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PERFORMANCE SPACE | 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
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Mission & Core Values Performance Space is where exciting futures for Australian contemporary arts and artists are forged. Our mission is for artistic excellence and innovation to inspire, captivate and create audiences. We are Australia’s leading agency for interdisciplinary arts, producing and presenting new artistic experiences across a multiplicity of sites, locations and venues.
Performance Space is: Committed: to interdisciplinary arts informed by performance, which draw their influence from across the performing and visual arts. Ambitious: to enable artists to reach their potential, to enrich lives of audiences, and to be a world-leader in interdisciplinary arts. Inclusive: of artistic ideas, forms, and contexts, and the diversity and differences of our artists and audiences. Collaborative: with artists, arts organisations, communities, government and other stakeholders in pursuit of mutual goals. Strategic: in business; balancing the day-to-day, entrepreneurial opportunities and long-term aspirations. 2
STA FF CO-DIRECTORS AND CEOS Bec Dean & Jeff Khan
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GENERAL MANAGER Steph Walker PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Ellis-Windsor (until August 2013) Emma Bedford (started August 2013) TECHNICAL MANAGER Aaron Clarke MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Leo Messias (until August 2013) Nic Dorward (started August 2013) DEVELOPMENT & MEMBERSHIP OFFICER Amelia Wallin (until April 2013) Manuel Gomez (started April 2013, until September 2013) Karla Tatterson (started September 2013)
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CHAIR Clare Petre DIRECTORS Clark Butler Leon Cmielewski John Cross (from August 2013) Rosie Dennis (from October 2013) Bronwyn Edinger (until August 2013) Ian Enright Jann Kohlman Rhonda McCann Jane McDermott Gail Priest (until June 2013) Liza-Mare Syron (from September 2013)
PRODUCER Tanja Farman INDIGENOUS PROJECTS OFFICER Alison Murphy-Oates PROJECTS OFFICER Tulleah Pearce ADMINISTRATION & TICKETING COORDINATOR Emiline Forster (until April 2013) Alice Hatton (started April 2013) FINANCE OFFICER Rhanda Mansour
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Performance Space turned 30 in 2013, no mean feat for a contemporary arts organisation. Co-Directors Bec Dean and Jeff Khan worked solidly alongside General Manager Steph Walker to ensure that this birthday year was a celebration of the diverse projects and initiatives the organisation presents. The year was also the first of our 2013-2015 triennium strategic plan. Projects such as Micro Parks and I Think I Can are great examples of the larger emphasis we’re placing on sited works around Sydney and beyond that Every Space is a Performance Space. Our commitment to developing Indigenous and culturally diverse voices was highlighted with the affecting Unsettling Suites, Sarah-Jane Norman’s installation at Carriageworks. We are developing a strong Queer programming strand with the Stephen Cummins residencies fostering queer performance, and the sell-out show The River Eats from Justin Shoulder showed a real hunger from audiences to see this work come alive. We are, as always, tremendously thankful to those individuals who donate to Performance Space – in 2013 we had 115 donors who supported us through our annual appeal, City2Surf and throughout the year. We have set ourselves some large targets for philanthropy in the coming triennium despite challenges to the budget in a competitive fundraising area. The Australia Council for the Arts and Arts New South Wales support Performance Space with core funding to sustain our activity, as well as project funding for special initiatives and projects. We were delighted to work with the City of Sydney this year with I Think I Can and look forward to working alongside them in 2014 with another iteration of Micro Parks.
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Carriageworks continues to be home base for Performance Space offices, storage, and many projects. Carriageworks’ support of YOU’RE HISTORY, our 30th Birthday season, including all spaces for free, was a marker of the mutual respect and goodwill between our two organisations. We also worked with over 15 other partners to develop and present work including Sydney Festival, MAPS for Artists, the Brisbane Powerhouse, ISEA, UNSW, the National Art School, Critical Path, Dancehouse, Aphids, Performing Lines, Blacktown Arts Centre, Next Wave, Intimate Spectacle and the University of Sydney. We continue to be a part of the Mobile States touring initiative and CAOS. We also support artists through auspicing grants from Federal, State and local government. This year we assisted with the further development of Vicki Van Hout’s Long Grass, Justin Shoulder and collaborator’s The River Eats, Cat Jones’ Transcontinental Garden Exchange and for emerging NSW Aboriginal artists to participate in the Origins Festival of First Nations, London. We had a few staffing changes throughout the year - longstanding Production Manager Tristan Ellis-Windsor moved to the Television Industry, but we were delighted to welcome Emma Bedford into this role. Administrator Emiline Forster left to travel overseas, with Alice Hatton stepping in to the role. Leo Messias (Marketing and Communications) was replaced by Nic Dorward. Amelia Wallin stepped down as Development and Membership Officer, with first Manuel Gomez and now Karla Tatterson taking her place. The programming team remained solid with Tanja Farman as Producer, Alison Murphy-Oates finishing her mentorship through Australia Council and staying with us as Indigenous Projects Officer, and Tulleah Pearce as Projects Officer. Aaron Clarke remained as Technical Manager. Rhanda Mansour remains as Bookkeeper, with Emma Murphy acting as finance consultant for the company. We wouldn’t be able to present such an ambitious, exciting program as we do without the assistance of all of the staff we bring on to assist with specific seasons and projects. Special thanks go to Richard Whitehouse, Jennie Bradbury, Fran Tinley and Joanna Goh for their assistance on the YOU’RE HISTORY season. A huge thanks to all our very hard working and committed staff, and to Jeff Khan, Bec Dean and Steph Walker for your leadership of Performance Space during 2013. Finally, thanks to my colleagues on the board for their unwavering support for this unique and edgy company. May the next 30 years be as exciting as the last. Clare Petre CHAIR
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Performance Space’s 30th year was a milestone in the organisation’s history, and an important chapter for contemporary art nationally. For the past 30 years our organisation has tirelessly and fearlessly explored new possibilities for contemporary art. Our current advancement of new artistic practice including Indigenous artists; sitespecific projects; art and technology; and work exploring gender and sexuality would not be possible without the brilliant work of previous Directors, artists, staff and supporters who have steered Performance Space from strength to strength. This rich historical context fuelled our artistic and operational activities in 2013, providing fertile ground for a year of collaboration, celebration and inspiring new work. We began 2013 with Micro Parks, a major site-specific program that commissioned four artists and collaborations - Sarah Goffman, Kate Mitchell, Martin del Amo and Julie-Anne Long, and Jess Olivieri with the Parachutes for Ladies – to create new works for the series of tiny parks throughout the inner-Sydney suburbs of Newtown and Darlinghurst. Presented in partnership with Sydney Festival, Micro Parks attracted over 6,000 visitors and affirmed Performance Space’s role in championing public and site-specific practices. We built on this strength in site-specific programming throughout the year. pvi collective’s wickedly playful deviator, which played out on the city streets; the launch of the Aphids project Forever Now in the magnificent surrounds of the State Library of NSW’s Mitchell Library; and the winning participatory work I Think I Can at Central Station all attracted diverse and enthusiastic audiences who embraced their role as participants in these works. I Think I Can attracted over 22,000 audience members, and was presented in collaboration with the City of Sydney’s Art & About Program, a partnership we were delighted to establish. We also partnered with ISEA2013 – the 19th International Symposium of Electronic Arts – to present a major suite of projects that explored the experimental edge of contemporary art’s engagement with technology. This program included the aforementioned projects by Aphids and pvi collective, as well as French choreographer Myriam Gourfink’s beautifully subtle dance work Breathing Monster (presented in collaboration with the National Art School) and John A Douglas’ Body Fluid II (redux), a major new performance installation presented at Carriageworks. Carriageworks remains the home base of Performance Space and we continued to animate the Carriageworks spaces in exciting new ways. This program started with legendary Australian sound artist Jon Rose’s epic performance WRECK – another copresentation with Sydney Festival – in which Rose and a team of musical collaborators literally played a wrecked car that had been towed in from the deserts of central NSW. Our curated program Matters of Life and Death – presented across the Carriageworks spaces in March – explored themes of mortality, longevity, ageing and cultural loss and 6
preservation with a suite of works by Sarah-Jane Norman, Brian Lucas, Makeshift, and acclaimed UK company Reckless Sleepers. In July we presented Show Off, a program of new Australian performance works led by the much-anticipated premiere of Justin Shoulder’s first full-length performance work The River Eats. Audiences responded with huge enthusiasm and returned to take in recent work by Team Mess (Bingo Unit) and Roslyn Oades (I’m Your Man). At the conclusion of 2013, it was time to celebrate. Our 30th Anniversary festival was titled You’re History! and animated the entire Carriageworks complex across two triumphant, action-packed weeks. The You’re History! program included over 100 artists from across our long history of supporting several generations of experimental artists, in Australia and beyond. We were thrilled with the response to this festival from artists and audiences alike: it has inspired future directions in our program at Carriageworks and beyond. Alongside these presentation programs, Performance Space remained steadfastly committed to supporting the development of new works. We hosted 15 residencies, at Carriageworks and with our partners at Sydney University, Critical Path and the University of NSW Creative Practice Research Unit. We thank these partners for their collegiality and commitment, and look forward to continuing our relationships into the future. Many of the works developed through our residencies find presentation through our artistic programs, and we were excited to deepen our relationships with many of these artists, whilst also initiating exciting new relationships with new and established artists and companies. In addition to these residencies we continued our work in artform development to present a series of workshops, masterclasses, and hands-on opportunities for artists to develop their skills and hone their craft. Reckless Sleepers (UK), Justin Shoulder and Jeff Stein, Jade Dewi Tyass Tunggal were amongst the artists who presented workshops on devising performance, interdisciplinary methodologies, and cross-cultural collaboration, among other themes. Our deepest thanks are due to all of the artists we worked with in 2013. Performance Space’s work continues to be artist-centred, opening up new contexts for contemporary practice and offering new kinds of encounters between artists and audiences. We were once again blessed to work with such a rigorous, adventurous and inventive host of artists and we’re very grateful for everything they bring to our organisation. Performance Space has a talented and committed staff, who deserve to be acknowledged for their hard work, inventiveness and commitment to realising our program. Last but not least… 2013 marks the final year of our Co-Directorship, as Bec Dean leaves the post to take up a full-time PhD in Curatorial Practice at the College of Fine Arts. Bec has been with Performance Space since 2007, and our Co-Directorship has spanned two years of collaboration, curatorial development, and organisational transformation at Performance Space. We are immensely proud of our achievements as Co-Directors and delighted that Bec will continue with Performance Space in a parttime capacity as Curator-at-Large. Equally, Jeff is thrilled to be continuing as Performance Space’s Artistic Director, working with Executive Director Steph Walker to take our program and our organisation to new heights in 2014. Jeff Khan and Bec Dean Co-Directors PERFORMANCE SPACE | 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
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Agatha Gothe-Snape Ahil Ratnamohan Alex White Alison Murphy Oates Amanda Stewart Andrew Brooks Angharad Wynne-Jones Ann Ferran Annette Tesoriero Applespiel (Nathan Harrison, Rachel Roberts, Emma McManus, Nikki Kennedy, Simon Binns, Joseph Parro) Astrid Lorange Atilla Orel Bambang N Karim Barbara Campbell Benjamin Law Bhenjamin Radburn Billy MacPherson Blain Cooper Blair French Bob Scott Bree van Reyk Brian Fuata
Brian Lucas Brian Ritchie Bridie Lunney Bron Batten Brown Council Caitlin Newton Broad Carl Sciberras Carl Tolentino Cat Jones Chris Ryan Chris Williams Christopher Allen Clare Britton Clare Edwardes Dan Koop Daniel Brine Dara Gill Das Superpaper David Capra Dean Walsh Deborah Leiser-Moore and Regina Heilmann Derek Kreckler Diana Jeffries Diana Smith Drew Fairley Eddie Sharp Emily O’Connor Emily Sexton Emma Maye Gibson Emma Price Emma Ramsey Erica McCalman Erkki Veltheim Field Theory Fiona Winning Frances Barret Frank Mainoo Frumpus Gabriel Watts Gavin Findlay (Splinters Theatre) Georgie Meagher Ghenoa Gela Glory Hole Gregory Lorenzutti
Jake Pember James Brown James Welsby Jasmyne Mehrton Johnson Jason Pitt Jay Katz & Ms Death Jeff Khan Jeff Stein Jennie Bradbury Jess Olivieri & the Parachutes for Ladies Jim Denley Joanne McEwan Joel Stern John A Douglas John Baylis John Shrimpton Jon Rose Julian Day Julie-Anne Long Julieanne Campbell Justin Rosniak Justin Shoulder Karli Munn Kasper Toeplitz Kate Blackmore Kate Jinx Kate Mitchell Kate Neylon Kate Sherman
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Katia Molino Katina Olsen Kelli McLusky Kelly Doley Kelly Ryall Kim Spinks Kiran Grewal Krik Page Kynan Tan Lachlan Tetlow-Stuart Lara Thoms Latai Taumoepeau Lauren Brincat Lee Wilson Leen Dewilde Les Prest Lucas Ihlein Lucinda Gleeson Makeshift: Tessa Zettel and Karl Khoe Malcolm Whittaker Maria White Mark Goudkamp Martin del Amo & Julie-Anne Long Martyn Coutts Matt Prest Melinda Tyquin Michael Mohammed Ahmed Michelle Robin Anderson Mike Mullins Mike Parr Mole Wetherell Motherfcukers My Darling Patricia Myriam Gourfink Naomi Oliver Nat Randall Natalie De Vito
PERFORMANCE SPACE | 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
Nathan Harrison Neil Simpson Nick Tsoutas Nick Wales Nigel Kellaway Nikki Heywood OKAY YEAH COOL GREAT Paea Leach Paul Capsis Paula van der Beek Philip Jenkins Pia van Gelder Poetribe (Lorna Munro with Eric Avery) Post Raghav Handa Rakini Devi rea Rebecca McNamara Regina Heilman Rhonda Dixon Grovenor (with Nadeena Dixon) Ria Soemardjo Richard Allen Richard Manner Rob McCredie Ros Crisp Roslyn Oades Ryuichi Fujimura Sam Routledge Sam Twyford-Moore Samantha Williams Sandra Carluccio Sara Wookey Sarah Goffman
Sarah Jane Norman Sarah Miller Sarah Rodigari Sean Jorvn (Colin Kinchela and Gavin Walters) Sebastian Goldspink Shane Haseman Shauna Winram Sherre DeLys Stereogamous (Paul Mac and Johnny Seymour) Steve Bull Sumugan Sivenesan Susan Cohn Susie Rugg Swell Theatre Taree Sansbury Tess de Quincey The Post-Arrivalists Thea Baumann Thomas E Kelly Tim Ingram Toby K Una McIllvenna Vicki Van Hout Victoria Hunt Victoria Spence WART Wilfred Brandt Willoh S Weiland Zane Trow Zoe Alderton
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Major Gifts & Bequests Stephen Cummins Bequest Individual donors Ahmad Abas, Teri Arico, Robyn Backen, Katherine Barnet, Amy Barrett-Lennard, Emma Beer, Guy Ben-Ary, Susan Best, Wendy Bookatz, Kirsten Bradley, Meredith Brooks, Karilyn Brown, Barbara Campbell, Elizabeth Caruana, Sarah Contos, David Cross, Angela Dean, Bec Dean, Emma Dean, Keg De Souza, Rosie Dennis, Helen Doherty, Bronwyn Edinger, Tanja Farman, Ira Ferris, Emi Forster, Paul Gazzola, Courtney Gibson, Stephen Goddard, Sue Goldfish, Manuel Gomez, Lucy Guerin, Alice Hatton, Sue Healey, Nikki Heywood, Lucas Ihlein, Deborah Kelly, Jeff Khan, Jann Kohlman, Danny Lacy, Ben Laden, Marita Leuver, Heidrun Lohr, Linda Luke, Elizabeth Macgregor, Jason Maling, Erica McCalman, Sarah Miller, Mark Mitchell, Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Alison Murphy-Oates, Caitlin Newton-Broad, Simone O’Brien, Raquel Ormella, Tulleah Pearce, Clare Petre, Julieanne Pierce, Jane Polkinghorne, Gail Priest, Rosalind Richards, Emma Rooney, Talya Rubin, Josef Ruigrok van der Werven, Chris Ryan, Sandy Saxon, Edward Scheer, Paul Stuart, Yana Taylor, Lara Thoms, Wayne Tunnicliffe, Steph Walker, Amelia Wallin, Dean Walsh, Sarah Waterson, Simon Wellington, Sam Wild, Fiona Winning, Nicholas Wishart and Angharad Wynn-Jones and other who wish to remain anonymous.
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Major Supporters Arts NSW Australia Council Carriageworks Design Partner Leuver Design
2013 Partners Aphids Blacktown Arts Centre Brisbane Powerhouse Contemporary Arts Organisations of Australia (CAOS) Critical Path Critical Practice Lab, School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales Dancehouse Force Majeure Intimate Spectacle ISEA Mobile States Touring consortium National Art School Next Wave Performa, New York Performing Lines Sydney Festival The Centre for Performance Studies at Sydney University The City of Sydney The Embassy of France
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IMAGE CREDITS: Page 02: Sarah Jane Norman, Unsettling Suite, photo: Heidrun Lรถhr; Page 04: Agatha Gothe Snape, 30 Ways installation, photo: Heidrun Lรถhr; Page 08: Sam Routledge & Martyn Coutts, I Think I Can, photo: Lucy Parakhina; Page 11: Toy Death Orchestra, photo: Lucy Parakhina; Back cover: Performance Space audience, photo: Lucy Parakhina
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