A holding space for G21 artists striving to grow their performing arts practice and seed new works.

 

VISION​

A knowledge-seeking-and-sharing ecology in which artists thrive in collective growth alongside individual outcomes.

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MISSION​

Chrysalis aims to support performance artists who profoundly seek and respond to opportunities that raise the calibre of their artistic output and, by extension, that of the G21 region.​​

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PRACTICE​

Chrysalis aims to deliver capacity-building and process exploration on par with what is offered in city centres. Our initial model takes two approaches to providing tangible growth: 1) first identify what learnings can be shared and facilitated by internal members, then 2) invest in external expertise to bolster the knowledge gaps. This learner-led model is an inversion of the tertiary model, whereby voracious students gather themselves, choose their most needed coursework, and find teachers for hire.

When we refer to artists in our practice (and in our language here), our definition includes artists across various disciplines looking to develop their own projects while tapping into a peer group for reciprocal support, learning, and critique. These artists can include (but is not limited to) actors, dancers, choreographers, musicians, producers, directors, composers, writers, visual artists, sound and lighting designers, multimedia artists and creative technologists.

PARTICIPANTS

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PEER GROUP

Chrysalis is a peer group of whom we term nurturers: those already embedded in regional arts, including arts workers, teachers, and experienced knowledge-sharers. They often make and consume arts intra-state, nationally, and even internationally. They can easily identify the support, processes, and expertise available in city centres that are entirely missing in the G21 region. Many currently travel to Melbourne for capacity-building but recognise that it’s not sustainable for themselves—or even accessible for most others.

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EXTERNAL WORKSHOP ATTENDEES

Expert-facilitated sessions will be opened up to G21 artists beyond the peer group. We envisage other attendees are those working across various creative disciplines who are heavily invested in their own collectives and productions. This cohort tends to be prolific and creative but face significant geographical challenges in accessing skills-building. This group will also benefit from forging new collaborative networks over the program.

RATIONALE

Chrysalis is a cohort of arts industry-connected peers who see the global boom in cross-sector collaboration in contemporary arts, which bridges artists across different art forms and even across science, research, and technology. The trend toward innovative collaborations is transforming Australian performance-making as well as audience experiences, where the collective arts contribute valuable offerings for the public to engage with critical ideas from other sectors. While there will always be regional audiences for traditional theatre, the G21 demographics are shifting as well as growing their expectations of a thriving hub of opportunities and innovative artforms. Many in the G21 arts community do not want our region left behind.

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