Creative Victoria

Meet the Victorian Premier's Design Awards finalists: Fashion design

1. Merino base layers using biodegradable nylon, returning to the earth after 3 years in landfill conditions. Katy Robinson AKA Captain Robbo

2. 'Bloodlines' is a multidisciplinary art series celebrating artistic heroes lost to HIV/AIDS. The Huxleys

3. A slow-fashion and made-to-order collection celebrating Australian flora and fauna. Minimal material waste and using digital tools to accurately convey the look and feel of a garment to customers...before it's created. Oscar Keene Designs

4. "Mars Odyssey" is a world-making future fashion collection envisioning life on Mars, fusing sustainability and tech. Its unique inflatable prototypes offer body temperature regulation and oxygen provision, embodying innovative style with functionality for Mars' outdoor activities. Nuoqi Shen

5. A first-of-its-kind Digital Fashion Studio facilitates the transition to 3D design for fashion brands and individual professionals. IDES Studio

6. Merging fashion, art and social good, this collaboration highlights local manufacturing, the politics of productivity and zero waste textile practices. The Social Studio / Kay Abude / Alpha60 / Michelle Phan - Ugly Cute Collective

7. A collection working to expand the possibilities within sustainable fashion through convertible clothing, reducing the amount of clothing needed for a full wardrobe. Ashley Monroe

Read more at premiersdesignawards.vic.gov.au/

Read more at premiersdesignawards.vic.gov.au/

Need to entertain the kids this summer? There's a whole host of free and low-cost activities on offer, spanning art, music, craft, exhibitions, festivals, and performances around Victoria.

https://ow.ly/94QW50QnfgG

📷 We Live in an Ocean of Air by Marshmallow Laser Feast, Works of Nature, ACMI, 2023. Image by Eugene Hyland

RECOMMENDED LISTENING: Creative Exchange Podcast

The Creative Exchange Podcast delves into topics affecting artists and the creative community, such as AI, career sustainability and funding. Produced in partnership with Creative Victoria and ArtsHub as part of the Creative Exchange program.

Each episode we’ll be exploring a range of topics aimed at helping Victorian artists and workers in the creative communities to operate their businesses and enhance their practices.

Subscribe on your preferred podcast player or via link below.
https://creative.vic.gov.au/resources/creative-exchange

Creator Profile

The recent Eighty-Six music festival wasn’t just a celebration of the grassroots music scene of Melbourne’s northern suburbs – it was a boost for local businesses. Thornbury’s Program Records was among those to benefit, pressing 10,000 records for the festival’s Independent Music Exchange.

We spoke to Program Records’ Bridget Small about how the business started up.

https://ow.ly/uML450QmskN

: A 14-metre high steel pole sculpture on the Peninsula Link Freeway. 'Compass 2023', designed by artist Natasha Johns-Messenger, is the 7th in a series of public artworks displayed on the freeway as part of the Southern Way McClelland Commission.

📷 Natasha Johns-Messenger, Compass 2023 Photo: Steve Brown

Happy holidays from the Creative Victoria team!

We are open throughout the summer period, closing only on the following public holidays:

👉 25 December, 26 December and 1 January.

Wishing you have a safe, happy and creative holiday season.

[Image description: A series of small artworks in rows. To the right of the image is a purple banner that says “Wishing you a happy holiday season and a creative new year – from the Creative Victoria team.” Below it is a Creative Victoria logo and underneath that is a caption that reads “Image: Maree Clarke (Mutti Mutti, Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Boon Wurrung), now you see me: seeing the invisible #1 2023 (detail), from the Yalingwa exhibition Between Waves, curated by Jessica Clark at ACCA. Maree Clarke was awarded the Yalingwa Fellowship 2023. Photograph: Andrew Curtis.]

YIRRAMBOI Festival invites Australian First Nations and Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists to submit an Expression of Interest to collaborate on new intercultural work to world premiere at YIRRAMBOI Festival 2025.

Projects may be across any art form including theatre, dance, music, visual art, experimental practice, and anything between or beyond these mediums.

Projects will be awarded AUD$36,000 towards creative development and travel, and the presentation format determined in collaboration with YIRRAMBOI.

👉 EOIs close Sunday 14 January AEDT. Find out more via YIRRAMBOI website.

https://www.yirramboi.com.au/commissions/

📷 Jeanette Kotowich. Image: Denis Martin

💻 Now streaming: Using social media to promote your creative business 💻

Hear from three experts offering advice on using social media to grow your creative business, engage your audiences and make an impact.

Creative Exchange, produced with ArtsHub is Creative Victoria’s professional development program, focusing on the business of being a creative.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/resources/creative-exchange

INDUSTRY NEWS

Filming is underway in Melbourne for a new television series Apple Cider Vinegar – a Netflix and See Saw Films / Picking Scabs production – that is set to create 450 local jobs and boost Victoria’s economy.

The six-part series will bring together local and international talent to support the state’s creative and screen industries and generate more than $13 million in economic value.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/news/2023/epic-tv-drama-series-boosting-victorian-screen-industry

Subscribe to our newsletter and have updates about our funding programs, networking events and creative industries news delivered direct to your inbox. Free and no spam.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/about/subscribe

With the next round of applications for the Creative Projects Fund now open, we talked to Samara Cunningham, Artistic Director of Gippsland-based inclusive theatre ensemble It's No Drama – a 2022 Creative Projects Fund recipient – about what the funding has enabled the company to achieve.

Meet Samara: https://ow.ly/Cugr50QhGPp

Creative Projects Fund information: https://ow.ly/EENP50QhGPo

📷 No Sudden Moves production by (it's no) drama. Image: Lauren Murphy

🎉 Happy 10th-anniversary MPavilion! 🎉

MPavilion celebrates its tenth anniversary with its latest architecture commission and free summer program of more than 150 art and design events.

https://ow.ly/7vpb50QfNpA

🚨 APPLY NOW: CREATIVE PROJECTS FUND 🚨

Applications are now open for the Creative Projects Fund, which invests in developing new home-grown creative work and experiences and helps take them to local, national or international audiences and markets.

Grants of $5000 to $20,000 are available to Victorian professional artists, creative practitioners, collectives, groups and organisations working in all creative disciplines – from design to dance, fashion to film, theatre, augmented and virtual technologies, visual art, music, literature and more.

📅 3pm, Thursday 1 February 2024

👉 Find program guidelines and tools to help with your application at: https://ow.ly/nI0w50QgeAM

📷 BURGERZ by Travis Alabanza, starring Kikki Temple. Image: James Reiser

Don't forget to listen to our new podcast; each episode delves into topics affecting artists and the creative community such as AI, career sustainability, funding and more. Produced in partnership with Creative Victoria and ArtsHub as part of the Creative Exchange program.

Search for 'The Creative Exchange Podcast' in your preferred player or listen via https://creative.vic.gov.au/resources/creative-exchange

NOW STREAMING

The next generation of Australian filmmakers will showcase their graduating works from the Victorian College of the Arts.

Forty films by VCA graduates are featured in the 2023 Film and Television Graduate Season showcase,
streamed for free on MIFF Play, the Melbourne International Film Festival’s digital platform.

https://play.miff.com.au/

JUST LANDED: Creative Exchange Podcast episode 2 - Mentorships

Join host ArtsHub’s Madeleine Swain as she talks to a range of creative professionals with extensive knowledge and experience of what it’s like to be involved in mentorship – on both sides of the equation.

Learn how to start a mentorship relationship, how to manage the boundaries and expectations, and what resources you can access to help you along the way. This episode is in two parts, with part two coming soon.

Guests: Collette Brennan (CEO of Abbotsford Convent) and Daniel Santangeli (Artistic Director and co-CEO of Footscray Community Arts)

https://ow.ly/x3lA50Qeehw

Happy Ausmusic t-shirt day!

To celebrate, more Victorian music workers will have access to important mental health, wellbeing and crisis relief services, with a $2 million funding boost to Support Act.

From musicians to managers, crew, music workers and organisations, Support Act supports anyone working in Australian music with mental health and wellbeing programs, short-term financial support and a free Wellbeing Helpline.

To find out more, visit ausmusictshirtday.org.au or supportact.org.au. Support Act’s free and confidential Wellbeing Helpline is available on 1800 959 500.

And our friends at Music Victoria have many new music recommendations supporting our local artists.

Do you ever look at the number of social media followers of other creatives and think ‘how did they do that?’

The next FREE webinar in the Creative Exchange program, presented by Creative Victoria and ArtsHub will provide tips and advice on how to use social media to engage and inspire your audiences, grow your creative business, build new revenue streams and make an impact.

Moderated by Kate Mulqueen (Melbourne Arts Precinct’s Social Media and Content Producer), the webinar will feature insights from John Burgess, CEO and Director of Strategy at Little Rocket, a First Nations led strategic and creative agency, artist and writer Atong Atem, and Anna Horan, Head of Brand and Content at RISING.

📅 When: Thursday 30 November 2023 AEDT, 11am – 12pm
Cost: Free, but bookings essential
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2016883464939/WN__bv5gNPsRCCQNqYF80KaVw #/registration

It’s a joyful explosion of colour as Warrnambool Art Gallery brings two Australian fashion and art icons together for its latest world premiere exhibition, Lisa Gorman + Mirka Mora: To breathe with the rhythm of the heart.

https://ow.ly/SlHu50Q9fje

Creative Exchange Podcast Episode #2 – Mentorship (Part 1)

The second episode of the Creative Exchange series looks at mentorship. Join host ArtsHub’s Madeleine Swain as she talks to a range of creative professionals with extensive knowledge and experience of what it’s like to be involved in mentorship – on both sides of the equation.

Learn how to start a mentorship relationship, how to manage the boundaries and expectations, and what resources you can access to help you along the way. This episode is in two parts, with part two coming soon.

Listen now on your favourite podcast platform
https://www.artshub.com.au/creative-exchange/?

The accolades continue to pour in for Melbourne author Jessica Au's stunning novella “Cold Enough For Snow,” portraying a mother and daughter's trip to Japan, named best in fiction in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.

Jessica Au works part-time at a Melbourne library. She's just won $80,000 for this book Cold Enough for Snow is one of six major prize winners at the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Australia's richest book prize.

Congratulations to Maree Clarke for claiming the prestigious Melbourne Urban Sculpture prize for her stunning creations.

Maree Clarke wins $60,000 Melbourne urban sculpture prize for detailed glass renderings of nature Multimedia artist recognised for fragile sculptures borne from microscopic images, and for her leadership among Victoria’s Indigenous art scene

FREE Healing Landscapes lecture

For this in-person discussion, leading thinkers, researchers and design practitioners will explore the topic of holistic architecture and urban planning, with a focus on natural systems and environments.

📅 Friday 24 November 2023

Healing Landscapes Come and hear our expert speakers discuss the nexus between landscape, architecture, ecology, and health.

Art with a view!

Just two of the artworks featured on the 134km Great Victorian Rail Trail that follows the historic railway line that operated between Tallarook and Mansfield, with an additional spur line linking the trail to Alexandra.

Eight artists were engaged to create seven major art installations and 20 smaller works that have been placed along the length of the trail. Taking inspiration from the theme of connections, each artist has responded differently, exploring such things as connection to country, connection to the local environment, connection to the history of the trail as well as connection to community.

https://www.greatvictorianrailtrail.com.au/art/

Image one & two: Mirnong (Yam Daisy) by Christabel Wigley
Image three: Responding by Robbie Rowlands

How are music festivals ensuring people with disability can enjoy the experience? For the operator of two Victorian music festivals, it all starts at the beginning.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/news/2023/improving-access-for-music-fans-with-disability

Gippsland Country Festival, Auslan side of stage. Image: Lisa Burgess Photography

VIPI Salon: One-on-One Producer Mentoring Session

TNA is offering paid one-on-one mentoring for emerging producers based in Victoria. Bring a specific question on a project, grant, career development, or any other aspect of producing in the performing arts and you'll be matched with an experienced producer or practitioner.

Participants will be selected via EOI process based on experience with target groups prioritised. Pairs are based on artform, interests or questions and you will be paid $70 for your time.

EOIs close Tuesday November 21.

VIPI Salon: One-on-One Producer Mentoring Session - Theatre Network Australia TNA is offering paid one-on-one mentoring for emerging producers based in Victoria, who will be matched up with an experienced...

Missing Creative Victoria in your feed? Subscribe and have the latest news about Victoria's creative industries delivered direct to your inbox.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/about/subscribe

🎧 Have you heard...the Creative Exchange podcast? 🎧

The Creative Exchange Podcast delves into topics affecting artists and the creative community, such as AI, career sustainability, funding and more. Produced in partnership with ArtsHub as part of the Creative Exchange program.

Listen to Episode #1 – Catching Curveballs now.
In this first episode, we talk to some creative people who have been thrown a curveball and used their ingenuity and innovation to survive and thrive in whole new ways.

Whether it’s a funding cut, a natural disaster or a pandemic that seems to come out of nowhere, the resulting challenge can present both individual artists and arts organisations with a potentially insurmountable roadblock.

Find us on your favourite podcast listening app or head to https://www.artshub.com.au/creative-exchange/

Creative profile – Sally Noonan

Sally Noonan was appointed Executive Director and Co-CEO of Melbourne Theatre Company in February, to work in partnership with Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Anne-Louise Sarks – a rare all-female executive management team in the world of theatre.

https://ow.ly/JSRB50Q0Rcc

🎥 Screen Opportunity 🎥

Frame Documentary is now calling for applications for its 2024 Frame Doc Labs, an acceleration program designed to support Victoria’s most daring and innovative non-fiction storytellers to explore new directions, develop new connections and incubate new documentary work at the intersection of art and technology.

The program includes:
✔️ three weekends of inspiring development labs with international creators;
✔️ six-months of mentorship with globally-recognised experts;
✔️ $15,000 of development funds
✔️ a final showcase to take your prototype to the next level.

The program is designed to provide support for Victorian individuals or teams of two creators to prototype new methods, processes and approaches to bring their non-fiction stories to light.

📅 Closes Friday 24 November 2023.

This program is proudly supported by Creative Victoria's 'Creative Ventures Program'.

That's a wrap on Creative October

A massive month of creative events has drawn to a close, with thousands of people celebrating independent arts, digital games, fashion, jazz, photography, craft and plenty of live music, exhibitions and theatre.

The year isn't over with the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues’ Last Hurrah, Melbourne Q***r Film Festival and the opening of ACMI’s major summer exhibition Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature happening this month. December highlights include the NGV Triennial and Melbourne Museum's Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition.

https://creative.vic.gov.au/news/2023/thats-a-wrap-on-creative-october

📷 Super Saturday, part of the Eighty-Six Festival. Images: Maclay Heriot

Expressions of Interest are now open for Victorian artists and residents of Alpine Shire Council, Indigo Shire Council and the
Rural City of Wangaratta to contribute to the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail Enhancements Project.

The Enhancements Project will add world-class art installations and experiences to the Rail Trail that are engaging, shareable and repeatable.

Local residents are invited to register their interest to attend a Cultural Symposium in Beechworth (November 2023) where they can contribute stories, thoughts and impressions of the region that may be incorporated into the project and Victorian artists can register their interest to be considered for future artist briefs.

https://daeglobal.com/murraytomountains/