victorian association of performing arts centres

The Australia Council has released new research, “More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the arts”. The research demonstrates that nine out of ten Australians over the age of 15 participated in the arts in the last year. The research is intended to help arts organisations better understand their audiences and includes key findings regarding Indigenous arts and the role of the internet.

Steve Donelly, previously at Cardinia Cultural Centre, and currently at City of Yarra, has been appointed to the role of Manager Performing Arts and Conventions at Riverlinks in Shepparton. We wish him well and look forward to welcoming him back to the network when he commences on the 29th March 2010

La Mama shines in the 2009
Green Room Awards nominations.

Our belief in La Mama’s role as the crucible of contemporary theatre has been affirmed with the announcement of the nominations for the 2009 Green Awards.

Much to our delight La Mama features in 9 awards across a wide range of categories, perhaps the most significant being in the very competitive Best New Australian Writing Category. Here two of the five nominations were for La Mama premieres: Wretch, by Angus Cerini and The Weather and Your Health by Bethany Simons.

Meanwhile, we have commenced the 2010 artistic programme in fine form, enjoying 95% capacity across all performances of the first three shows for the year, Writing Angus, Acts of Deceit and Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper and with all three of these enjoying extended seasons.

Viva La Mama 2010!

A MASSIVE redevelopment to bring the Warrnambool Entertainment Centre into the modern age will begin in September after the State Government yesterday poured $4.8 million into the long-awaited project.
The tired 26-year-old venue is to be transformed through a $8.8 million project, which is predicted to take 14 months of construction .
The city council and local philanthropic foundations will contribute a combined $2.8 million to the redevelopment, with hopes that federal funding foots the remaining $1.2 million.
Plans for the former "pink elephant" include reopening the old Liebig Street entrance , the Timor Street frontage pushed closer to the footpath, a black-box theatre installed in the civic hall and the creation of conference facilities
 The 500-seat Eva Gaspar Memorial Theatre will be modernised, with back-of-house and stage facilities redesigned to accommodate larger productions.
A cafe and large foyer area also form part of the bold vision.
Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan yesterday announced the financial contribution to an appreciative audience.
"It will be the jewel in the cultural crown of the great south-west," she said of the redeveloped venue.
"The extensive plan is expected to attract large theatrical companies, provide a quality home for local artistic groups and create jobs in the growing community.
"The facility will provide significant jobs through the construction of the centre, and day-to-day employees."
 

Marcus Cassidy-Anderson from Hobson's Bay and Chelsea McLaren from Wodonga have been selected to attend the National Ticketing Conference in Sydney in February with a subsidy from VAPAC. They will present their findings at a meeting following the conference.

Leon Hammond and his family have happily settled into Gosford, after leaving Echuca in October. Leon is the Cultural programming Officer and is looking forward to new challenges and sharing in the NSW network. We wish them all good luck in their home and careers

VAPAC's Executive have taken an exciting new initiative to make available an opportunity for a Box Office member to attend the National Ticketing Conference in Brisbane in Feb 2010. Criteria and details are available from most Venue Managers or from Jenny Ryssenbeek, exec@vapac.org.au Applications close January 8th

The new ArtStart grant program from the Australia Council for the Arts provides financial assistance to recent creative arts graduates who are committed to establishing a career as a professional artist. Graduates who plan to earn income or gain employment as a professional artist in the visual arts, hybrid and media arts, performing arts, literature or in community arts and cultural development may apply via the online application process.

Up to $10,000 is provided to fund services, resources, skills development and equipment that help graduate artists build an income-generating career in the arts practice they have studied.

Everything else you need to know can be found at www.artstartgrant.com.au

Baw Baw Shire is happy to announce that they have appointed Rob Robson to the position of Manager of The Arts Centre, Warragul.

TC GARAGE SALE

http://www.mtc.com.au/garagesale.aspx

MTC are moving house! Once our headquarters move to our swanky new HQ in Southbank, we will be purging ourselves of all of the things we simply can’t take with us. This includes a large amount of furniture, some amazing costumes, some not-so-amazing costumes, dresses, shirts, shoes, bags, hats, curtains, pretend food, ...old computers, posters, enormous theatrical back-drops. You won’t believe the sorts of bargains you can buy!

Get into David Campbell’s pants, go home wearing a small piece of Marina Prior. Need some fodder for your home dress-ups box? Want to refurnish your house with some pieces that look a helluva lot more expensive than they really are?

Come to our biggest Garage Sale EVER!

Entry with a gold coin donation.

INDUSTRY PRE-SALE
Looking for sets and stage equipment? MTC will be selling a range of backdrops and theatrical curtains in various sizes ahead of November 14.
Most are at least 1/3 of original cost and only used in one production. All tabbed and ready to hang. Visit www.mtc.com.au for a full list, prices and images. All queries and sales via garagesale@mtc.com.au.