It’s not everyday that a Greek name appears among the winners of the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Art Awards, and Helen Marcou was just as surprised to see hers, along with the name of her husband, Quincy McLean, as the recipient of the $20,000 Facilitator Prize. The other winners were playwright Lally Katz, who received the $50,000 Individual Award, and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, who won the $80,000 Group Award.
“The great thing was that we didn’t even know we were nominated,” says Helen Marcou, unable to hide her excitement.

The award comes as a perfect closure of her highly successful campaign ‘Save Live Australian Music’ (SLAM), which promoted the interests of live music venues and has given Marcou the status of a patron saint among the circles of musicians and music professionals in Australia and especially Victoria.
Helen and her husband used their experience in the music industry, having been running music studios for 25 years, for their cause. The couple saw a lot of their musician friends and collaborators losing their jobs and one venue after the other having to stop hosting live music sessions in 2010 due to the government’s liquor licensing policies, that had any live music venue categorised as ‘high risk’. The categorisation meant even a small neighbourhood pub would have to hire two bouncers and install a CCTV system in order to host live music sessions, making the cost unaffordable. Helen Marcou cites The Greek Deli in South Yarra as a typical example of a venue which would have to face tremendous costs in order to host bouzouki nights.

Given that the problem affected the life of her family – her husband, Quincy McLean is a musician, as is the couple’s son – Helen decided it was time for action.

“Over the last five years my husband and I have launched a cultural campaign based on the proposed government reforms,” she says.

“We identified the problems with the policy and we lobbied trying to fix things.”

The turning point for the SLAM campaign was the massive protest rally held in Melbourne in 2010, the largest of its kind, with more than 20,000 people (artists, music professionals, fans and punters) marching to express their opposition to a law that had live music linked with violence.

“We were given a political voice,” she says, proud of the “incredible success” of the campaign, which led to a series of law reforms throughout the country and the founding of official organisations such as Music Victoria.

“Especially in Victoria, our presence was instrumental in changing the planning laws,” she explains.

“Up to that point, all laws were in favour of developers and building owners; the cost of compliance had to be met by musicians, promoters and venue owners. If you moved next door to a live venue the onus of soundproof would go to the venue. Now this has changed. Now it’s the other way round.”

All of the demands that Helen Marcou, as the leader of the SLAM campaign, had presented to the government in 2010 have since been met, the last one being signed off by the end of 2014. Getting into a negotiation with 10 demands and having them all met, without making concessions and compromise, is not an easy feat by any account, and that alone would make Helen Marcou a poster-girl for the hardest negotiators.

“We stuck to our guns,” she states.

“We understood that we had to write the policy and prepare the solution. Besides, we had a highly sophisticated team of barristers, academics, community members and professionals working with our group. What’s more important, we did not present emotional arguments; our campaign was based in reason and logic. The difference in our case is that our effort was volunteer and community funded. This allowed for independence and gave us credibility and freedom to criticise and act quickly. When you’re a government-dependant organisation, you have to be very careful in your statements.”

The SLAM campaign may have finished, having met its goals (although the couple has licensed the SLAM logo and know-how to the UK and other countries facing similar problems), but Helen Marcou remains an activist, very much in demand.

“Once you become an expert on something there are always people who come to you needing help and I am very empathetic and compassionate by nature,” she admits, stating that at the time being she is involved in two new campaigns, one about the Australian cultural heritage and one on the role of women and their representation in the music industry.

As for the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, she accepts it as a kind of much-deserved recognition. “When you work as a volunteer, more often than not you don’t get the recognition you deserve,” she says. “This was the best thing with the award: recognition for the changes we made in laws.”
Apart from recognition, it offered much needed financial relief, given that the prize went to the couple as individuals and not as a campaign organisation.

“Philanthropy of this kind, unlike state funding, supports you as an individual, giving artists a lot of freedom,” she explains, stating examples of artists using such prizes for personal purposes, such as fixing their houses or paying for medical costs.

“It’s heartening,” she continues.

“For my husband and me, it’s an important personal reward.”

After all, the couple did devote a lot of time and energy to their cause.

“Our last holiday was 18 months ago, when we went to Greece; we spent time in Samos, in Athens with relatives and in Crete with our friends, the Xylouris family. We are still paying for that vacation,” she laughs.