Based in the Bowery Theatre and the St Albans Community Centre (STACC) in St Albans, Council’s Arts and Culture team runs the STACC, Bowery Theatre, programming galleries & exhibitions, artists’ studios, public art & murals, and creative projects for all age groups.
The Bowery hosts a range of productions and shows throughout the year and recent highlights include Archie Roach –whose show was sellout –and Jude Perl as part of the Midsumma program.
At STACC, which is available for hire to community groups, there are programs for young people in music, dance and creative play.
The arrival of COVID-19, however, moved many programs online.
Last April, the Arts and Culture team presented the Be Bold Festival which featured a ‘Blakout program’ on the Friday night that profiled first nations artists, market stalls and food.
The Saturday program featured artists and projects in the Bowery Theatre, in STACC and outside, included young and old and artists engaged through Working For Victoria funding.
Underpinning all this work are Council’s Cultural Strategy, Festivals & Events Policy & Strategy, Public Art Strategy and the Bowery Theatre Business Plan.
The arts and culture team is also responsible for most of the public art in the streets of Brimbank. They manage the art spaces and low-cost studio spaces in Sunshine, Deer Park and Keilor. These enable artists to extend and develop their practice in a community setting, and provide a platform for residents to engage with artists.
The team invites artists, curators and groups to develop new work for presentation in the Bowery Theatre through the annual Be Bold residencies.
With over 46 per cent of its residents born overseas and more than half speaking a language other than English, Brimbank Council is keen to showcase not only cultural diversity in its community but diversity across all areas.
Applications are encouraged from artists based in the western region of Melbourne and from first nations communities, diverse cultural backgrounds, people with disability and from the LGBTIQ community.
Council’s Arts and Culture service also supports local community festivals and events producers through regular training and mentoring sessions at no charge.
Contact the Arts and Culture team
The Arts and Culture team is located at the St Albans Community Centre at 33 Princess Street, St Albans.
Phone: 9249 46000
Email: creative@brimbank.vic.gov.au
Website: creativebrimbank.com.au
