South Coast Arts: a RADO for our region
Perrie Croshaw
29 July 2022, 1:28 AM
South Coast Arts Chair Chair Marla Guppy with artist Justin Sayarath who is working on public art for the Shellharbour Civic Centre The South Coast now has its own Regional Arts Development Organisation (RADO) to promote arts and culture across the Kiama, Shellharbour and Shoalhaven LGAs.
Known as South Coast Arts, it is part of a network of 15 RADOs across the state, supported by the NSW Government through CREATE NSW.
The July Council Meeting saw Kiama councillors appoint Deputy Mayor Imogen Draisma to the South Coast Arts board and allocate $19,412 plus some in-kind support annually to this new arts group. Shoalhaven and Shellharbour will each provide $38,825pa to support RADO’s operational costs.
The RADO will be instrumental in sourcing grants across all governments for artists in this region.
Cllr Draisma says that the arts have been left behind for some time, both state and federally and that this RADO will be an important structure to give our artists a voice in shaping the arts and culture strategies in this area.
“Existing RADOs across the state are very effective in co-ordinating all levels of government in the requirements of the arts and creative industries and that means more investment to support artists so they can thrive.
“We are really a tourist town so arts and culture is a way to provide us with income across the year with really great events and facilities.
The recent NAIDOC exhibition at the Old Fire Station in Kiama
“As a small LGA, being able to co-ordinate larger regional events will be quite exciting. We will look at ways we can utilise what we already have, use resources from the other councils as well to deliver great arts programs and identify what we need for the long term of our arts community such as spaces – a theatre, contemporary arts space, an arts precinct – and build on that.”
Regina Heilmann, Consulting Director South Coast Arts, is project managing the RADO’s establishment. She is gathering information about what artists, creative producers, arts workers and councils consider to be priorities in this region and running the recruitment process for an Executive Director.
The board of 11 members will include a representative from each council. The Chair is Marla Guppy, a cultural planner and public art strategist.
South Coast Arts is already running two initiatives.
‘Seed Funding’ is a program which provides six grants of $3,000 each through the first round of the Country Arts Support Program (CASP) funding which is part of the CREATE NSW regional arts funding.
To apply, artists need to live or work in the South Coast Arts area. They can create works using any creative medium or artform practice and will be required to present their ideas and outcomes in March 2023. Applications close August 12.
Another initiative is the Regional Futures program. The local artist commissioned to represent the South Coast this year is Anna Glynn, an award-winning Shoalhaven artist who creates work investigating the connection between humans, history, nature, land, place, physical and the ephemeral.
“I’m excited to be selected for this creative development, especially as my work focuses on nurturing our local natural environment,” Anna says.
“Artists from across regional NSW have been commissioned to create work that responds to the prompt ‘What does the future look like for your region?’.
“My area of interest engages with the influx of people wishing to live in regional areas, to make a new work highlighting the natural environment to create ways for the community to engage and nurture what we have. This is our local environment where we are creatively integrated into healthy, inventive locations.”
