Full House funding to support extra arts shows and workshops

Ararat’s arts and cultural audiences will benefit from $40,000 funding allocated to the Ararat Arts Precinct under Creative Victoria’s Full House program.

The funding will see extra arts outreach beyond the Town Hall to Ararat’s smaller communities, including children’s workshops and performances in several prized halls.

Ararat Rural City Council CEO Dr Tim Harrison said the funding was a fantastic bonus for the Ararat Town Hall and Ararat Gallery TAMA.

Dr Harrison said the funding was the third stage of the Full House program, with the first stage including extensive audience research and community consultation and analysis and the second stage successfully developing audience development and programming plans as well as a precinct marketing strategy completed late last year.

He said the funding will help implement some of the recommendations contained in the strategy around providing the community with more diverse programming.

“The Arts Precinct and Council is really thankful for the Creative Victoria funding and has developed an excellent plan to put the money to good use,” Dr Harrison said.

“The Art Gallery and Town Hall are particularly excited to be taking shows and workshops to other towns in the municipality so regional residents have greater access to cultural activities.”

At the Ararat Town Hall, the funding will be used to bring in new shows including Super Circus Squad by strong woman Hannah Cryle, while Willaura will be treated to children’s puppet show Trinket the Robot. One-man theatre show Man in the Mail will also tour late in the year.

At the Ararat Gallery Textile Art Museum (TAMA), the funding will be used to take the Mini Makers Art Club for pre-schoolers on the road to three regional halls, and to host upcycled fashion workshops with Hannah Gartside as part of her upcoming exhibition Fantasies, which opens July 20.

With the funding the Gallery will also host an artist-in-residence, Siying Zhou, who will spend three weeks exploring and responding to Ararat’s Chinese history. Chinese-born Zhou is based in Melbourne with her work using various media such as video, photography, performance and drawing.

Picture above: the Trinket the Robot show will be funded by the Full House program funding.