2008
Southern Edge Arts ends 2008 in very good shape with a secure funding base, triennial funding now guaranteed from all our major supporters and a sound organisational structure. Membership has continued to increase and we are able to offer an increasingly diverse range of workshops which in turn support our exciting Artistic program. Over the course of the year we were able to complete an internal restructure that has allowed us to employ both a full time Artistic Director, Simon Clarke, and a full time General Manager, Kelly Hull. This gives the organisation a very secure base and ensures that both the artistic and organisational dimensions receive the support they require. We also have managed to attract a very skilled group of sessional trainers and guest artists in order to allow us to deliver high quality artistic programs across the region.
As I write we are also completing the selection process for our Indigenous Arts Worker. This project has been developed over a number of years and it is very pleasing to se it coming to fruition.
Over the course of 2008 staff, members and the Board of Management worked hard to complete a new Strategic and Business Plan that will shape the direction of the company for the next five years. We acknowledge the role our consultant Carol Wish Wilson has played in this process.
I would like to acknowledge the support of our major funding partners Department of Culture & Arts, Healthway and the Australia Council for their continued support. We have also received substantial support from BHP Billiton this year but alas I fear that such corporate support is likely to be in very short supply in coming years.
This will be my final Chairperson’s report as I have decided to resign at our next AGM. This will bring to an end a 12 year association for me with SEA starting originally as a parent, volunteer and for the last 6 years as chairperson. Over the course of that time I have seen SEA grow from a struggling youth arts group with minimal funding and housed in a tin shed with a leaky roof to the organisation it is today with its own purpose built premises, full time staff and a growing national and international reputation. But more importantly I have seen the positive impact SEA has had on the development of our young people and the health of our community. I have been able to watch many of our graduates move on to their careers, some in the Arts and some elsewhere, but all with a sense of energy and creativity nurtured through their SEA contact. We should never underestimate the power of the Arts to contribute to the development of our society and to bring meaning and pleasure to people’s lives. So finally a big thanks to all our staff, members, parents, volunteers and supporters who make SEA what it is.
Tim Christie
Chairperson
Performance Projects
We are excited to announce that the 2007 Senior Drama production of
Shiny Things is going
ON TOUR! For those of you who didn’t get to see it, we will be re-staging it here in Albany as part of National Youth Week in April, then taking it on the road in October 2007, visiting Ravensthorpe, Katanning, Bridgetown, Bunbury and a repeat season in Albany...
In June, the amazing team that is
Cecille Williams and
Peter Keelan, will be joining the company, working towards our major performance piece
KAPOW! Running for 8 weeks through June and July 2008, KAPOW looks at bringing a story to life through puppetry, multi media and contemporary performance.
Workshop Intensives
Puppet Mania at SEA...
Southern Edge Arts joins the MILLION PUPPET PROJECT and hosts international mask-maker, puppeteer, performance arts and teacher Deborah Hunt
To kick the year off we welcome mask-maker, puppeteer, performance artist and teacher
Deborah Hunt for two weeks of workshops in February, 2008. This international guest artist will be here courtesy of
The Million Puppet Project (an initiative of
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre for
UNIMA 2008), and all SEA members have the chance to get involved! From the 16th February to the 2nd March create amazing masks and puppets, learn how to perform with them, and participate in a street procession that celebrates your work! Click here to find out more...
Artist in Residence - Theatre Design with Claude Marcos
In collaboration with Open Access Arts Studio, SEA will be hosting Perth based designer Claude Marcos to present Design as performance: Visual interpretation of a text focusing on understanding the role of theatre design in contemporary performance. This workshop is aimed at helping young people & local artists understand the basics of stage design but more specifically attempts to highlight the power gained from understanding how a visual and spatial understanding of text can truly inform the direction of a production.
STEPS Youth Dance Company returns!
October school holidays sees the return of STEPS Youth Dance Company for another exciting series of contemporary dance and physical theatre workshops for young people aged 8-12 years...
VISIBLEDANCE Company Workshops
Join Elyse Huxtable & Pamela Konijn from Perth’s exciting new contemporary dance company, Visible Dance, in a dance workshop that will have you moving on the floor, flying through the air, and eating some space! Suitable for all dance levels & ages 14+...
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