If These Halls Could Talk Travels to Tasmania
Our 2016 project If These Halls Could Talk, is expanding into a collaboration with Tasmania’s renowned festival, Ten Days on the Island in 2021.
Originally funded through Create NSW’s Regional Partnerships program, If These Halls Could Talk was an acclaimed region-wide collaboration with regional galleries, museums, historical societies and libraries in the Northern Rivers. The multi-arts initiative engaged creative collaborations within the community, partnering with some of the region’s finest artists and organisations to invigorate and celebrate the region’s passion for humble community halls and the role they play in social cohesion.
The success of the project led to the investigation of opportunities to extend its reach beyond the region. Involved in this process was Lindy Hume, who in her former role as Artistic Director for Opera Queensland was part of the original project. Now Artistic Director of Ten Days on The Island, Lindy has reached out to Art Northern Rivers to explore a partnership to deliver a Halls focused program for the festival with local, national and international content. Lindy explains:
“Arts Northern Rivers’ process speaks to the ingenuity of regional thinking in Australia. As a dynamic expression of regional Australia’s creative life, the Halls project appeals to the ethos of Ten Days on the Island. We are delighted to co-produce If These Halls Could Talk with our friends at Arts Northern Rivers, adapting and expanding it to 10 halls around Tasmania as a special project within the Festival’s 20 year anniversary program. It’s exciting to reimagine the audience’s journey from hall to hall as a distinctively Tasmanian experience.”
Currently the expression of interest process in Tasmania is open, inviting nominations from local halls and communities to be involved in this exciting state-wide arts project in 2021. The site-specific festival experience will continue to celebrate the unique character and narrative of historic halls, presenting an ambitious multi-arts program. Celebrated national and international artists will be invited to produce bold works activating these historic spaces and engaging with local communities, giving new life to the halls through a vibrant multi-arts program.
Arts Northern Rivers Executive Director, Peter Wood, welcomes the celebration of similarities between our unique region and the island; “Extending this much loved Northern Rivers project beyond the region is a reflection of the quality of the work and its ability to speak across geographic boundaries” he said. “It’s a wonderful acknowledgment of the power of a regionally based creative project to resonate and engage with a new audience and community”.
