Latest news with #ArtsCentreMelbourne
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
A treasure trove of performing arts history is finally getting a new home
Down in the depths of Hamer Hall, behind a secret door, is a treasure trove of performing arts history. The drawers and cabinets all look simple and practically identical, but unless you're part of the curatorial team, the contents come as a complete surprise. One drawer is filled with ballet slippers, another with handwritten notes. A nearby shelf displays set models of plays long since passed, and the cupboards are filled with costumes, sequins and, unexpectedly, Ossie Ostrich from Hey Hey It's Saturday. 'We've got opera, we've got dance, we've got theatre, we've got magic, we've got comedy,' curator Sandra Bruce, director of collections and exhibitions at Arts Centre Melbourne, says with a laugh. Arts Centre Melbourne has been building the 850,000-item collection since 1975 – even before its first building opened in 1982 – and now, in the collection's 50th year, it is opening a new dedicated museum space to showcase the unique archive. In December, Arts Centre Melbourne will open the Australian Museum of Performing Arts in Hamer Hall, in the site formerly occupied by restaurant Fatto. The space will host two exhibitions a year, predominantly drawing on the centre's sizeable collection, with the goal of not simply putting items on display, but telling some of the many stories that have long remained untold. 'We've always known that there's this amazing Australian performing arts collection,' says Bruce. 'It sounds a bit corny, but to be able to bring it back up into the light and to share it with the public I think is very exciting and very important.' The collection has been a priority for Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Karen Quinlan from very early on. 'The conversation started, really, at the very beginning with my first interview for the job,' she says. 'When I started in the role, I was very aware of the collection, and I also knew that I would do something with it.' Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks underscores the importance of the new space, saying the museum will 'showcase our national collection at a scale never before possible'.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
A treasure trove of performing arts history is finally getting a new home
Down in the depths of Hamer Hall, behind a secret door, is a treasure trove of performing arts history. The drawers and cabinets all look simple and practically identical, but unless you're part of the curatorial team, the contents come as a complete surprise. One drawer is filled with ballet slippers, another with handwritten notes. A nearby shelf displays set models of plays long since passed, and the cupboards are filled with costumes, sequins and, unexpectedly, Ossie Ostrich from Hey Hey It's Saturday. 'We've got opera, we've got dance, we've got theatre, we've got magic, we've got comedy,' curator Sandra Bruce, director of collections and exhibitions at Arts Centre Melbourne, says with a laugh. Arts Centre Melbourne has been building the 850,000-item collection since 1975 – even before its first building opened in 1982 – and now, in the collection's 50th year, it is opening a new dedicated museum space to showcase the unique archive. In December, Arts Centre Melbourne will open the Australian Museum of Performing Arts in Hamer Hall, in the site formerly occupied by restaurant Fatto. The space will host two exhibitions a year, predominantly drawing on the centre's sizeable collection, with the goal of not simply putting items on display, but telling some of the many stories that have long remained untold. 'We've always known that there's this amazing Australian performing arts collection,' says Bruce. 'It sounds a bit corny, but to be able to bring it back up into the light and to share it with the public I think is very exciting and very important.' The collection has been a priority for Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Karen Quinlan from very early on. 'The conversation started, really, at the very beginning with my first interview for the job,' she says. 'When I started in the role, I was very aware of the collection, and I also knew that I would do something with it.' Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks underscores the importance of the new space, saying the museum will 'showcase our national collection at a scale never before possible'.
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The moment I knew: standing on her shoulders, I was impressed she could bear my weight
In 2021 I was at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne. That's where I first laid eyes on Asha. She was part of a group of new students joining my cohort. She instantly struck me as someone I wanted to be friends with. At ballet class that afternoon we shared a barre and became fast friends. Over the next couple of years things remained platonic and it wasn't until our final year that chemistry began to build. Towards the end of that dark Melbourne winter, Asha asked if I'd work with her on some acrobatics. Every day after school we'd spend an hour or so training as a pair. There was lots of stretching and chatting, trying and failing various tricks and lots of laughs. It wasn't long before I realised I was seriously enjoying these sessions, and not just in a professional or friendly way. I was falling in love. As our skills developed, we moved on to trickier tricks. At one session we were trying to figure out as many different ways to climb to shoulders as we could. I'm a fair bit bigger than Asha and I wasn't in the habit of getting on others' shoulders. But the session was so joyful and relaxed, I realised it didn't matter if we got it wrong, we were having just as much fun laughing it off and giving it another go. In the end we pulled it off. Her ability to bear my weight was so impressive. But I knew at that moment it ran deeper than that – that our ability to support each other wasn't just physical. I had never felt as close to anyone as I did to Asha – we were completely on the same wavelength about so many things in and out of the circus. When I brought all this up a few days after that session it quickly became apparent the feeling was mutual. By springtime we were official, and not long after that Asha signed her contract with Australian circus group Circa. During the last term she went away to do a one-week show with them and I missed her so badly that my already strong ambition to join Circa felt like a non-negotiable. I was accepted and within weeks of our graduation at the end of 2023 we were there together. But a cruel twist in casting meant we were separated for over six months. We were reunited mid last year and have been in each other's pockets since. I find touring life really tough, but doing it with Asha makes it so much better. I know we can rely on each other. She can stand on my shoulders when she needs to, and I can stand on hers too – literally and figuratively. And if we take a tumble, I know we can laugh together and try again. Tristan and Asha are performing together in , Humans 2.0 at Arts Centre Melbourne from 14 to 24 May Do you have a romantic realisation you'd like to share? From quiet domestic scenes to dramatic revelations, Guardian Australia wants to hear about the moment you knew you were in love. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
