Surf Coast Creatives

By Moreen Dainty It was an unlikely setting in which to hear a world-class string quartet perform Mozart, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich, but I’m learning not to be surprised by cultural life down here on the Surf Coast.

In mid-February, I sat in Aireys Inlet's community hall listening to a stunning performance by four of Australia's top chamber musicians.

Affinity Quartet was performing live for the first time in over a year as part of a fundraising event for the community group, Aireys Inlet Rural Australians for Refugees (AIRAR).

These talented, young musicians gave their small, socially-distanced, maskwearing audience an incredible experience that night. Even now, the thought of it gives me goose bumps.

Later, I would learn they had enjoyed the evening as much as we had. They were just so pleased to perform in front of a live audience after a tough year of lockdowns and restrictions.

This month, Aireys has hosted a very different event with the annual Open Mic Music Festival, which attracted many up and coming musicians to the town. Now in its 14th year, the Festival takes place over a weekend every March, with live bands performing at nine separate venues, starting at the iconic Aireys Pub on a Friday evening. It's fair to say the Surf Coast attracts a broad range of creative types – not just those in the visual arts, but also actors, musicians, writers and publishers.

Pre-COVID, Great Escape Books, in conjunction with Little Feast restaurant in Aireys, often hosted book launches and authors' nights, with tickets selling fast to these events. Great Escape Books makes a point of supporting local authors, some of whom are very well known, such as Greg Day, who won the Patrick White Literary Award last November in recognition of his achievements as a novelist, poet, short story and nature writer.

The Surf Coast is an increasingly popular place for artists to live and work. A nationwide, government research study into Australian culture and the creative arts published last year, identified Geelong and the Surf Coast region as a 'creative hot spot' with the number of people earning a living from creative industries steadily increasing each year.

Harriet Gaffney, the Arts Development Officer at Surf Coast Shire Council, understands the value a vibrant, thriving artistic community can bring to an area – including the local economy.

She also understands how precarious it can be to earn a living from one's creative endeavours alone.

In June last year, in response to the COVID pandemic, Council launched a digital space called PORT A L – a virtual platform where local artists could connect, collaborate and showcase their work during lockdown.

“We knew how hard lockdown would be for our local artists and so we wanted to find virtual ways to bring people together, to keep them connected and motivated,” says Harriett. PORTAL offered free online professional development workshops via Zoom, for all Surf Coast artists. The workshops were put together 'by creatives, for creatives', and covered a range of practical topics, such as applying for an arts grant, how to photograph and write about your artwork, and promote it using social media.

Stacie Bobele, PORT A L's Program

Manager, says “Registrations were capped at 100 and many sold out. Others tuned in via Facebook Live. These sessions have been viewed many times since via Facebook and our website, and they continue to be a great resource.” PORTAL also hosted weekly panel discussions online about art on the Surf Coast. One of these was about the history of the Surf Coast Arts Trail, a well-known event on Council’s arts calendar. Since its inception eight years ago, the event has grown to involve 67 venues and more than 200 artists across the Shire. Held over a weekend in August each year, it generated some $77,000 in sales in 2018.

Rather than lose the event, and after consulting with organisers, the decision was made to take the whole event online and create a Virtual Arts Trail. A virtual workshop was offered on how to put together a short video showing artists at work in their own creative space – whether this was a home studio, in the back of a garden shed, or out in the open, in the hinterland, or at the beach.

The studio tours were programmed via Facebook Live over the weekend of 8-9 August to coincide with the original date planned for the event. (The tours can still be seen via their Facebook page under Videos.) “PORTAL helped chart the creativity that exists on the Surf Coast and broadcast this to a far wider audience –both national and international,” says Harriet. “It captured stories of artists across all different kinds of disciplines, adapting to and leading change, as well as recording some amazing stories of recovery.”

Pacific Gull by Passerby Photography, one of the artists to feature in PORTAL Street.

PORTAL Street will feature three local photographers, including Shaun Viljoen of Passerby Photography, who captured this Tawny Frogmouth.

Due to its success, the next phase –PORTAL 3.0– is about to begin, which will include two programs: PORT A L Street and Creative Coalitions.

As the COVID vaccination program is rolled out, Council’s focus is very much on helping communities and businesses recover. Grants have been allocated from Council’s COVIDrecovery fund to encourage more collaboration between artists and the business sector, through a program called Creative Coalitions.

“Many artists on the coast have adapted and shifted their artistic and business focus in the wake of COVID,” says Stacie. “We want to continue to bring artists together to discuss alternative ways of making a living from their creative endeavours.” To this end, Harriet and her team will organise a panel discussion with artists and businesses who have already embarked on partnerships.

“They’ll discuss how the arrangements have been mutually beneficial, offer tips on the kind of projects that might work for both parties, how to negotiate a deal and approvals that may be needed. We’ll be inviting both artists and interested businesses to attend,” she says. This Easter, PORT A L Street will work with selected artists to find alternative, outdoor options for their exhibitions. It features three local photographers: Torquay's Shaun Viljoen (Passerby Photography), Fairhaven's Rebecca Hosking and Deans Marsh’s Renee Wigley. Their works will be printed on high quality adhesive decals and displayed on footpaths in Torquay, Lorne and Deans Marsh until 18 April. Inspired by multiple lockdown initiatives that have used paste-ups, adhesive vinyl and projections as a way of showcasing artist’s work outside the gallery space, the works chosen will offer a highly engaging visual interpretation of the unique environment and identity of the Surf Coast.

A QR code attached to these artworks will also offer the opportunity for people to digitally connect with the artists to find out more about them and their work.

It's clear that under Harriet Gaffney's direction, artists on the Surf Coast have someone who is keen to create more dialogue between artists and local businesses.

“Art isn't just an add-on. It can be the main reason people visit places and spend money doing so,” says Harriet. “We have a level of artistic expertise in the community. It makes sense to harness this in ways that are mutually beneficial to both parties and our community as a whole.”