Mix It Up Partnership with the Arts Centre
MIX IT UP is a unique partnership project of Multicultural Arts Victoria and the Arts Centre designed to stimulate new work.
MIX IT UP reaches potential new audiences in non English speaking background communities and attracts existing mainstream Arts Centre audiences to quality culturally diverse product.
What is Mix It Up?
Multicultural Arts Victoria and the Arts Centre has developed a unique partnership to create and deliver the inaugural MIX IT UP program.
The MIX IT UP program presents a multi-layered high quality program that is inclusive of all and celebrates Australia’s rich diversity.
The Mix It Up program has been devised specifically to celebrate Victoria's cultural diversity and shared heritage.
Case Study
Developing Audience Diversity through the Mix It Up Project Multicultural Arts Victoria and the Arts Centre
Download case study
View Mix It Up Slideshow
Slideshow of MIX IT UP events
Browse Mix It Up Concerts
Browse Mix It Up Concerts
Read Mix It Up Articles In The Press
Mx It Up in the Press
More Information
For more information, contact
Events & Operations
at Multicultural Arts Victoria on (03) 94176777 or Email
events@multiculturalarts.com.au.
Partnership with the Arts Centre
The pilot project
employed and presented an extra-ordinary range of local, national and international artists (800 in total) from 23 nationalities over 96 events and attracted a total attendance to major events of 47,000 plus a further 113,000 to the Meeting Place Keeping Place Exhibition - a total attendance of 160,000.
MIX IT UP at the Arts Centre has continued, resulting in a diverse range of events enjoyed by a large number of people.
www.theartscentre.net.au
Project details
From the outset, it was the intention to collaborate extensively with Multicultural Arts Victoria and to establish a successful audience development and partnership model that has potential nationally.
Mix It Up programming explored contemporary interpretations of performing arts from a range of traditions and influences.
It aimed to engage Victorian artists and communities with key national and international artists in creating vibrant and culturally rich events through the year.
Mix It Up particularly focussed on performing arts which crossed language and cultural boundaries and offered new pathways for audiences to engage with the Arts Centre.
It was a multi-layered program to build connections with communities and creating many entry points to the arts for artists, communities and audiences.
The program featured artists in a mix of ticketed and free events surrounded by a unique opportunity for visitors to the Arts Centre to experience the sights, sounds and taste of different cultures through an extensive range of public programs such as performances, classes, demonstrations, culinary experiences, exhibitions, workshops, master classes, forums, and post-show talks.
Mix It Up comprised:
A Mainstage Theatre Program
Presentation of major international performing arts companies featuring dance, contemporary ballet, physical theatre and circus:
Dance Brazil, Cloudgate Dance Theatre (Taiwan), Complexions Contemporary Ballet (New York) and Les Sept Doights de La Main (7 Fingers) (Montreal).
Public programs associated with this program were: master classes and a workshop assisted by a partnership with Ausdance; post show talks and education performances.
A Music Program
Seven specially curated events featuring international and local artists presented in a range of venues including Hamer Hall, Spiegeltent, Fairfax Studio, Playhouse and Blackbox also utilising foyers and exhibition spaces. Key projects included: Africa, Sing Sing, Pulse Heartbeat, Vive La Fiesta, Visible, Cariba, Our Backyard.
Extensive free public programs were associated with these events throughout foyers and ancillary spaces - foyer performances and activities, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, marketplace.
A Major Exhibition
Meeting Place Keeping Place - featured the commissioned work of local cultural diverse artists exploring issues of identity and place. The exhibition was attended by 113,212 people.
An Artist in Residence program included in the Arts Centre’s Full Tilt program, five groups of emerging artists from diverse cultural backgrounds explore and develop their work in a supportive environment:
15 Scenes/15 Songs, Xing, True Story of Toto Nakamura, Rice Trilogy, 3-A, The Call.
An Education program Dedicated Mix It Up schools performances were held by Hinepau, Dance Brazil and 7 Fingers.
What Mix It Up has Done
MIX IT UP has established a unique multi-layered, public program format offering a rich visitor experience that will continue to be part of the Arts Centre’s program mix in the future.
It has achieved better than projected attendance of 46,788 (against a target of 43,500) plus another 113,212 attendance at the Meeting Place Keeping Place exhibition.
MIX IT UP has established a very successful collaboration with Multicultural Arts Victoria resulting in an audience development and partnership model with national potential. In addition, MIX IT UP has
Attracted funding from the Australia Council for an extensive audience research project
Successfully collaborated with Ausdance
Attracted major sponsorship from Dr LeWinn
Achieved philanthropic support from the Clemenger Foundation
Achieved significant public and media recognition
Audience development
MIX IT UP has attracted significant new and diverse audience and visitors, including: A significant increase in attendance by non-english speaking visitors from the general Arts Centre attendance of 14% to 24%;
Twice the normal attendance at the Arts Centre in the 25-44 age-group;
A significant increase (from 16% to 31%) of attendance by young households of families without children as well as families with children (from 32% - 40%); A
significant increase in attendance by infrequent visitors to the Arts Centre - up from 27% to 37%;
Has supported and presented an extra-ordinary range of local, national and international artists (800 in total) from 23 nationalities over 96 events;
Has extensively documented all events for publicity & marketing, as well as future collections and exhibitions purposes; and has worked collaboratively across all units of the Arts Centre to achieve an all-of-Centre multi-layered approach.
Media Quotes
Vive La Fiesta! sells out Hamer Hall, the Arts Centre’s superb Mix It Up music program (The Age 26/8)
utterly entrancing (The Age August 11, 2006 ) The 7 Fingers.
Hallmark of Great Entertainment (the Age August 3, 2006) Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
For a complete list of press coverage of MIX IT UP, see In The Press.
Sample Artist Quotes
"A big thanks to the Arts Centre and MAV - being part of MIX IT UP has given my group Diafrix a great deal of confidence - we had never imagined we would get the opportunity to perform at the Arts Centre. Being commissioned to create new work was unreal- we bought the traditional African sounds of Jali Buba Kuyateh and King Marong and mixed them with hip hop. The music and partnerships created through MIX IT UP has opened many doors for us ..."
...Khaled Abdulwhab Diafrix
Thanks for the opportunity to have been part of Our Back Yard...
People like me and many others are fighting to maintain alive our traditions, against all odds. We get disappointed, sad, but I believe that events like the one you organized give us hope to continue with our work. Thanks again for your support.
Thankfully - Paulina Fuentes
Mix It Up Research
MAV and the Arts Centre worked in partnership with Deakin University to research and evaluate the MIX IT UP program.
Download MIX IT UP Project Report: Building New Audiences
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