Nominating for a position on the Country Arts WA board is a way of ensuring that needs of your community and your region are represented on the governing body of Western Australia's peak regional arts organisation.

"Being a Director on the Board of Country Arts WA has been an integral part of my development as an arts manager. I have witnessed at close hand how an efficient, effective and broad reaching arts organisation manages projects around the state and across the country, while facilitating positive change for members and advocating the benefits of the arts at every level of government. - Vice Chair, Simon Clarke

More information about the positions available can be found at http://www.countryartswa.asn.au/cms/cawa/pages/aboutus/2012board.html

Forms and profiles must be received at Country Arts WA by Tuesday 14 February 2011 at 4pm.

For further information about the 2012 election please contact our General Manager (and previous Board member) Paul Mac Phail on pmacphail@countryartswa.asn.au or phone 08 9200 6200.

The Regional Arts Fund Panel from Country Arts WA assessed a total of 15 applications for Projects and Residencies with a total funding request of $201,892.

Although the funding pool was unable to support all requests, seven organisations were selected to have their community arts projects supported by the Projects and Residencies program with the funding contribution totaling a substantial $99,909.

Targeting projects that occur in regional, rural and very remote/isolated locations, the selected projects will occur across five different regions of the state - two projects in the Great Southern and Peel and one in the Kimberley, Pilbara and South West.

Country Arts WA's Acting Chief Executive Officer, Paul MacPhail, said he's pleased to be funding several projects that are part of community festivals.

"We are supporting projects from around the state including contemporary dance as part of Broome's Shinju Matsuri Festival, supporting local writers and the growth of the children's program at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and the inaugural Mungah Festival in Pinjarra."

The Acting Chair of the Western Australian Regional Arts Fund Panel, Trish Barron said;
"The Panel is really pleased with the quality of projects that it has recommended for funding. The strong focus on projects for young people is particularly encouraging as is the diversity of art forms being practiced by regional communities in Western Australia."

"The highly competitive nature of the RAF grants makes the selection process all the more difficult for the panel, particularly where there are a number of worthwhile projects in the mix".

The next Regional Arts Fund closing date for Western Australia is Friday, 9 March 2012 for the Projects and Residencies program for projects commencing after 1 July 2012. For more information visit www.countryartswa.asn.au or contact a member of the Regional Arts Development team on the regional freecall number
1800 811 883.

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program that supports sustainable cultural development in communities across regional and remote Australia. The Fund has an emphasis on building capacity in disadvantaged, remote and Indigenous communities. Country Arts WA delivers the program in Western Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

Regional Arts Fund - Projects and Residencies
2011 August Round Outcomes

Albany Youth Support Association | $10,000 Great Southern
Open Access Youth Arts Studio Arts Project

A series of urban art workshops for young people in Albany and Denmark will use art creation to improve the wellbeing of at risk youth within a safe, supportive environment. The completed works will be displayed in public exhibitions held in Albany and Denmark.

Pinjarra Katijin | $14,000 Peel
Mungah Festival

The inaugrual Mungah Festival is about bringing together Aboriginal groups from the Binjareb region to celebrate and share culture. This is based on original Mungah time when the first rains started the fish run, supplying an abundance of food, which allowed the Binjareb Nyungars to invite groups from all over to have ceremony, trade, play sport and pass laws. The 2012 Mungah Festival will include music workshops and performances by Shellie Morris and Jessica Mauboy.

Boddington Community Resource Centre Inc | $10,000 Peel
Boddington Today - Old and New

Ashley Hay will be the 'Artist in Residence' in 2012 for 12 weeks in Boddington. During this time Ashley will run workshops for the general public and private groups, host an exhibition and create a public art piece.

Arts Margaret River | $13,296 South West
Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival 2012

The Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival 2012 is an eight day literature event for all ages. The Fesitval will include a three-day dedicated children's literature festival behind the label and also support the presentation of South West writers alongside WA and interstate guests.

The Michael Leslie Foundation for the Performing Arts | $17,803 Pilbara
The Nitestar Project

A three week residency for two visiting performing artists from New York's NiteStar Program will work on a drama project and workshop with youth groups, community organisations and schools in the Pilbara.

Gallery Moves | $19,810 Kimberley
Gallery Moves

A community arts project working with three different age demographics will develop a live installation performance as part of Shinju Matsuri 2012. Lead artists will use community cultural arts processes to uncover and explore personal stories of the participants and present them, with integrity, to a wider audience.

Southern Edge Arts | $15,000 Great Southern
Carnivale do Mar

Young people from Southern Edge Arts and the surrounding community will devise, develop and deliver an interactive, performance artwork under the mentorship and guidance of artists skilled in puppetry, design and construction, circus, mask, dance and street performance.

Country Arts WA is a member of Regional Arts Australia http://www.regionalarts.com.au/raa1/default.asp

The Big Hoo Haa! Touring 7 March - 7 April 2012

Gene Peterson Live Touring 1 June - 3 July 2012

Harley Breen in The Kingswood and I Touring 29 August - 29 September 2012

They are all really pleased to have been chosen and are excited about touring.

If you wish to be included in discussions about having these shows in your community, please complete the attached form and return to us as soon as possible and definitely before Friday 4 November 2011.

Development of the itinerary for The Big Hoo Haa will start immediately. Monique Boucher will contact those who voted for The Big Hoo Haa to discuss potential performance options so if you wish to be involved, please let us know straight away.

If you have any queries please contact Monique, Sarah or Philippa on 1800 811 833 or touring@countryartswa.asn.au 

Be Active - Run Wild is proudly sponsored by Healthway to promote the Be Active message.

Viktor Maksimov, Trainee Aerialist and Circus Teacher. Photo by Katherine Maitre

Healthway, Country Arts WA, the Shire of Carnarvon and Mungullah Village have combined forces to deliver an exciting new circus skills program in Carnarvon from August until December 2011.

Carnarvon's Civic Centre Circus has been running since 2008 with minimal resources, volunteer teachers and limited reach. Pivotal to the circus school is the support and enthusiasm from the Carnarvon community and the Shire of Carnarvon. The Civic Centre Circus has been training and teaching 40 people on average, one day a week during the school terms. The support of Healthway and Country Arts WA will enrich the growth and reach of circus in the Gascoyne.

Be Active - Run Wild will see two residencies delivered by celebrated circus teachers and build on the skill base already established by the circus students. Four trainee teachers will also develop their skills base and are being groomed as future circus teachers.

Healthway and Country Arts WA funding will extend the program to Mungullah Village, an urban Aboriginal community and enable them to ‘jump on the teeter board' and skill up in circus with two classes a week. These classes will engage young Aboriginal parents, grandparents and their children in the ‘Play to Learn' circus program, while the afterschool program will cast the net to the wider community at Mungullah and encourage circus, music and visual art at the community hall every Wednesday.

Students and community members alike will learn from principle circus coach and aerial teacher, Theaker von Ziarno.

Be Active - Run Wild will have a community showcase at the Camel Lane Theatre towards the end of the year. The show will be produced by the Narvy Crew - a core youth group which has evolved within the circus school. Showing great promise as producers and performers, this group is passionate about the possibilities. They have been mentored by Theaker von Ziarno and are primed to gain great benefit from this invigorated program.

When will things be happening:

Tuesdays at Carnarvon Civic Centre

3.30pm-4.30pm Children up to seven.

4.30pm- 6.00pm: Eight to twelve years

6.00pm - 8.00pm Teens and Adults

8:00pm - 9:00pm Teacher and emerging performer training and acts development.

Wednesday at Mungullah Village Community Hall Carnarvon

9:30am - 11:30am Play to Learn Kids and (Grand) Parents

4:00pm - 6:00pm Circus Jam - All welcome!

If you have any questions about the program please contact Theaker von Ziarno on 08 9941 7016.

For more information on BE ACTIVE and Healthway please visit www.healthway.wa.gov.au

Jochen Gerz is an artist whose public commissions deal with issues of memory, visibility and collaboration with the public. Recent works in public space include 2-3 Streets (Duisburg, Dortmund, Mulheim an der Ruhr), The Square of the European Promise (Bochum) and Salviamo La Luna (Milan). Since the 1980s, he has created his “anti-monuments” in Germany, France, Italy, England, Austria and Ireland subverting the idea of commemoration, and involving the public and media in the process of creating and defining artwork.

Read more about Jochen Gerz here.

Mr Crean said the new policy would be a 10-year vision for how arts and creativity would be supported, developed and ushered into the mainstream of modern Australia.

"The arts are fundamental to our way of life and not just for their entertainment value," Mr Crean said.

"More than 15 million Australian adults attend at least one cultural event or performance every year - not including cinema - and our preferences for what we attend are changing.

"Film and live music performances are among the most popular forms of entertainment, ahead of the long established art forms including opera, theatre, dance and classical music.

"Today, more than half of all 15 to 24 year olds use the internet to research, view or create some kind of music, writing or artistic performance - and there is a broader audience for contemporary music, multicultural arts, modern arts and community-based activity.

"More than 285,000 people are employed directly in arts and cultural jobs and Australia's creative industries already contribute over $31 billion to industry gross product.

"The creative industries generate more for our economy in terms of output and employment than commonly recognised - but there is room for more growth.

"We want to keep up with change and ensure all Australians - no matter who they are or where they live - can access arts and culture in all its many forms, particularly in regional areas.

"The National Cultural Policy is fundamental, because the creative arts empower the individual and underpins expression, tolerance and inclusion.

"That's why they will be included in the new national curriculum, to ensure young Australians have access to learning in the creative arts.

"Labor firmly believes that a creative nation is a productive nation, which is why we invest over $740 million each year directly on the arts and other cultural activities.

"But 17 years after the Keating Government released its comprehensive cultural policy statement - Creative Nation - it's timely that we reassess and more effectively connect the arts and creative industries into the mainstream of modern Australia.

"A renewed National Cultural Policy will ensure Australia doesn't miss important opportunities to tell our stories, educate and skill our workforce and enable our culture to connect with the rest of the world."

Mr Crean said feedback on the discussion paper would be encouraged around four proposed goals:

Ensure what the Government supports - and how this support is provided - reflects the diversity of a 21st century Australia, and protects and supports Indigenous culture;
Encourage the use of emerging technologies and new ideas that support the development of new artworks and the creative industries in ways which enable more people to access and participate in arts and culture;
Support excellence and world-class endeavour and strengthen the role that the arts play in telling Australian stories both here and overseas;
Increase and strengthen the capacity of the arts to contribute to our society and economy.
Mr Crean said all Australians, whether they worked in the arts sector or not, were encouraged to read the discussion paper and make a submission.

"We also need to think creatively about how we can make best use of the considerable resources already in the arts sector to obtain better outcomes for the Australian community," he said.

"This is a major undertaking and we will continue to work closely with all sectors of the industry to achieve the best possible result."

The discussion paper has drawn on comments and issues identified during initial public consultation by former Arts Minister Peter Garrett in 2009-10.

The opportunity to provide feedback will be open for 10 weeks until 21 October and will be used to help develop the National Cultural Policy for release early next year.

Visit the office of the Arts website or download your copy of the discussion paper from here.

Country Arts WA and SmokeFree WA in association with Dirty Work Comedy are proud to present The Merger, the third Shows on the Go tour for 2011, travelling to Broome, Port Hedland, Newman, Exmouth, Carnarvon, Cervantes, Merredin, Thornlie, Bunbury, Esperance, Hopetoun and Mandurah in August.

The Merger, sequel to the multi-award winning Sportsman's Night, is the third show for which Damian Callinan has been nominated for the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival Barry Award. After selling out in Adelaide and Melbourne and featuring on the Comedy Festival Gala on Network Ten, Damian now brings the attack down the flank into Western Australia.

Unable to field one full side, the footy club will either have to fold or merge with their arch rivals - The Hudson's Flat Redbacks. But prodigal son, coach Troy Carrington, has other ideas. To save the club, he embarks on a program to recruit players from the Asylum Seekers Refuge Centre.

‘We're really pleased and excited to be bringing The Merger to WA. Damian's work is very funny and tackles big questions at the same time. Footy clubs are a big part of any regional community and people will be able to relate to and laugh with Damian Callinan's show.' says Paul MacPhail, Acting CEO at Country Arts WA.

"Stood up and showed why he is one of Australia's premier comics - 4 stars" -Adelaide Advertiser

"...stirs your soul while jolting the funny bone." Footy Almanac

Shows on the Go touring is made possible through support from the State Government of Western Australia through the Department of Culture and the Arts, Lotterywest, Healthway promoting a SmokeFree WA and media partners WIN Television and ABC Local Radio.

For media enquiries, interviews or print quality images contact:
Josie McGraw - Marketing Manager
08 9200 6202 or regional freecall 1800 811 883
jmcgraw@countryartswa.asn.au

The Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development, Local Government and Minister for the Arts, the Hon Simon Crean MP today announced $154,186 of funding for arts projects in regional, rural and very remote/isolated Western Australia thanks to the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund.

Country Arts WA’s Regional Arts Fund Panel assessed a total of 19 applications for Projects and Residencies and Mentorship programs with a total funding request of $287,826.

Of these 10 were supported to a total value of $154,186. Eight organisations will receive Projects and Residencies funding to coordinate community arts projects and two artists will receive Mentorship funding to complete a 6 to 12 month mentorship with a professional artist of their choosing.

Projects will occur in five regions of the state with four projects in the Kimberley, two in the Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance and one in the Great Southern and Mid-West.

Country Arts WA’s Chief Executive Officer, Jessica Machin, said she’s pleased to be funding several projects in remote Indigenous communities.

“We received applications from around the state for projects ranging from outback music workshops in Ringer Soak, to identity sculptures in Ravensthorpe to literature festivals in the Mid-West.”

Simon Clarke, Chair of the Regional Arts Fund Panel in Western Australia, said that the Panel was impressed by the number of applications that addressed the Country Arts WA priority areas of Indigenous arts and culture and children and young people. It was also the first time that 2 projects from the Gascoyne had been successful.

“The Panel was pleased with the projects recommended for funding, but the competitiveness of this round meant that not all deserving projects could be funded and highlighted there is a growing need in the regions for arts activities which is going unmet.”

The next Regional Arts Fund closing date for Western Australia is Friday, 12 August 2011 for the Projects and Residencies program. For more information visit www.countryartswa.asn.au or contact a member of the Regional Arts Development team on regional freecall
1800 811 883.

In 2010 Country Arts WA funded 103 applications for total of $1.2M, co-ordinated ten tours which collectively travelled 75,190kms - that's around the world more than one and a half times and received recognition of Good Practice in Partnering at the 2010 AbaF Awards for its partnership with BHP Billiton Iron Ore for the Legacy Project in Newman.

You are invited to download or view online our Annual report now. Join us in celebrating the work of the Country arts Staff and Board in bringing inspirational performances to regional Western Australia and bulding strong communities through quality artistic dvelopment programs.

2010 was a big year and 2011 will be even bigger. Get your copy of the Annual Report now and we will see you at OPEN YOUR EYES in September.