Titled ‘Leaps and Bounds: APAM x Honey Pot’, the two-day event will include pitch sessions for visiting festivals and presenters, along with a program of exchange, round-tables, and networking. APAM champions contemporary Australian performance nationally and internationally by deepening relationships and stimulating new markets and pathways through exchange, reciprocity, and hospitality. As a strategic initiative of Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council for the Arts) it is designed to showcase Australian and New Zealand contemporary dance, theatre, emerging and experimental arts nationally and internationally.

The event, to be held in the last week of February, will offer a unique opportunity to see new Australian contemporary circus and physical theatre as both pitches and full-length productions, participate in formal and informal networking, engage in APAM’s talks and ideas program while also having the opportunity to make new national and international connections. The program will be held against the backdrop of the many artists and curators that operate venues and produce work across within the ecosystem of Adelaide Fringe annually and will welcome national and international presenters from the broader arts sector.

Over 60 international Industry delegates have confirmed their attendance to Leaps and Bounds, with Adelaide Fringe and APAM excited to welcome Major UK & European Festivals and events; Glastonbury Festival, Latitude Festival, Sziget Festival, along with programmers and events from Asia including West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Seoul Street Arts Festival, Setouchi Circus Factory, Taipei Performing Arts Centre.

Delegates from USA and Canada and South America include Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, Winnipeg International Children's Festival, SoHo Playhouse NYC and Festival Internacional Santa Lucía from Mexico.

Shows pitching and showcasing at Leaps and Bounds include Gravity & Other Myths with their world premiere, Ten Thousand Hours, Oat Milk & Honey, YUCK Circus and Apricity.

This is the first time APAM has partnered with Adelaide Fringe on an event of this scale, having previously partnered with DreamBig Children’s Festival in May 2021.

This event is a result of connections made through Adelaide Fringe’s International Arts Marketplace, Honey Pot, which provides services, events and a platform for artists, producers and presenters to connect. This program is a high-value export market for South Australia, with more than 350 deals worth $3 million projected to be booked from connections made at the 2023 festival.

Adelaide Fringe Director and CEO, Heather Croall said, "It is exciting to announce that Adelaide Fringe Honey Pot and APAM are joining forces in 2024. Our shared vision is to bring Australian artists together with programmers and curators from around the world to deepen relationships and enhance global touring prospects. This dynamic alliance will help propel Australian creatives worldwide and we await with great anticipation the bookings and partnerships that will come from the program."

APAM Director, Catherine Jones said, “The APAM Office is excited to create a platform event for Australian circus and physical theatre artists and their work in partnership with Adelaide Fringe 2024."

"Together, the APAM Office and Adelaide Fringe's international arts marketplace Honey Pot will support the Australian circus sector to create new international connections and opportunities”, said Jones.

This designated APAM event to be held within Adelaide Fringe’s dedicated arts marketplace is a testament to the perception, credibility and value the Honey Pot program has built within the industry over the past 15 years.