Ipswich arts veteran Arthur Frame — a name synonymous with theatre, culture and community — has released his long-awaited memoir The Arts Juggler, celebrating a remarkable six-decade career that helped shape Queensland’s arts landscape.
Frame joined DJ Sparky and Glenn Smith on the Get Your Arts Into Gear program this week, sharing stories from the book and the journey that led him from Ipswich’s modest stages in the 1950s and 60s to becoming one of the state’s most influential arts leaders.
Growing up in Ipswich, Frame found his start through the Ipswich Choral Society and Ipswich Little Theatre before moving into professional theatre, radio and television. He went on to direct and produce for the Queensland Theatre Company, manage national arts programs and later serve as CEO and Artistic Director of the Queensland Arts Council — where he oversaw the world’s largest schools touring program, reaching up to 900,000 students annually.
“I thought at the end, it’s been an interesting career — why not tell the story?” Frame said of the nine-year writing process. The finished work contains 400 pages and 150 images detailing everything from lost Ipswich landmarks to backstage anecdotes and large-scale arts administration.
Frame is also well known locally for founding the hugely popular Great Houses of Ipswich program through the National Trust, which routinely attracted thousands of visitors from across Australia.
His book launch, set for this Saturday at the historic Incinerator Theatre, has already sold out — though two final seats remain available through Glenn Smith for keen readers hoping to attend.
Signed copies of The Arts Juggler are available at the Ipswich Art Gallery, the Ipswich Visitor Information Centre, and online through InHouse Publishing by searching “Arthur Frame The Arts Juggler.”
Frame joked the podcast was his “first ever,” adding another milestone to a long list of achievements that continues to inspire Ipswich’s creative community.
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