Home is where the art is

The Geelong region has long been recognised as an area of natural beauty, boasting both breathtaking ocean and wooded landscapes, but the region is now also forging a reputation as a cultural centre of significance.

There is a thriving population of artists choosing to live and work in Geelong and its surrounding areas. And why wouldn’t they, asks the City of Greater Geelong’s Manager of Arts and Culture, Di Shaw, with inspiration to be found at every turn.

“There’s so much happening in the arts in this area,” she says. “And our upcoming Night Arts market is an opportunity for us to feature just some of the best visual and performing artists from the Geelong area.

“There are many, many artists who live here who are clearly inspired by the region itself. It’s a beautiful region with magnificent beaches, lakes and forests that our artists draw inspiration from. It’s difficult not to, really.”

The Geelong Cultural Precinct is positioned in the heart of Geelong and is the region’s cultural hub. It is home to the Geelong Performing Arts Centre, the Courthouse Youth Arts Centre, Back to Back Theatre, the Geelong Heritage Centre, the Geelong Library and the Geelong Gallery. And with the State Government and the City of Greater Geelong making a large financial investment in the possible redevelopment of a number of the precinct’s venues, the future is looking even brighter for the region’s cultural and arts scene.

“We have an extraordinary pool of talent coming out of the Cultural Precinct’s organisations,” Ms Shaw says. “The City of Greater Geelong established its Arts and Culture Department five years ago, and that has really seen art and culture take off in the area.

“We’ve provided a focus for the city and the community in terms of what’s happening in arts and culture in the area and have developed programs to help up-and-coming artists from our communities.”

By increasing funding to the organisations within the Cultural Precinct, the City of Greater Geelong has been able to help grow creative arts in the region, and has supported and nurtured artists in their endeavours.

“It has made such a difference and we are so impressed with the level of artistic talent emerging,” Ms Shaw says. “There’s a real mix of established and young artists emerging, with our Back to Back Theatre, an ensemble of performers with intellectual disabilities, gaining international attention for their very interesting, challenging style of theatre; and the Courthouse with its young visual and performing artists.

“The Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) stages a range of touring professional productions, and is also used by a lot of local theatre groups for their largescale productions, while our library is being utilised more than ever, despite fears that libraries’ attendances would drop with the advent of the internet.”

The Geelong Heritage Centre has also seen a surge in use, with many using the services to research their family histories, while the Geelong Gallery is recognised as one of Australia’s finest regional galleries. “We have an exquisite collection of artwork there, including Frederick McCubbin’s A Bush Burial,” Ms Shaw says. “One of the most significant new additions is Eugene Von Guerard’s View of Geelong. And the Gallery features a host of local artists.”

As the precinct’s organisations are upgraded and as the cultural vibe thrives in the region, numbers to the precinct are expected to increase, says Tim Orton, chair of the Geelong Cultural Precinct Leadership Group. “Absolutely we expect usage to increase,” he says. “Numbers through the Geelong Performing Arts Centre have increased by 10 per cent this year and throughout the whole precinct, we have had 750,000 visitors in the last year.

“It affects everyone from this area. For instance, we have worked out that one out of every three families from the area have used the Arts Centre in the last year. That’s more people using the Arts Centre than go to the football.”

Mr Orton, who is also chair of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trust, agrees that the arts are growing in the Geelong region, but cannot put his finger on which direction the movement is taking.

“We have a growing arts community but I find it hard to say it’s going in this direction or that direction,” he says. “We have all sorts of arts here, it’s very diverse, so I think it’s fairer to say we are moving ahead in all directions rather than just one direction.”

Each of the precinct’s venues will be showcased during the Geelong Cultural Precinct’s inaugural Night Arts market on Friday 5 December on Little Malop Street. All doors will be open to the public from 5pm.

“All of our precinct’s organisations have been working hard together for the Night Arts market,” Ms Shaw says. “The night will promote our precinct’s cultural venues and encourage visitors to the market to support the work of our local artists by making local purchases for Christmas gifts.

“People can buy the work of local artists, listen to some of the best local music performers, or perhaps buy season tickets for GPAC, which will have its season launch on the night.

“There will be street performers, market stalls with local goods and lots of magical delights. There’s a real sense of community in Geelong so we think the locals will come out in force to support the night.

“But we’d really like to encourage people from Melbourne to make the trip to the market. Like I said, the night will be full of magical delights and well worth the trip.”