Page 3593 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 25 August 2009
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MR STANHOPE: As members are aware, the Cultural Facilities Corporation delivers a range of arts and cultural programs and services for access by the ACT community at a number of key cultural venues.
Under the Cultural Facilities Corporation Act 1997, the Cultural Facilities Corporation is required to provide quarterly reports on its activities and table these reports in the ACT Legislative Assembly. I am pleased to say that the corporation has completed its report for the third quarter of 2008-09, being the period from 1 January to 31 March 2009, and I present this report for members’ information.
Members can see from the third quarter report that the corporation delivered a diverse range of programs and activities for the benefit of the ACT community through its theatres, galleries and historic places. I draw members’ attention to a number of key highlights from the report: 31,000 patrons attended performances at the centre during the quarter. Some of the more popular productions included Adam Hills’s Inflatable; David Campbell’s Good lovin’ tour; Danny Bhoy; shows from the National Multicultural Festival; and The 39 Steps. Due to the popularity of The 39 steps, the season was extended for a further week. The sales of 2009 subscription season packages reached a healthy 2,472 by the end of the quarter.
For the second year, the National Institute of Dramatic Art held a summer school at the centre in January and February 2009. The program is tailored to young aspiring acting students. CMAG opened four exhibitions during the quarter: Ocean to outback: Australian landscape painting 1850-1950 and An act of surrender by Joy Burch, which opened in March 2009. Other exhibitions opened during the quarter were The Black Sea by Franki Sparke—to celebrate the 2009 Multicultural Festival of Canberra—and Cabinets of curiosities.
A number of community and education programs were also presented in association with Ocean to outback, including a floor talk by Ron Radford. In celebration of International Women’s Day, CMAG and the ACT Office for Women presented the Indigenous women’s film festival: women of the sea, a four-part drama series made in 1981 telling the story of four Aboriginal women. The films were screened in March 2009 and were well received by capacity audiences on each night. Over 920 people participated in community and education programs, including outreach programs, presented by CMAG.
Discussions with the Australian government regarding the long-term location of the Nolan collection are continuing. In the interim, a selection of works from Nolan’s Ned Kelly series remained on display as part of CMAG’s permanent exhibition. Over 2,000 people participated in programs conducted at historic places during the quarter. Programs included specialised tours for heritage students from the University of Canberra and familiarisation tours for Canberra visitor centre staff.
Lanyon launched its first major event for 2009 during the quarter. The Lanyon harvest music festival was a series of evening concerts held on Sunday throughout March. It was presented to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Cunningham homestead at Lanyon. The festival attracted an audience of over 1,200 people over the five days.
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