Cultural Awards 2009 Winners
Accessible Arts
Can-Do Performance Group : Peregrine
Can-Do Performance group evolved from a social support program in 2007 at Great Lakes Leisure and Respite Options, a HACC funded service auspice by Great Lakes Council. December 2008 saw Can-Do’s latest play which was performed to celebrate International Day of People with disABILITY. Can-Do Performance group staged PEREGRINE, a contemporary piece of theatre exploring notions of individuality,…
People's Choice
Madame Butterfly in Morundah
The performance by Oz Opera of "Puccini's" Madame Butterfly at the Paradise Palladium Theatre, Morundah. Held over two nights in the pupose built Paradise Palladium Theatre, with over 700 people attending, high class opera performed to an audience drawn from all over Australia, bringing high class arts and culture to rural NSW. This event again involved all of the Morundah community, from…
Brendan Hartnett Award
Andrew Overton
Andrew is a longstanding arts and cultural advocate for Parramatta and has been responsible for the development and implementation of major policy, using a whole-of-council approach. His influential work has encompassed a variety of roles across arts programming and management, including strategy development, direct facility management, community cultural development initiatives and cultural planning.
Division A Winners — Population less than 20,000
Aboriginal Cultural Development
Wiradjuri Windows
The project involved collaborating artists, a stained glass artist and a visual artist. They worked on the story of Ngarradan the original dreamtime creation story of Cootamundra with designs for stained glass windows to be installed in the Cootamundra Town Hall. In March 2008, artists began designing the project, and research commenced into the materials and costings. Design finals were submitted…
Cultural Infrastructure
Artist Playing Field - An Exhibition and Performing Arts Rehearsal Space - Cootamundra Arts Centre
The 'artist's playing field' - the arts centre - has taken another step towards completion. This Council supported, community driven project has added an Exhibition & Performing Arts Rehearsal Space, associated reception, office & catering facilities. This stage (4-6), added to the already completed fine & visual arts studio & workshops, with fully functional Men's Shed completed…
Programs Projects and Partnerships
Oberon Terrazzo Tapestries
A Community Public Art project,involving community consultation and participation, was undertaken in 2008 to enhance Oberon's public spaces with permanent artworks. One project identified was the reinterpreting of the 1988 Bicentennial communal tapestries as Terrazzo Panels. These works encapsulate the essence of what Oberon means to this community. This amazing project captured the imagination of…
Division C Winners — Population over 60,000
Aboriginal Cultural Development
Past Present Future 5
Past Present Future 5 (PPF 5) is the Loft Youth Venue's Aboriginal youth arts program undertaken in partnership with the local Aboriginal community. PPF 5 featured Aboriginal heritage site visits and cultural camps, as well as a strong workshop and presentation program in music, visual arts and traditional Aboriginal artforms: didge playing and basketweaving. Funding for PPF 5 was sourced from the…
Cultural Infrastructure
Hawkesbury Regional Museum
The opening of Hawkesbury Regional Museum in May 2008 marked the completion of a ten-year project to upgrade cultural facilities in the Hawkesbury and create the Hawkesbury Cultural Precinct. As well as the museum, the precinct comprises the Deerubbin Centre, housing Hawkesbury Central Library Service and Hawkesbury Regional Gallery (the first public gallery in the region). The Museum is situated…
Integrated Cultural Policy Implementation
Creative Community Engagement in Kingswood Park
Demonstrating innovation in creative community engagement and leadership in an integrated approach to Cultural Policy Implementation, Penrith City Council has collaborated with local residents, artists and local service providers in the renewal of Kingswood Park, an established neighbourhood identified as experiencing relative social disadvantage. Key outcomes include the active participation of…
Library and Information Services
A Migrant's Story
A Migrant’s Story provided a unique opportunity for children and older migrants to interact, form lasting relationships and experience life from another’s point of view. 26 children aged between 11 and 15 years from the Randwick LGA were partnered with a migrant. After attending intensive writing workshops, the children interviewed the migrants about their immigration experiences. The uplifting…
Programs Projects and Partnerships
(lost toy story)
Lost Toy Story was a multi-media interactive arts festival on the streets of Hurstville in August 2008. Part installation, part sculpture, part art exhibition and part public celebration, (lost toy story) explored the real stories of lost toys, hopes, friends and fears across generations and cultures in the very public forum of Hurstville CBD. Dozens of personal memory boats floating on the pond in…
Programs Projects and Partnerships
Stories of Love & Hate
Stories of Love & Hate is a theatre work developed through an extensive interview process with 65 residents from the Bankstown and Sutherland Shire LGAs, revealing the lives and loves of people directly affected by the 2005 Cronulla riots. Sidestepping the media hype and social outrage surrounding the event, the source material for this unique verbatim theatre show came from an extensive…
Division B Winners — Population between 20,000 and 60,000
Aboriginal Cultural Development
Wollondilly Australia Day 2009 – Aboriginal Welcome to our land
The theme of the 2009 Australia Day was reconciliation. In acknowledgement of this the Wollondilly Aboriginal Advisory Committee (WAAC) implemented a traditional ceremonial performance and designed and created a traditional ceremonial meeting circle from the natural resources of the land (sand and ochres). The traditional ceremonial performance welcomed the community to the event as well as raising…
Cultural Infrastructure
'The Q' - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre
In the heart of Queanbeyan is the 'The Q' - the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. Opened in March 2008 it is the premiere entertainment facility in the city, a gathering place for the community and boasts a magnificent foyer, comfortably holding over 350 people and leads into ‘The Q’ Theatre and Exhibition Spaces, bar, cafe and lounge areas. 'The Q' precinct comes alive at night, at weekends and…
Integrated Cultural Policy Implementation
‘Cultivating Creativity in Camden’ Camden’s Cultural Plan 2008-2013
Two and a half years in the making - engaging in community and cross-organisational consultation combined with thorough critical analysis - has resulted in a plan that’s comprehensive yet straightforward and an achievable guide for the Camden LGA’s cultural wellbeing, consolidation and growth. It was imperative to move beyond the plan being simply a research paper. For this reason, a key strategy…
Programs Projects and Partnerships
ASHFIELD YOUTH THEATRE
Ashfield Youth Theatre (AYT) began in 2001 as a program of Ashfield Council. It came as a direct response to a social plan that identified the need for young people to have access to creative services in the inner-west of Sydney. Since then, AYT has created 24 large-scale productions involving over 230 creative young people... and is now spreading it’s wings into 4 neighbouring inner-west council…
Division C Highly Commended — Population over 60,000
Library and Information Services
Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery: Celebrating Diversity
In 2008, Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery collaborated on a strategic program of inspiring events, innovative exhibitions, and technological tools to engage our diverse communities. Our Chinese community was celebrated in Kung Hei Fat Choy, a photographic exhibition and collection display; the Changzhou Exhibition which showcased photographs from our sister city in China, and through…
Programs Projects and Partnerships
Bent Western
The Bent Western exhibition surveyed the work of queer Australian artists who forged connections to Western Sydney in exciting and challenging ways over the last thirty years and made important contributions to queer cultures in the region and beyond. Bent Western examined the work of queer artists through a bent lens, acknowledging how Western Sydney itself is marked by broader notions of…
Division B Highly Commended — Population between 20,000 and 60,000
Library and Information Services
Connecting Community and Culture - Libraries in action
Connecting people and groups builds dynamic communities. Building communities and providing cultural programs is a key objective of Kogarah Library and Cultural Services. The Strategic Plan 2008-2012 focuses on 'providing opportunities for engagement in a variety of library programs designed to contribute to individual and community literacy and cultural development'. The Connecting Commuity and…
