Hepburn Shire artists have won funding support for creative projects, with one Clunes duo receiving a $260,000 state government grant.
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Clunes-based creative team Ken Evans and Rebecca Russell were one of two artists to receive a $260,000 grant as part the Regional Centre for Culture, a year-long celebration of arts, culture and community in Victoria’s regions.
The pair will work with musicians, dancers, physical theatre, video, sound artists and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans to create a large-scale outdoor performance in Bendigo that will centre on a structure that is in the process of demolition. The performance will be spread across several nights as the structure is progressively demolished.
“Demolition is a visual allegory of absolute change,” Mr Evans said.
“When we were developing the story for the performance which is quite gentle with ideas of fragility and resilience, we realised the complete juxtaposition of that is demolition. Demolition is loud and confronting and is physically brutal.”
Ms Russell said they hoped to explore the Dja Dja Warrung idea of the ‘upside down landscape’ in the performance.
“It is the landscape of this area we live in that has been turned upside down from gold mining and all sorts of other development. We wanted to explore the complexity of that and thought the complexity of demolition was a good way to explore that rapid change,” Ms Russell said.
Ms Russell and Mr Evans will work with around 20 other artists from Clunes and the surrounding region with the help of the grant.
A number of other artists were also successful in receiving a Regional Centre for Culture grant. The Anglican Parish of Springmount received a $5000 grant for the Four Seasons Fine Music Festival and Daylesford’s Jen Bray was awarded $20,000 to create a new theatre work for young people in Clunes, Castlemaine and Daylesford. Trentham’s Katrina Douglas won $13,600 for a year-long project for six to 12-year-olds to learn the art of film-making.
Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said the Regional Centre for Culture was a perfect way to showcase the region and bring visitors from across the state, the country and the world.
“This announcement means our local artists can now start working towards making 2018 a spectacular year for performances, exhibitions and unique creative experiences in the Hepburn Shire,” Ms Thomas said.
Visit https://creative.vic.gov.au/news/2017/local-creativity-at-the-heart-of-victorias-first-regional-centre-for-culture for the full list of grant winners.
Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
