Experimental Commissioning Consortium (ECC)

The Experimental Commissioning Consortium is a national initiative supporting bold, independent experimental art and performance. Led by Performance Space in partnership with organisations across Australia—including Dancehouse—the ECC creates pathways for artists to develop ambitious work through three core pillars.

The Pilot Plan

1. An artist lab: this two-part lab would convene the program, and bring a cohort of artists together to develop and test work in progress, working with the ECC and its members to seed efficient and scalable work to pitch for the second stage.
2. A commissioning fund: at the conclusion of the lab, artists will be invited to pitch their projects to the ECC, and will receive development investment from the commissioning fund. Supported by the next stage of singular residencies and early presentation opportunities, these artists will develop their tour-ready projects. 
3. A national touring circuit: once a suite of works have reached this ‘tour-ready’ stage, commissioned projects will embark on a program of national touring. Tours will include presentations with both organisations within the ECC, and with national and international organisations within the expanded networks of our organisations to maximise efficiency and exposure for commissioned artists. 

Program Principles

As the program takes shape and evolves, we will further develop the principles and methodologies it enacts. The ECC is based around a number of shared organisational values that form the basis of the initiative, which will be:

• Artist-centred 
• Transparent
• Inclusive
• Adaptive
• Collaborative
• Rigorous 
• Relational 
• Regional

Anticipated Outcomes

We anticipate that the ECC program will have a range of short- and long-term outcomes and benefits to the sector. These include, but are not limited to: 

In the short term:

• Revitalised cross-sector collaboration
• The reforming of lapsed partnerships and touring networks
• The capacity to commission more ambitious work through co-investment
• The formation of a unique national artist lab for independent work
• New peer-to-peer and artist-centred dialogue and exchange
• The commissioning of innovative new Australian performances 
• The inclusion of regional arts organisations in national networks
• Audience development through collective ways of working
• Increased profile for the independent sector through this new program

In the longer term:

• Sustainable career pathways for independent artists
• Higher return on investment for funders and artists
• Restoration of the ‘missing middle’ of opportunities for independent artists
• National and international touring of new independent Australian work
• Showcasing of the independent and experimental sector internationally
• Ongoing audience development and profiling of the sector
• Advocacy for the significance of the independent/small-medium arts sector
• The embedding of collaborative processes into organisations
• Expansion of the network of organisations presenting independent performance
• The formation of innovative models of commissioning and touring that are adaptive to hyperlocal contexts

Featured ECC Artists

The consortium supports eight emerging and established artists: Cheryn Frost & Emma Kew, Chung Nguyen, Grace Connors, Katy B Plummer, Morgan Hogg, Raina Peterson, Riana Head-Touissant, and Shirin Shakhesi. These artists participated in ECC Lab #1 (13–17 Nov 2025) at Another World Festival in Bankstown.

Program timeline

ECC Lab #2 was held in Tasmania from 18-25 March 2026, hosted by The Unconformity and Assembly 197, continuing the consortium’s commitment to supporting experimental practice across the country.