I’m delighted to send out my first Arts eNews as Mount Alexander Shire’s new Cultural Development Officer. The shire’s creative and cultural energy is what drew me to make it my home and so I am honoured to find myself in this role. To those of you I have already met or spoken with, thank you for the incredibly warm welcome.
I've commenced at an exciting time - at the start of the 2018 Regional Centre for Culture (RCC) which formally kicked-off last week. So what is the RCC? What does it all mean?
For a start, it means a whole heap of teamwork. As a State Government initiative through Creative Victoria in partnership with the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, Central Goldfields Shire, City of Greater Bendigo, Hepburn Shire and our very own Council, it recognises that within this region, none of us operate in silos but rather we rely on and support each other to make things happen. It asks us to celebrate and strengthen our connectedness.
The program has five aims: to profile our region’s Indigenous culture; deliver economic benefit through tourism; increase local access to arts and cultural experiences and create significant new work to celebrate local stories. The last aim – and one which I am particularly keen to focus on – is to facilitate capacity building opportunities for local practitioners and organisations.
I want to explore what capacity building looks like and what role Council has to play in it. It’s easy to focus on dollars, but grants so often have a short-term project focus. How do we ensure sustainability in the longer term? Collectively examining and addressing such a critical issue is what I hope will be a legacy of the RCC, so I’ll seek your input to ensure Council is supporting our cultural workforce in the right way.
The shire's artists and cultural organisations collectively received over a quarter of a million dollars through the RCC to generate new work, extend the profile of existing events and increase community access and participation. It testifies to the wealth of talent here. While it’s true that many local applicants missed out on funds (there are limits to these things after all!), the RCC team are working hard to give everyone some love so make sure you’re in touch – the constantly growing listings on the RCC website are simply remarkable.
The eNews in 2018 will highlight some of the funded events and initiatives across our shire but with the RCC website being the place to go for what’s on, I’ll focus more on the professional development, networking and funding opportunities available to you throughout the year.
So please get in touch – I’m all ears for what you need.
Vicki Anderson
arts@mountalexander.vic.gov.au
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The call is out for Expressions of Interest from artists, makers, curators and organisations interested in exhibiting work as part of the 2018 Phee Broadway Foyer Exhibition Program.
Application forms and information sheets are available to pick up from the Civic Centre, Castlemaine Library or Visitor Information Centre in the Market Building. Materials are also available to download from the Mount Alexander Shire Council website or email arts@mountalexander.vic.gov.au for copies.
Expressions of Interest, including support material, need to be submitted to Council no later than 5:00pm Thursday 15 March 2018.
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Mount Alexander Shire Council’s Community Grants Program is currently open but time is running out to apply: it’s closing at 4.00pm this Friday 23 February 2018. The program provides support to local community-based projects and initiatives that align with Council’s goals and priorities, one of which is to support and promote cultural and artistic communities. If you aren’t yet on the case, it’s time to get cracking.
Download the Program Guidelines
Apply online
Download a Microsoft Word version of the application form
For more information about Council grants contact grants@mountalexander.vic.gov.au or call 03 5471 1700.
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The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund supports participation in and access to the arts and encourage greater private sector support for the arts in regional and rural areas. The team at Regional Arts Victoria administers the fund for our state and has a round of Community Grants open until Tuesday 13 March 2018. In fact, it’s the only round of Community Grants available this year so applicants who would normally apply in August 2018 for projects starting after 1 January 2019 are strongly encouraged to apply in this round.
Click here for more info and a copy of the guidelines.
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If you haven’t yet heard, Artlands is coming to Bendigo and Castlemaine as part of the RCC – it’s all a bit exciting. Celebrating twenty years in 2018, Artlands is the biennial event that shines a national spotlight on Australia’s regional arts, so save the date: 10-14 October.
The team will host a range of presentations that respond to the Artlands Victoria theme and framework and the call out for papers is due any day now. The theme and framework lean heavily on the Dja Dja Wurrung Country Plan 2014 -2034, while the framework also seeks to connect arts and regional industries that are exporting growth, productivity and innovation.
Submission will be online only, so keep an eye on the website for details.
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Located in Melbourne, Australian Print Workshop (APW) is seeking proposals from artists/printmakers resident outside Melbourne who would like to undertake a 3-week residency in September or October 2018. APW provide both established and emerging artists with access to a wide range of printmaking equipment and expertise in the context of a world-class printmaking workshop. Applications close Wednesday 30 May: find out more here.
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The 2018 Geelong contemporary art prize seeks to foster Australian artists and contemporary painting practice in general. Money aside, it’s a chance to get your work under the noses of some serious curators. Entries must be paintings of dimensions not exceeding (h) 183cm (h) x 244cm (w) and have a fee of $40 per entry. Entries close Friday 23 March.
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Want to get the word out across Victoria? The Castlemaine, Maldon & Surrounds Official Visitor Guide is still the most respected go-to guide for visitors to the shire.
Mount Alexander Shire Council produces 50,000 copies, sent far and wide including to Visitor Information Centres across the state, local businesses and high visitation sites and via direct mail. The publication will be available from mid-2018 through to mid-2020.
Advertising with this kind of reach is great value and various sizes and payment options are available.
Event and exhibition listings on www.maldoncastlemaine.com.au are also available for free.
For further info, please contact Claire Baker, Tourism Marketing Officer on 5471 1727 or at c.baker@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.
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Council is also encouraging community members to have a say on how you would like to hear from us and what you would like to know.
The findings of the communications survey will help shape a strategic plan to improve communication and engagement with the community.
Complete the survey by Sunday 11 March to go into the draw to win one of five $100 vouchers from a local butcher or grocer.
The survey is available online at the have your say section of our website from today, Tuesday 20 February, and will take five to ten minutes to complete.
We appreciate your input!
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The RCC program officially launched last Wednesday with a fabulous event called Love Letters to the Heart of Victoria in Bendigo's Rosalind Park. After warming up Mount Alexander Shire through its support for the Maldon Twilight Dinner and Newstead Live and with a couple of well-attended professional development workshops at the Phee, the RCC really kicked into gear with this event. Love Letters to the Heart of Victoria anchored the RCC program with performance and ceremony including the placement of love letters from the community along ‘rivers’ streaming from the Heart centerpiece, a new, huge sculpture by artists Felipe Reynolds and Racquel Kerr. You can check out Mayor Bronwen Machin’s love letter here.
Also announced was YAPENYA - a new performance ceremony which will present new songs and dances by Dja Dja Wurrung on the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Recognition and Settlement Agreement between the Dja Dja Wurrung people and the State of Victoria on 15 November.
See below for some of the major events happening over coming weeks - for full listings visit www.rcc2018.com.
January - March is Barramul (Emu) & Milakuk (Lightning) Time
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Castlemaine Clay has been supported through a Creative Victoria Local Grant for Claystation – a series of talks and workshops to celebrate and learn about all things ceramic. On February 17, Prue Venables will be gracing the space at Lot 19 to share her stories and work, as will Petras Spronk on March 11.
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Another very cool opportunity to cool down is coming with Waterhole. We all love our local pools and this event gives us a chance to really show it. Newstead and District Swimming Pool will be the place to be on March 3: come down for a parade, music performances, community dancing, film screenings, food trucks and if you’re still not happy, be bathed in love in the Compliments Caravan.
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It’s that time of year when we all get fruity for Applefest on Saturday, 10 March. The festival has had a little love from the RCC this year and will bring a new twist to the parade – let’s just say it sounds wheelie fun. Entries to the Art Show are still open too - closing Friday, 23 February.
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The largest free participatory dance celebration in the world is heading to Victory Park on April 29 but before then, if you want to join in, you need to learn the moves. Big Dance will also happen simultaneously in Fed Square and Lilydale, so let’s show them how it’s done: register for Ausdance’s local workshops from late March or learn it online.
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The peeps at Punctum are gearing up to bring you their latest extravaganza at the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens between 2 and 12 March. You’re invited to slip your socks off and step into the engineering wonder which is Punctum's Public Cooling House to explore our water tight future via soundscapes, performance, recorded stories, ritual and more.
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Now in its fourth iteration, the biennial Arts Open is once again unlocking the spaces where our many artists operate. Demand has called for a second weekend so there’s no excuse to miss it: March 10-12 and 17-18. If time is shorter than you’d like, head to the festival information hub at the Castlemaine Market Building for a snapshot of the array of work that you, well, will be missing.
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XtremeInc Youth Projects are calling all budding artists, film makers and photographers for a chance to take part in FAST! - Film & Street Art, working with local artists to develop a series of mural installations. The workshops ($50) will lead to an exhibition and showing of a short film ‘Making of FAST’ at the Theatre Royal. Register here!
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