Rio Tinto renews Black Swan State Theatre sponsorship for 2018-2019

Rio Tinto today announced an $843,000 two year renewal of its sponsorship as the principal partner of the Black Swan State Theatre (Black Swan).

The Black Swan and Rio Tinto 20 year partnership has entertained and enriched the Western Australian community and supported jobs in the sector.

The partnership has seen Black Swan travel across the state, develop new audiences, and initiate a ticket subsidy scheme. It has also commissioned new Western Australian stories by Australia’s leading playwrights and supported the Theatre to deliver programmes for students and regional communities, and develop artists.

This year’s renewed partnership will see an increased focus on telling local stories and sharing a diverse range of voices, faces and perspectives.

Rio Tinto’s managing director of planning integration and assets, Kellie Parker said "We are proud to continue our principal partnership of Black Swan and enhance the vibrancy of West Australian communities, heritage and artistic diversity in the performing arts.

"We look forward to working with Black Swan throughout the 2018 programme to develop new regional initiatives that will increase arts opportunities to audiences across the state." 

Black Swan chairman Mark Barnaba said "The partnership has been unquestionably central to Black Swan’s growth and achievements over the last twenty years, which has seen an investment by Rio Tinto of over $3.2m to the company.

"We are delighted that Rio Tinto have renewed as Black Swan’s Principal Partner until 2019. It is rare in arts and business for such a long-term partnership to exist and so we value, celebrate and offer our deepest gratitude to Rio Tinto for their commitment to Black Swan."

Over the next two years Black Swan will bring stories from West Australian communities to life on stage with a production showcasing the rich range of Indigenous culture. New stories from the Pilbara will also be developed.

Black Swan will launch its 2018 season at the State Theatre Centre’s Heath Ledger Theatre on Monday 28 August.

Notes to Editors

This year Black Swan celebrates 26 years of producing world class theatre for Western Australian audiences.

Rio Tinto’s Black Swan partnership began in September 1998 with a vision to bring WA’s predominantly Perth focused arts industry to the Pilbara.

Black Swan is the largest theatre company in Western Australia and the biggest employer of theatre artists in the state.