Helter Skelter

Posted on: Wed, 2010-03-10 17:03
Posted by: Flora Suen

What a flurry of activity.

Ten days ago, I returned from a year on exchange studying at Universitaet Konstanz in Germany and travelling through Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland. Lest the German knack for efficiency and engaged involvement recede, or another bout of Wanderlust set in, I've sprung into a project for UTS Shopfront and CAMRA that will map arts centres in small towns and villages in NSW and report on sustainability issues.

Today, the first session in the Shopfront suite has taught me ever so much - how to concisely write a call for information for arts centres, how to shape the scope of the research (there are ABS definitions for regional towns and urban hubs!) and also conjured up interesting ethical questions about de-identifying people that I'll eventually survey and interview.

Setting up a Facebook page for CAMRA and writing this blog will stimulate my self-reflexivity and keep the innumerable ideas active.


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Opera in the Pig ShedThis

Lisa Andersen's picture
Commented on: Fri, 2010-03-12 12:56
Posted by: Lisa Andersen

Opera in the Pig Shed

This morning I spoke to David Fahey who is the publican at Morundah (pop. 20) in the Riverina region of southern NSW.

A few years ago David and the local community converted a pig shed into an opera house – the Paradise Palladium Theatre - that seats around 500 people. Since then they have staged an annual opera that attracts up to 1,000 people over two performances. The audience comes from 'most of the town's population' - David wouldn't name names about who didn't attend! - the surrounding area and also from Sydney and Melbourne with even some international visitors.

Ticket sales begin many months before the event - one performance sold out in 3 hours - and it has always turned a profit. The opera and the town have received national and international media coverage over the years (including: http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/morundah-pub-its-next-to-the-damn-opera-...).

Because of the theatre, the town’s infrastructure has improved. There has been new curbing and guttering and wider culverts installed. The main street has been redeveloped and improved with public art, including ‘the most interesting horse sculpture in the world’.

Visitors to the area who used to just drive through the town now tend to stop at the park to look at the artwork and take pictures – around 30 to 40 people per day.

Nearby communities have also benefited with increased numbers of visitors and accommodation provision when the opera is on.

More info at: http://culturalawards2008.lgsa.org.au/projects/24-performance-by-victori...