Full House funding to support art

Ararat district’s satellite communities are set to benefit from a $40,000 boost to Ararat Arts Precinct as part of Creative Victoria’s Full House program.

The funding will lead to art projects reaching beyond Ararat Town Hall to the municipality’s smaller communities.

Projects will include children’s workshops and performances in several community halls.

Ararat Rural City Council chief executive

Tim Harrison said the funding was a ‘fantastic’ bonus for Ararat Town Hall and Ararat Gallery Textile Art Museum Australia, TAMA.

He said the funding was the third stage of the Full House program.

Dr Harrison said the first stage included extensive audience research and community consultation and analysis and the second stage involved developing audience development and programming plans as well as a precinct marketing plan completed late last year.

He said the funding would help implement some of the recommendations in the strategy around providing the community with more diverse programming.

“The Arts Precinct and the council are really thankful for the Creative Victoria funding and has developed an excellent plan to put the money to good use,” he said.

“Leaders at the art gallery and town hall are particularly excited to be taking shows and workshops to other towns in the municipality so regional residents have greater access to cultural activities.”

At the Ararat Town Hall, the funding will be used to bring in new shows including Super Circus Squad by strongwoman Hannah Cryle, while Willaura will feature children’s puppet show Trinket the Robot.

One-man theatre show Man in the Mail will also tour late in the year.

At the Ararat Gallery TAMA, the funding will go towards taking a Mini Makers Art Club for pre-schoolers on the road to three regional halls.

It will also help in hosting upcycled fashion workshops with Hannah Gartside as part of her upcoming exhibition Fantasies, which opens on Saturday.

The gallery will also host an artist-in-residence, Siying Zhou, who will spend three weeks exploring and responding to Ararat’s Chinese history.

Chinese-born Zhou is based in Melbourne, with her work using various media such as video, photography, performance and drawing.