May ENews No Images? Click here Hi everyone, Of all the ballyhoos I’ve been too, the Birregurra Ballyhoo in April was by far the best. With projections, live music, film, dancing, cars, tractors, costumes and a red carpet, the team delivering the Small Towns Transformations project in Birregurra put on an extraordinary evening. In all of this, the Mechanics Institute Hall played a starring role, and I am just as excited about the legacy of activity to come in this reimagined and reinvigorated cultural space as what has already been created. It’s an excitement that extends to each of the small towns participating in this project, including Rainbow, Girgarre, and the Bass Coast Waterline Townships, who all created thrilling new work in April. If you too look to the future with anticipation, then this month’s ENews is for you. In this forward-facing edition, you’ll find Expressions of Interest for our Arts & Education and Connecting Places programs opening very soon; details about our Members’ Celebration and Annual General Meeting; and dates for your diary, including the next Arts Connect event in Strathmerton and the opening of Artlands Victoria early-bird registrations. So scroll on down. There’s much to look forward to. Joe Toohey Expressions of InterestOur Arts & Education and Connecting Places touring programs will open their Expressions of Interest for 2019 touring opportunities on Monday 7 May. We are looking for performance, workshop and residency-based work, as well as professional development opportunities for regional creatives and teachers. Find out more about our Arts & Education and Connecting Places programs, and read the submission guidelines on our website. Image: Mikelangelo performs at Cheshunt Hall. Photo by Emma Hall. Members' Celebration and Annual General MeetingRegional Arts Victoria Members are invited to join us for the 2018 Members’ Celebration and Annual General Meeting on Saturday 26 May at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Members will have the opportunity to meet and talk with one another, as well as having the opportunity to see Ilbijerri Theatre Company's Which Way Home. Artlands VictoriaSign up to the Artlands ENews for the scoop on early bird registrations opening in June! Our friends at the Woolly West Fest have completed 500 scarfs for #CraftingtheMerch such an amazing feat! For those still wanting to join in our state wide project, you can sign up on the Artlands website. Grassroots and Getting NoticedStrathmerton Public Hall on Saturday 2 June, 10am - 4.30pm Learn how to build grassroots arts participation, community events and marketing your arts practice. The session is free and open to everyone. We'd love to see you there! The Fabric of Girgarre - Past, Present and FutureThe grand unveiling of the Girgarre quilt, part of the Girgarre Revival Small Town Transformations project, will take place on Friday 11 May. OpportunitiesApplications for Arts Access Victoria's 2018 Stella Young Award are now open Artist Applications for the 2019 Port Fairy Folk Festival are now open Applications are now open for the Australian Government's Indigenous languages and arts program Entries are now open for the 2018 John Leslie Art Prize Applications are now open for the Bundanon Trust Artist-in-Residence program Applications for Heywire Youth Innovation Grants are now open Applications for the inaugural Emerging Writers' Fellowship are now open Registrations to take part in Melbourne Fringe are now open Call for submissions now open for The Other Film Festival Nominations are now open for the 2018 Premier’s Volunteer Champions Awards What's on the road...Mission Songs Project by Jessie Lloyd Ickypedia by The Listies Hart by She Said Theatre The Big Tops & Tiny Tots Circus Show by Solid State Circus FoRT by Asking for Trouble Personal by Jodee Mundy Collaborations Which Way Home by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company Tinker by New Working Group and Andy Dexterity Image: Jessie Lloyd’s Mission Songs Project, image by Chris Frape What's new on our blog, Inspiring Arts.Townships light up the Bass Coast: Gallery of snaps from Luminous Galleries, a Small Town Transformations project in the Bass Coast Waterline Townships of Pioneer Bay, Grantville, Tenby Point, Corinella and Coronet Bay |