2008 - Southern Edge Arts

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