MEDIA RELEASE
Include logo’s participating Councils?2MAY APRIL 2007
The City of Stonnington
Supported by the Cities of Yarra, Melbourne, Moreland, Maribyrnong, Moonee Valley, Boroondara, Port Phillip and the Cultural Development Network
are proud to announce the CALL FOR PITCHES
EXPANDING CULTURES CONFERENCEPITCHING FOR COMMUNITIES!
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, VictoriaProviding an opportunity for artists, art workers and community groups to pitch their local community-based arts project ideas to local government, without the red tape
at the
EXPANDING CULTURES CONFERENCE
Chapel Off Chapel
24 - 27 July 2007
(Applications close 7 June)
Artists, arts workers and community groups are for the first time being given an opportunity to pitch their local community-based arts project ideas to a panel of local government arts managers, funding bodies and producers without the lengthy grant application during the inaugural Expanding Cultures Conference in July.
Calls for pitches for the Pitching for Communities! session close at 5pm Thursday 7 June via a 400 word pitch that will be considered by the conference committee. Chosen applicants will be contacted with advice and training to help make their pitch at the session a success.
Aimed to increase the skills of, and to provide feedback to, artists and community leaders when pitching ideas for community based projects outside the normal formal process of grant applications and funding rounds; Pitching for Communities! will also provide a face-to-face opportunity to discuss, network and further develop ideas with those present at the session.
Presented by an individual or a group of up to three people, the pitch will be made in front of a panel of local government managers, arts and cultural development sponsors, artists, funding bodies, philanthropists and public policy writers. Each pitch will have between three to five minutes to convince the panel that their pitch deserves further support and development.
The Pitching for Communities! session on 26 July is just one part of the cultural conference that over two days will feature local, interstate and international guest speakers discussing themes identified as being the most significant issues currently for arts and culture in local government.
Recognising the need for local government workers in arts and culture to share experiences and expertise, the Cities of Stonnington, Yarra, Melbourne, Moreland, Maribyrnong, Moonee Valley, Boroondara, Port Phillip and the Cultural Development Network last month announced the inaugural Expanding Cultures conference. The conference and related programs will be held at Chapel Off Chapel from 24 – 27 July.
Recognising the need for local government workers in arts and culture to share experiences and expertise, Tthe Citiesy of Stonnington, supported by the Cities of Yarra, Melbourne, Moreland, Maribyrnong, Moonee Valley, Boroondara, Port Phillip and the Cultural Development Network are proud to announce the inaugural Expanding Cultures conference. The conference and related programs will be to be held at Chapel Off Chapel from 24 – 27 July.
Over two days, Expanding Cultures will feature local, interstate and international guest speakers discussing themes identified by the eight host councils as being the most significant issues currently forin arts and culture in local government. Themes such as the changing shape of community cultures and their impact on local government in Victoria; arts as a vehicle for strengthening communities and facilitating social inclusion; and the impact of arts activities on health, education and economic development will feature at the conference.
City of Stonnington’s Councillornr Claude Ullin, who helped conceptualise the Expanding Cultures conference, said Expanding Cultures was an innovative local government initiative.
“This is the first time that a cluster of Melbourne’s inner city councils have comeformed together to initiate, develop, fund and host a common public project such as Expanding Cultures to represent and explore issues and solutions surrounding the importance of arts and culture in our local communities’, he said.
“In the two days preceding the conference, host councils will open their diaries and venues to encourage the exchange of experiences and expertise between delegates, officials and session participants.
“It is our hope that this networking and the presentation of leading ideas, exemplary projects and academic papers will lead to a regular bi-annual conference onrelated to themes relevant to the particular communities and regions in Victoriahost councils,” said C’.nr Ullin.
The host councils believe Expanding Cultures will be of particular interest to decision and policy makers in local, state and federal government; staff in arts and cultural planning and programming, community, youth, disability services and planning, economic development, urban and environmental planning; artists and arts workers who are interested in community engagement and; academics with interests in arts and culture.
The conference builds on the momentum and issues explored at previous conferences hosted in Victoria including the 2004 Fourth Pillar of Sustainability and the 2002 Art of Dissent, both hosted by the Cultural Development Network.
Further information about the Expanding Cultures conference, including theinformation on Pitching for Communities! ‘Call for Pitches’ application form and instructionsregistration, is available onat the website
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