SiMON ABRAHAMS
creative director and ceo
Artistic Development
I have commissioned, developed and produced a range of new artistic works with national and international impact. My aim in developing new work is to support artistic experimentation and ambitious ideas, interrogate artistic practice and develop artistic talent. At Arts Centre Melbourne, I commissioned 18 new for an artistic development program exploring architecture as performance. The aim was to infuse the buildings with changeable environments, interventions, participatory performances and site-specific works, through a program of new works which included:
In Spite of Myself
Sans Hotel / Nicola Gunn
Presented in association with the Melbourne Festival 2012, created through a live art residency and supported by the Australia Council. An interdisciplinary work which is part-performance lecture, part-community workshop, part-comic book, part self-help forum and part-installation. Nominated for a Green Room Award for Outstanding Contemporary Performance 2013
Forklift
KAGE Physical Theatre & Cirko (Finland)
A performance which combines choreography, contortion and aerial acrobatics on and around a working 2.5 tonne forklift. Premiered at Sydney Festival 2014.
Captives of the City
Chamber Made Opera & Lemony S Puppet Theatre
A dynamic fusion of digital puppetry, live animation, music and performance in a new chamber opera which takes place in a secret underground location.
Soundtracks
St Martins Youth Arts Centre
A subversive live commentary about a performance or an artwork by children aged 5-18, delivered simultaneously through wireless headphones.
Fly By Night
Melinda Hetzel and Co
An experience created for the foyer spaces of Hamer Hall, weaving together dance, physical theatre, sound design and video art, and using iPod devices to deliver a surprising, self-guided theatrical video-tour via a purpose-built mobile app.
Moon Safari By Steam Bicycle
Spindly Figures
A live puppet film production for kids combining multimedia-filmed sets, miniatures, animation, music and live puppetry, and featuring both behind-the-scenes filmmaking and a live theatre storytelling performance at the same time. Created by Oscar nominee Anthony Lucas.
Skills Development
In 2012-13, I created a series of learning opportunities for artists at Arts Centre Melbourne aiming to develop artists’ skills, featuring leading national and international artists, including:
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Dance for Young Audiences masterclass series led by leading Dutch choreographer for young people, Erik Kaiel
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Puppetry masterclass featuring the cast and creative team from the Australian production of War Horse
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Dance masterclass series delivered in partnership with the Melbourne Festival 2013 featuring Hofesh Shechter Company (UK), Jiri Kylian Dancers (NL) and Fabulous Beast (IRE).
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Conversation with the cast of Einstein on the Beach, and a dance workshop with its rehearsal director Ty Boomershine, co-presented with Chunky Move
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Artist-to-artist artistic conversations with creative teams from Bangarra Dance Theatre, Fight The Landlord (Pan Pan Theatre Ireland and Beijing Square Moon Culture), Polyglot Theatre, Ex Machina's Lipsynch, the National Theatre of Great Britain's One Man Two Guvnors, and Windmill Theatre's School Dance.
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A mentorship program for young local producers, in partnership with Melbourne Fringe.
An Arts Industry Card was also set up during this time, and a version of the scheme still exists offering discounted tickets - you can sign up here.