Every year, Backbone Youth Arts sets out on a mission to find the festival team of the future. The team get matched with industry mentors and together they make the Backbone 2high festival. Every year is different from the last but every year for the past 21 years, teams are charged with the task of finding artists you should know about. It is the first and last remaining mentorship program for artists in Queensland and now more than ever, it needs your support. 

The name of the festival comes from a circus trick called 2high where one performer stands on the shoulders of another. It's an ongoing exchange of trust. This year, we need an extra set of shoulders to stand on. YOURS. With massive funding cuts to the youth art sector, Backbone was one of the organisations that lost out and the 2high festival has been hit hard. We need you to help support our team so we can continue to showcase the talents of young and emerging artists. 

The theme for the next 2high festival is Forgotten Treasures because the way we see it, all artists are forgotten treasures. We're inviting everyone to join the party: Queer artists, cabaret and drag performers, indigenous artists, artists with a disability - you name it! 

Remember your first gig? Your first show? Your first exhibition? That's what the 2high experience is all about!  

The Backbone 2high Festival Team
Producer (Backbone): Katherine Quigley
Production Assistance (Backbone board): Jessie Rassmussen
Festival Manager: Kate Malone
Opera/Classical/Cabaret: Bethan Ellsmore (Co-Artistic Director), Alicia Cush (Producer)
Performance/Queer/Transmedia: Johnny Legobye (Artistic Director), Joshua McCann-Thomson (Producer)
Contemporary Music & Writing: Hannaka Johnson (Artistic Director), Hannah Morrison (Producer)
Indigenous Storytelling (All art forms): Alethea Beetson (Artistic Director), Libnus Ballesteros (Producer)
Visual Arts: Jamie Behrendorff (Coordinator), Lucy Withers (Coordinator)
Community Connections: Rosie Fyvie (Artistic Director)
Digital Cultures: Audrey Meow (Artistic Director)
Marketing Team: Vanessa Fuchs (Marketing Manager), Sophie Chapman (Marketing Coordinator), Wadzi Chickwira (Marketing Coordinator), Brittney Kahl (Social Media), Josue Hurtado (Photographer)
Production Team:  Brodie Peace (Logistics), Anthony Farrugia (Sound)
Site Design: Hahnie Goldfinch

Industry Mentors (A-Z):
Elliott Bledsoe, Digital Producer, Regional Arts Australia
Giuliana Bonel, Marketing Manager Qld Music Festival
Kim Bowers, Producer, Performer, DJ
Dylan Evans, Photographer
Ken Francey, Production Manager, Qld Music Festival
Stefan Gredar, Senior Producer, Brisbane Festival
Lindy Hume, Artistic Director, Opera Qld
Amanda Lawson, Marketing Manager, Judith Wright Centre
Justin Marshman, Independent producer
Alison Mooney, Co-Director, TheGrid
Scotia Monkivitch, Director, Creative Recovery Network
Kieran Swan, Programming Manager Performance, Metro Arts
Debbie Wilks, CEO Flipside Circus

Backbone has a strong reputation and is a national leader in working with early career and young artists. We are a registered charity and not for profit, so we have the processes in place to handle money and are legally liable to do things like an annual audit. The Backbone 2high Festival has a proud legacy. With that legacy and track record we know we can make this project happen with the support of many, and we have been working hard on getting sponsors and funding partners for the festival. This is who we have on board helping us already: 

* The Old Museum are giving us the entire venue for the week for a heavily discounted rate
* The Edge provide us with a place to have our meetings and work
* Brisbane City Council are giving us 10,000 for our venue and marketing costs 
* Creative Distribution are giving us in kind support to distribute our marketing collateral 
* Flip Creative are giving us in kind support to design our branding 
* Moreton Hire are giving us in kind support to assist with some of our production needs
* Scenstr are our media partners for print and online 
* The Australia Council fund the wages of 1 Part Time staff member to oversee the running of the project from conception to completion
* The Backbone 2high Festival team is 22 people strong, each volunteering their time to the festival
*** NEW SPONSORSHIPS **** 
* QLIGHT are providing us with lighting equipment
* Australian Event Productions are providing us with sound equipment

The money that you donate will go directly towards: 
* Artist fees for the event ($6000) 
* Production equipment hire (especially sound equipment) ($1000) 
* Additional media and advertising for artists in the festival ($1000) 

At the event itself we will sell tickets, and that money will go towards the running costs of the festival for next year. 

For businesses and organisations who are interested in supporting us and would benefit from DGR donations, Backbone is DGR registered and are more than happy to discuss your donation privately - please contact Katherine Quigley: [email protected] for more information. 

The challenges are....