Naturally you’re all falling over yourselves to find out what’s in store for Critical Animals and This Is Not Art this year. While we’re putting the final touches on the program overall, we can reveal to you our 2011 TINA highlights package! Click HERE to check it out.
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Official announcement from This Is Not Art HQ:
This Is Not Art and Octapod would like to express our heart-felt gratitude for the incredible community support which has raised a massive $9,250 and counting through the Pozible site. This show of support has also been the catalyst for additional financial support.
Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) has recently come forward and generously pledged to deliver another $9,000 by matching donations dollar for dollar.
CAL is a not-for-profit, member-based company which provides practical support to artists, authors and those working within the creative industries, in regards to management of copyright. Connecting the creators, owners and users of copyright material.
CAL Cultural Fund Manager, Zoë Rodriguez, has indicated “TINA is an amazing five day showcase of young and emerging Australian talent. It’s vital we continue to do all we can to assist in mentoring new talent and deliver exciting creative works and performances from these established festivals,” Rodriguez said.
In addition to this we have received a strengthening of in-kind support from local businesses and RPM Productions has graciously pledged $2,000 of in-kind technical support .
To add to this, Newcastle City Council discussed TINA as an agenda item at the most recent council meeting deciding to increase their financial support and include provisions for better planning and assistance for TINA into the future.
The This Is Not Art festival coordinators and the Octapod Association have been overwhelmed by the amount of support shown, it has reasserted the relevance of the festival and boosted morale in a way that can not be described.
Crisis averted
And so TINA and Critical Animals is set to go ahead better than ever, September 29 – October 3, Newcastle NSW. Visit the spiffy new This Is Not Art site to get you in the mood.
Critical Animals would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who donated toward TINA 2011, or helped get word out about our funding – none of this is possible without you, and we can’t wait to bring you this year’s festival.
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Donations are being taken HERE to support This Is Not Art 2011. All contributions over $2 are tax deductible.
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This Is Not Art has recently received some sobering news about funding for this year’s festival. Read on for the official press release, as published on the Octapod’s blog.
According to Festival Coordinator Eliza Adam, TINA has been notified that its current triennial funding would not be renewed. This means with just 12 weeks until the annual arts festival is scheduled to kick-off the TINA operational budget is $18,000 short of its financial need.
“Without this money there is a very real threat to the festival. If we can’t find funding within the next 2 weeks to we will have to make some very hard decisions,” said Adam.
The TINA festival, held annually in Newcastle since 1998, was established to support the development of contemporary arts practice on a local and national level.
The high profile event attracts over 5,000 participants and artists from all over the country and overseas and generates over $1.5 million for the local economy.
“This threat to the festival will result in financial loss for local business and a drop in cultural tourism. We have had many local businesses expressing concern that this will impact upon their annual income “said Adam.
Each year the festival which, presents a diverse program of over 250 free events across the five-day festival, showcases the work of over 400 national and local artists, presenting a program of discussion panels, theatre performances, research forums, hands on workshops and visual art exhibitions and installations.
Writers, arts workers, media makers, thespians, musicians, physical performers, sound artists and visual artists travel from across Australia and overseas, to showcase their work, network, collaborate and develop new skills.
Adam claims the loss of funding will affect the entire festival, and will directly impact its production values.
“It’s challenging to say the least, to present a festival which involves theatrical and musical performances without lighting, staging or sound. This will directly impact the audience experience and the ability of artists to present their work authentically,” she said.
Despite the strong support received from The Newcastle University of Newcastle and Arts NSW and a handful of in-kind venue support, TINA’s budget is still short of a substantial cash injection in order to ensure the high quality of this year’s festival.
“If we don’t have sound and lighting many aspects of the festival may not be able to go ahead in its usual format, if at all so further support is vital,” she said.
TINA is now calling for the Newcastle community to lend its support in order to maintain its culturally diverse, rich and sustainable arts sector.
TINA is seeking both sponsorship from businesses and private donations.
We at Critical Animals are doing everything we can to support This Is Not Art, and to ensure we all have the best experience possible come festival time. You can help us by getting word out about the situation through your own networks – we’ll keep you posted with updates as they come to hand. Parties interested in supporting the festival can contact the TINA team via:
Website : www.thisisnotart.org
Phone : 02 4927 0675
Email: admin@thisisnotart.org
Thank you all for your continued support!
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The Critical Animals team is reporting to you fresh from the This Is Not Art programming meeting in Melbourne, meaning we’re hurtling towards festival time! All Critical Animals submissions have now been reviewed, so if you made a proposal to be involved in CA this year you will be hearing from us shortly – thanks for your patience while we plow through all the amazing applications. In the meantime, regardless as to whether you’re a presenter or audience member, now is the time to start planning your trip to TiNA 2011. The dates are September 29 – October 3 and the place is Newcastle, NSW.
The This is Not Art site has information about travel and accommodation, and Critical Animals will also be posting some practical tips for visiting this year’s festival over the coming months. Happy planning!
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Congratulations to Canberra-based designers New Best Friend, who have been selected to develop the branding and program for This Is Not Art this year. We look forward to working with them!
Don’t forget to check up on current opportunities to collaborate with the festival by stopping by the This Is Not Art site.
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The Octapod Association is a non-profit arts and media organisation that helps facilitate This Is Not Art as well as an array of other exciting creative projects in the Newcastle region. The association is just about to hold its Annual General Meeting, this Saturday 30 April, 1-2pm at Octapod (on Auckland Street, just opposite Civic Park) and is also currently seeking new board members to join its team.
The commitment is generally no more than 1-2 hours per week (but not every week), including attending a monthly meeting (2 hrs). People with a passion for the arts, who are ‘doers’ would be great. The kind of skills they are looking for include: strategic planning/business planning, marketing, advocacy, legal, OHS, community consultation, financial skills. Practising artists and people who are willing to learn and pitch in are most welcome. The board generally attends to legal/contractual/strategic issues and provide advice and support to staff.
If this sounds like you, please contact Christina via podadmin[at]octapod.org for more info. A great opportunity to get your hands dirty with Newcastle arts all year round!
To find out more about the Octapod Association and its projects, head to www.octapod.org
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