An open letter to
Josh Burns MP, ALP Member for Macnamara
Benson Saulo, Liberal candidate for Macnamara
Sonya Semmens, Greens candidate for Macnamara
The Hon Jaclyn Symes MP, Victorian Treasurer
The Hon Colin Brooks MP, Victorian Minister for Creative Industries
Nina Taylor MP, Member for Albert Park
As community, cultural and education organisations based in Macnamara, we write to you in support of the plans of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) to create a 21st century suite of public performance and community spaces within a renewed South Melbourne Town Hall. This project will complement the extensive cultural, community and entertainment assets and infrastructure already to be found in this precinct.
The dynamism generated by an expansive collection of small, medium and large organisations – with the whole being infinitely greater than the sum of its individual parts – will establish southside as the epicentre of the city’s creative life, and ‘the only place to be’. We believe that expanding the community’s cultural footprint with the incorporation of a revitalised South Melbourne Town Hall will add further depth and richness to the community life of the precinct, and lustre to the area’s cultural identity.
The addition of another venue – offering not just performance spaces, but rehearsal studios, meeting rooms and a catering kitchen – will also help meet the increasing demand from surrounding schools, community organisations, and local artists across a variety of creative practices, with flexible venue spaces that suit a range of uses.
Port Phillip Council has committed $33m to structural strengthening works in the Town Hall, and ANAM has already secured $28.5m toward its renewal project. This represents a unique investment by a not-for-profit organisation in a piece of public infrastructure. Commitments of $12.5m over three years each from the Commonwealth and State governments would unlock a further $13m in private donations raised by ANAM, making this charismatic project a fully funded reality.
We urge you to commit your parties and governments to invest the necessary funds that will rescue our Town Hall and help confirm southside as the creative centre of the city.
Yours sincerely,
106 Art - Studios and Gallery
Affinity Quartet
African Drumming
Alchemy Audio
Alex Read Theatre Performances Inc.
APO Arts Academy
Arcadia Winds
Arts Access Victoria
Australian National Academy of Music
Australian Tapestry Workshop
Ballet Theatre Australia
Brightspace
Chunky Move
Clarendon Children’s Centre
ELISION Ensemble
George Lane St Kilda
Jacob Hoerner Galleries
Jem Choirs
JOY Media
Kadimah Cultural Centre and National Library
Kadimah Yiddish Theatre
Linden New Arts
Malthouse Theatre
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (UniMelb)
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra
Melbourne Welsh Choir
Melbourne Youth Orchestras
Memo Music Hall
Midsumma Festival
Musica Viva Australia
National Institute of Circus Arts
Nicole Beyer, Arts Consultant
National Institute of Dramaic Art
Princess Bento Pty Ltd
Princess Pictures Pty Ltd
Ranters Theatre
Rawcus
Red Stitch Actors Theatre
South Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Space 2B
Temperance Hall
The Australian Ballet School
The Espy St Kilda (Australian Venue Co.)
The National Theatre
The Prince Hotel/Prince Bandroom
Theatre Network Australia
Theatre Works
Vass Productions
Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School
Victorian Pride Centre
Young Voices of Melbourne
ZING! Sing in Dutch
ACCA
Collarts
Melba Opera Trust
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Make the Inner South Melbourne’s Creative Centre
