A range of Victorian arts organisations will showcase their skills and share their talents with artists and audiences across Asia thanks to the latest round of Andrews Labor Government grants through Creative Victoria.
Visiting Federation Square today to take part in BOAT, an interactive performance with children’s theatre company Polyglot, Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said Polyglot is one of 12 Victorian organisations who will share in $356,500 in grants to tour Victorian creative works to Asia or undertake cultural exchanges.
Other recipients include Indigenous music and theatre company Black Arm Band; giant puppet company Snuff Puppets; dance company Chunky Move; and Malthouse Theatre. Recipients will take Victorian creativity to locations including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia and India.
Creative Clunes has received support to send a delegation to Paju Book City, a literature hub in South Korea, to develop collaborative projects. The visit follows the launch of a two-part Clunes and Korean photography exhibition that featured as part of the 2015 Booktown Festival.
Arena Theatre Company will travel to Tokyo to develop a new children’s work with acclaimed Japanese music troupe Stringraphy Ensemble.
Wodonga’s Flying Fruit Fly Circus will join forces with Melbourne’s National Institute of Circus Arts for a project that will see students work, perform with, and learn from students and artists from Vietnam Circus Arts and Vaudeville Secondary School in Hanoi.
A full list of supported projects is attached. Images are available on request.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley
“The Andrews Labor Government is committed to building links between Victoria and Asia, and creative and cultural activity is a key part of that.”
“We are proud to support a range of creative organisations, of all sizes and across a range of art forms, that are doing incredible work on an international scale and demonstrating the significant impact Victorian creativity has beyond our borders.”
“Connecting with international markets is vital to the growth of Victoria’s creative industries. This is one of the areas we are looking into as part of the development of Victoria’s first creative industries strategy.”
ASIA ENGAGEMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS
Arena Theatre Company, North Melbourne, $12,500
Arena Theatre Company will travel to Tokyo for a week of creative workshops with Japanese music troupe Stringraphy Ensemble, which will develop a new performance work for audiences aged five and above that combines theatre with music.
Black Arm Band, Melbourne, $40,000
Black Arm Band will tour to Singapore, Taiwan and India between August and October. The tour will include performances and activities in collaboration with local artists at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, Singapore Arts Festival and in Taipei.
Chunky Move, Southbank, $15,000
Chunky Move will perform a season of Complexity of Belonging at the National Theatre and Concert Hall in Taipei.
Creative Clunes, Clunes, $12,000
A delegation of Clunes Booktown Festival representatives will travel to the Korean literature hub, Paju Book City, develop future partnership and exchange projects.
Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Wodonga, $19,000
A partnership between Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Melbourne’s National Institute of Circus Arts and the Vietnam Circus Arts and Vaudeville Secondary School in Hanoi will bring together students and professional artists to learn from each other and perform together.
Malthouse Theatre, Southbank, $50,000
Malthouse Theatre will develop a new work in collaboration with Chinese director Wang Chong and his Beijing company Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Southbank, $50,000
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will visit Shanghai, China to collaborate and perform with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Multicultural Arts Victoria, South Melbourne, $30,000
A performance and collaborative project led by artist Victoria Chiu focusing on Australia’s Chinese diaspora, which will be staged at RAW LAND, a new young artists carnival that will take place at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Polyglot, South Yarra, $35,000
Polyglot will do a residency with Indonesia’s Papermoon Theatre company to develop a new interactive installation performance for pre-schoolers that follows the story of a small boy on his journey by boat from Sri Lanka to Melbourne. The artists will work with children from three villages in Jakarta to inform the performance.
Snuff Puppets, Footscray, $35,000
Snuff Puppets will conduct a two-week collaborative community workshop with local artists and community members in Penang, Malaysia, which will create a giant puppet performance to be presented as part of Penang’s George Town Festival in August 2015.
The Australian Ballet, Southbank, $50,000
The Australian Ballet will bring two full-scale productions (Swan Lake and Cinderella) and a triple bill to Beijing and Shanghai as part of the Beijing Dance Festival and Shanghai Arts Festival.
The Click Clack Project, Footscray, $8,000
The Amplified Elephants, an ensemble of sound artists with an intellectual disability, will do three days of collaborative recording sessions, mixing and mastering in Tokyo with Japan-based sound artists Cal Lyall and Pardon Kimura.
Reviewed 19 August 2020