my thanks to all those people who I have worked with down through the years."
Ms Stacey joined the Street Theatre in the same role in 2007 when it was a community performance space at 15 Childers Street in Canberra City West.
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While the theatre has remained at the same location, it has grown exponentially, artistically and creatively, into a national production house. Its importance nationally was recognised last year with the awarding of the Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award.
The past few pandemic years have been turbulent ones for the arts. Productions have been cast, opened and closed, postponed, cancelled and then gone online in ways which have challenged everyone involved.
She described the past few years as offering both enormous difficulty but also opportunity, as artists have found new ways to collaborate locally, and across the world.
"When people who very creative are challenged to find new ways to reach audiences, they find solutions. And The Street Theatre has very much been part of that," she said.
For all the angst the pandemic has rained down on performing arts and live music, Ms Stacey says the future remains positive.
"I think, on a human level, we all still want to connect with each other, our appetite for great performances and art which challenges us and entertains us will always be, " she said.
"Live spaces will remain, they just may need to be structured a little differently. We will adapt; we are adapting. Whether people want to be mashed together again, I'm not sure.
"The future is in making safe spaces where people feel comfortable."
