On the 8th November 2012
The Cultural Facilities Corporation celebrated the 15th years of its
establishment, with a function at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. At that
function Ms Harriet Elvin, who has been C.E.O. of the Corporation since its
formation, gave a speech in which she recalled some of her personal highlights of those fifteen years.
Her speech is reprinted here, with her kind permission, for the interest of members and
readers of the CCC blog.
We were created almost exactly 15 years ago, on 1 November 1997, when
the Cultural Facilities Corporation Act
came into operation. Very few ACT agencies have remained in existence for this
length of time.
Our first year was a very busy one, with the completion and opening of
two major new cultural assets: the Canberra Museum and Gallery – or CMAG, as we
call it - in February 1998, followed by The Playhouse, which had its Gala Opening
in May that year.
By the following year, 1999, both new facilities were achieving their
role of proving high quality cultural experiences to the community, with
programming highlights including The
Judas Kiss and Salome at The
Playhouse. CMAG’s program included an exhibition celebrating a decade of ACT
self government; an exhibition featuring the work of major Canberra artist Jorg Schmeisser who sadly died earlier
this year; and a display of snow domes as part of CMAG’s popular Open Collection series, which features
the collections of individuals.
As we approached the Year 2000, we were told our computers might crash
and planes might fall out of the sky. Well,
I recall we had to have “Year 2000 contingency plans” for each of our
sites. Our rather tongue in cheek plan
for Lanyon said “If the electricity fails, we will revert to candles”.
The year 2000 was, of course, the year of the Sydney Olympics. The CFC was involved in the celebrations in a
number of ways, including through an exhibition at CMAG about the history of
sport in the ACT region – the exhibition opened to coincide with the arrival of
the Olympic torch in Civic Square. Another highlight of the year was Lanyon
celebrating its 20th anniversary as a house museum. The birthday celebrations included a garden party
for Lanyon volunteers.
The year 2000 also saw the CFC attract its largest ever sponsorship, with
Westpac Bank. The Chief Minister of the day,
Kate Carnell, launched the new partnership in the “Westpac” foyer of The Playhouse.
The Olympic year was followed by the Centenary of Federation in
2001. The CFC joined in the celebrations
with four major exhibitions at CMAG, and with events at Lanyon that looked back
to its own history a century earlier, in 1901, including an Edwardian Garden Party.
Also in 2001 a new children’s theatre season, Playtime Theatre Treats, was launched at the Canberra Theatre Centre,
and Canberra Ticketing relocated to the North Building in preparation for the
Civic Library and Link Project.
In the following year, 2002, Calthorpes' House celebrated its 75th birthday
with a range of birthday events that include the launch of a book by Dawn
Waterhouse about her childhood at Calthorpes' House, called Chortles,
Chores and Chilblains.
This year also saw the start of a long-term donation program whereby
ACTTAB funded a major acquisition each year for eight years, for the CMAG Collection. The first work of art acquired, in 2002, was a
Keith Looby work called The Quality Controller.
2003 started with the terrible Canberra bushfires that destroyed so
much of the western edge of our city.
Lanyon and the Nolan Gallery were evacuated on the 13th of
January 2003. I remember seeing a photo of a table set up for a wedding
celebration at Lanyon that day: the table abandoned and chairs cast aside as the
guests quickly departed the scene. I always hoped that married life improved
from that point for the couple who were celebrating their wedding!
The CFC responded to the bushfire crisis in a number of ways, including
by helping to mount a bushfire relief concert; recording objects, images and
personal accounts of the bushfire; providing free emergency care programs for
children; and accepting into the CMAG Collection a range of objects associated with
the bushfire. One of these, a burned-out
dishwasher, has become an emblem of the loss suffered by the Canberra community
in the 2003 firestorm, and is on display in Gallery 1 as we approach the 10th
anniversary of that terrible day in Canberra’s history.
But there were many brighter aspects of 2003. For the CFC these included the launch of a
new series of cutting edge productions at the Canberra Theatre Centre called Director’s Cut; and the inaugural Great Lanyon Easter Egg Hunt, now a
popular event each Easter Sunday.
At Mugga Mugga, the first Sylvia
Curley Oration was held in 2003, in honour of the remarkable woman who
donated this, her former family home, to the people of Canberra. Our first “orator” was former Senior Curator
of House Museums Lainie Lawson, who did so much to establish Mugga Mugga as a
house museum and indeed Lanyon and Calthorpes’ House as well. With the support of a dedicated group of
volunteers, the opening hours at Mugga Mugga were extended from once a month to
every weekend from March 2003.
In launching the 2004 Subscription Season, the Canberra Theatre Centre
also launched a series of access initiatives. These new programs led a major award
and continue to be a strong demonstration of the Centre’s commitment to extending
live theatre to all members of the community, including those with vision or
hearing impairments.
2004 also saw the ACT Government agree to a major extension of the area
of land and buildings managed by the CFC at Lanyon, thereby keeping this expanded
heritage precinct in public ownership into the future.
By this time, the CFC was publicising, through its Annual Report, the
number of hours worked by its volunteers, including members of its advisory
committees, who all contribute their services on a voluntary basis. The CFC’s Annual Report for 2003-4 recorded those
volunteers contributed an impressive 3,340 hours to the organisation.
2005 saw a series of anniversaries
across the organisation. The Canberra Theatre
Centre held its 40th anniversary - an event celebrated with special performances,
open days and an exhibition at CMAG. Lanyon
and the Nolan Gallery celebrated their 25th anniversaries that year.
In 2006, after a long time in planning and construction, the new Link
and the new Civic Library were each completed and launched, together with a major
new public artwork in Civic Square, Fractal
Weave by David Jensz. Highlights of this year also included CMAG sending a
travelling exhibition of prints to Canberra’s sister city, Nara, as a key event
in the Australia Japan Year of Exchange.
I was privileged to open this exhibition, together with the Mayor of
Nara.
For the first time in many years, Opera Australia came to Canberra in November
2006 with a full mainstage production, The
Pirates of Penzance, presented in a shared risk arrangement with the
Canberra Theatre Centre.
In February 2007, a severe hailstorm hit the Civic area, with major
damage to many buildings, including the Canberra Theatre Centre and CMAG. Storm damage and high humidity at Lanyon led
to the Nolan Gallery being closed from the start of the year, with all works
being relocated to CMAG.
Despite the challenges of the year there were many highlights,
including a large donation of works of art to CMAG by senior ACT artist Jan Brown,
leading to a major exhibition in the following year.
2008 saw another large-scale Opera Australia production come to Canberra,
My Fair Lady. Eight semi-trailers brought the set and
costumes, including one semi trailer that was needed just to transport the wonderful
hats worn for the Ascot scene!
Other highlights of that year included CMAG’s children’s programs being
recognised in an award in Children's Week; and the acquisition of the Dawn
Waterhouse Collection, an extensive array of Canberra souvenirs and memorabilia
that is now a very popular part of CMAG’s permanent collection exhibition.
In May 2009, funding of nearly $4 million was announced in the ACT
Budget for a major package of conservation works across all three historic
sites managed by the CFC. This is the
largest investment ever made in these sites since they came under public
ownership. The four-year package of
works is just reaching completion and will be celebrated with a champagne
reception at Lanyon, on Saturday 17 November.
2010 saw the launch of the Nolan Collection Gallery @ CMAG – a new
galley space dedicated to the permanent display of the Nolan Foundation Collection.
Other highlights of the year included the launch of new websites and a
new ticketing system at the Canberra Theatre Centre; the first Canberra Gold exhibition at CMAG; a
Canberra Critics Circle Award for CMAG’s exhibition Something in the Air; and the Wharf
Revue coming to Canberra for the first time – this first season in Canberra,
Pennies From Kevin, was so popular
that it sold out and came back for a return season.
Probably my worst day as CEO was in March 2011, when a major arson
attack caused severe damage to the convict barn at Lanyon – now, thankfully,
restored after painstaking work by specialised craftsmen.
On a more positive note, in 2011 CMAG’s King O’Malley exhibition attracted critical acclaim and generous
sponsorship support from King O’Malley’s Irish Pub and CMAG’s award-winning
series of children’s programs was extended by the introduction of a special
program for the very young, T is for
Toddler.
So here we are, finally in 2012.
The early part of the year saw a focus on Lanyon, with a major community
consultation project, a very successful Plant Fair with Open Gardens Australia,
and a 2012-13 Budget announcement for new funding for community programs
there. The same Budget introduced a
package of works valued at $3 million for the Canberra Theatre Centre, which will
be rolled out over the new three years.
The highlights I’ve mentioned are just a very small selection of all
that we as an organisation have achieved over the past 15 years.
Along the way, we’ve welcomed around 300,000 visitors and patrons a
year to our various sites – around 4.5 million in total - and held 132 Board
meetings. I say this with feeling, as I’ve attended every single one of those!
Our record shows that we are a vibrant, resilient and successful
organisation that provides a very high standard of cultural services to the
community, which is sought after as an employer of choice, and which enjoys
active volunteer involvement and philanthropic support.
As we celebrate the past, we can be proud of all that we have achieved,
and can look ahead with confidence and ambition. In particular, we look forward to Canberra’s
Centenary year in 2013 with celebrations and events across each one of our
sites.
Posted by Bill Stephens: member of CFC Performing Arts Advisory Committee and Canberra Critics Circle.