Pipeline of new Indigenous works to showcase in Queensland
- 28 Sep 2018
New contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performance works will be developed and showcased to audiences of almost 40,000 with investment from the Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland.
Funding assistance of $430,000 will support the creation of four exciting new productions through the first round of Backing Indigenous Arts – Performing Arts’ (BIA-PA) New Commissions.
The Queensland Government’s funding will be matched by the four applicants in a co-investment to commission new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performance work that engages new audiences and showcases the unique stories of Queensland’s First Nations peoples.
The Queensland Government is committed to bolstering the state's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island performing arts sector, and these new works will create more than 147 arts employment opportunities, and share new authentic performing arts experiences across 12 Queensland communities. These four productions will also be further supported through the opportunity to premiere at the Centre of Contemporary Arts Cairns from 2019.
Backing Indigenous Arts – Performing Arts aims to build the capacity of Queensland’s Indigenous performing arts sector, and help share their unique stories with wider audiences, as part of the $2.1 million extension of the landmark Backing Indigenous Arts (BIA) initiative.
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) was successful in its application to support the creation of Cultural Heights, a new event to be staged as part of the 10th Anniversary of the Fair in 2019.
Grace Lillian Lee Productions will be supported to collaborate with three Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland to produce First Nations Fashion a fashion performance platform that brings together dance, music and fashion.
JUTE Theatre Company will commission Indigenous playwright Mark Sheppard to write Synesthesia Part II, a new work incorporating community engagement, creative development stages and a reading.
Queensland Theatre will be funded to create Power of Bones, a performance installation inspired by Bidjara woman Keelen Mailman’s memoir of the same name. Co-created with Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens and Paige Rattray.
For more information visit www.arts.qld.gov.au/bia-pa
Backing Indigenous Arts – Performing Arts, New Commissions Round 1 recipients:
- Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) for Cultural Heights – $150,000
- Grace Lillian Lee Productions Pty Ltd for First Nations Fashion – $150,000
- JUTE Theatre Company for Synesthesia Part II – $39,126
- Queensland Theatre for Power of Bones – $90,000.