Overview
The 2005 ConnectEd Arts program targeted the South East region of NSW incorporating schools from Wollongong south to the NSW/Victorian border, and west as far as Queanbeyan. Over 6300 students from 91 schools participated in various elements of the year’s programming. The primary initiatives of the 2005 year were:
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Performing Arts Touring Program
Under the auspices of the Performing Arts Touring Program, over 6276 students from 81 schools in South East NSW attended a free performance in 2005 of a production by a leading Australian theatre or dance company. To enable students to access the very best in quality theatrical productions, Arts Access toured productions of Sydney Theatre Company’s Stolen and Legs on the Wall’s Four on the Floor to Wollongong, Nowra, Moruya, Bega, Cooma and Goulburn. In addition, Arts Access was able to secure tickets for students to see Australian Dance Theatre’s Birdbrain and Patch Theatre Company’s Sharon, Keep Ya Hair On! at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, as well as presentations by South East Arts Region of Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People’s The Prospectors in Moruya and Bega.
As with the pilot year’s program, Arts Access subsidised the full cost of travel to eliminate geographic barriers to access.
An additional benefit of the 2005 Performing Arts Touring Program was the opportunity for touring productions to present an evening performance for the local community in each town they visited. Community performances in Nowra, Moruya, Bega and Cooma attracted an additional 825 audience members and contributed significantly to the building of regional audiences and strengthening of regional touring networks.
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Dance/Physical Theatre Camp for Indigenous Students
The 2005 Arts Access Camp involved 29 Indigenous students from 11 high schools in an intensive residential workshop program held over 5 days at Tuross Head from 2 – 6 May. Workshops were led by Indigenous dancer/choreographers Kirk Page and Frances Rings, Bega-based Artistic Director of fLing Physical Theatre Lee Pemberton, local traditional Indigenous dancer Warren Foster, and Soundhouse tutor Craig Taunton (Powerhouse Museum). Students learned skills in dance, physical theatre, circus skills and video producing as well as benefiting from the social and cultural opportunities which the camp provided. Key benefits for students were noted in artistic skills development, social skills development and Indigenous cultural development. The camp also resulted in significant professional development outcomes for the six creative arts teachers who were also present at the Camp.
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Access Grants
In 2005, the Access Grants program (previously known as the Metro Strategy) was expanded with grants of up to $10,000 being offered to six Sydney-based performing arts companies/venues and four regionally-based companies/venues to provide ticket and travel subsidies to disadvantaged school students to attend their performances.
The Access Grants initiative acknowledges that even students living in relatively close proximity to a performing arts venue might still suffer lack of access to quality performing arts productions either through financial or cultural constraints.
Access Grant funding aims to redress this disadvantage whilst encouraging arts organisations and venues to engage with their local school sector. Access Grants also provide a unique opportunity for arts organisations to pursue audience development strategies.
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Arts Industry Teacher Placement
Following on from the success of the 2004 pilot program, a further two high school creative arts teachers were selected to undertake a work placement at a professional arts organisation in 2005. A visual arts teacher from Goulburn undertook a four-week placement at Wollongong City Gallery, and a drama teacher from Quenabeyan undertook a placement with The Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury. The Arts Industry Teacher Placement program aims to enhance the professional nature of teachers’ practice through engagement with a professional arts organisation. The program also provides arts organisations with an exceptional opportunity to enhance their own education programs with input from a practicing teacher.
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Outcomes
Outcomes of the 2005 ConnectEd Arts strategy included increased exposure to professional theatrical experiences for young people; enhanced valuing of the arts by young people and their teachers; the strengthening of regional touring networks; increased access to professional productions for regional audiences; professional development for teachers, particularly through engagement with the professional side of their artform, and achievement of syllabus outcomes through alternative means
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