July Updates & Art Trail Exhibition Announced!

July has been another huge month at the desk, and I’m excited to share a number of significant announcements and highlights as we enter the new Financial Year:

• New project announcement: As announced by Minister Enoch earlier this month, I am one of 67 Queensland artists/arts workers to be awarded funding support through the Individuals Fund. This funding will enable me to undertake a four-month mentorship and Cultural Resource Mapping project for the South Burnett region, to identify and record community and cultural facilities, arts and cultural groups, volunteers and individual artists, festivals, heritage sites and local businesses operating within the cultural or creative industries. More information coming soon!
  This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
  

• South Burnett Arts: At the South Burnett Arts Inc. annual general meeting at the end of June, I was thrilled to be elected President for the 2020/21 year. I’d like to thank and acknowledge outgoing President Jane Iszlaub, who has led and guided the organisation since its inception in 2009. Big shoes to fill! We also hosted the fifth South Burnett Arts Hour online event earlier this week - if you missed our chat with special guest Simon Cotton, you can view the recording here. South Burnett Arts Hour has now moved to a monthly format, with the next session to be held via Zoom on Tuesday 18 August, 12-1pm.
  

• Masters progress: I completed the ‘Arts Marketing’ unit as part of my Master of Business (Arts & Cultural Management) with Deakin University, finishing with a High Distinction at 97% (!), and commenced ‘Financial Interpretation’ last week, which will keep me buried in accounting figures until exams in mid-October.
  

• CQ RASN residency: As previously announced, in June I received funding support from CQ RASN to undertake a month’s residency ‘at home’, and I used this time to create a new body of work encompassing digital collage pieces. Eight of the works created as a result of the residency will be exhibited across local businesses located in Kingaroy’s CBD from next Wednesday 29 July through to Monday 31 August. Read more here and follow the art trail map below!

You can read more about what I’ve been up to in this article from South Burnett Online:
Olivia Takes Art to Heart | July 2, 2020

More to come next month - including the launch of the new Services tab on my website!

Reflection: End of Financial Year

As June slips away, it’s almost time to say goodbye to the 2019/20 Financial Year! Despite the turbulence of COVID-19, I’d like to celebrate the good stuff and share some recent insights:

As we head into July, I’m also preparing (with much excitement!) to launch the new ‘Services’ tab on my website, with a new, simplified pricing structure and list of professional services available to you and your organisation.

I’m currently taking inquiries for the new Financial Year - if you’re looking for support during July-November please do get in touch before I’m fully booked! I would like to thank all my clients, both ongoing and new, who have chosen to work with me over the last Financial Year and I look forward to supporting you into the future!

My residency with CQ RASN as part of the artist ‘at home’ residency program has also continued throughout this month (new art works pictured above). I’ll be sharing further reflections on my experience during this time on the Tough and Tender Beauty Round 2 blog shortly, before the residency period wraps up on Friday 3 July. Later in July, I’ll be exhibiting some art works created during this time at a number of Kingaroy businesses - further information coming soon!

To make it even easier to find out what I’m up to, including works in progress from the Tough and Tender Beauty residency, you can now follow me on Instagram (@oliviaeverittprojects) and LinkedIn:

The fourth session of South Burnett Arts Hour was held on Tuesday and it was fantastic to hear from Lisa Stephenson (Manager - Cultural Services, Fraser Coast Regional Council) about the role of the arts in the Maryborough CBD revitalisation project over the last few years, as well as the recently opened Mary Poppins Story Bank Museum. I’d also like to say a big ‘thank you!’ to my fellow CQ RASN artists-in-residence Nanette Blanchin, Peta Lloyd, Katina Olsen and Jodie van de Wetering for joining in and sharing so openly about their residency projects. A recording of the session will be available shortly here.

South Burnett Arts Hour will return on Tuesday 21 July 12-1pm - stay tuned for details!

Lastly, I’d like to draw attention to a couple of news items coming out of the arts sector:

• Announced today! $250 million announced by the Morrison Government to support the arts industry across a number of schemes, including $75 million in competitive grants to support festivals, live performance, touring etc. Press release here - this is one to watch!
  

• Queensland Government Arts & Cultural Recovery Package: $22.5 million support to the arts sector to be rolled out over the next 2 years, including $2.9 million for local Councils, artists, organisations and festivals to invest in new arts products and experiences and enhance cultural tourism. More information here - first funding to be open for applications from 1 July 2020.
  

• Regional Arts Fund Recovery Boost: Once-off investment of $10 million for regional arts from the Australian Government. Three streams of funding available with short, medium and long term support on offer which will be administered in Queensland by Flying Arts Alliance through the Regional Arts Fund. First funding open for applications from 1 July 2020 and progressively rolled out from there - read more here.

More to come!
Olivia

Special Announcement: Artist Residency with CQ RASN

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been selected as one of eight Central Queensland artists to take part in CQ RASN’s artist ‘at home’ residency program for the month of June!

This is the second round in the Tough and Tender Beauty program and runs from 8 June - 3 July. With funding support from CQ RASN, I’ll be creating a new body of work this month which will be an opportunity to reflect on my experiences during the ongoing COVID-19 situation and associated physical isolation. The residency program also includes a program of professional development opportunities and weekly networking with the other artists.

You can follow along with this project in the following ways:

• CQ RASN’s Facebook or Instagram @cq_rasn

• Tough and Tender beauty blog - you can read my first post about my progress here, and check out what the other artists are up. I’ll be contributing another 2 blogs during the course of the residency program.

• My new Instagram account @oliviaeverittprojects. I’ve been a long term Instagram user, but this residency presented the perfect opportunity to tick ‘build social media presence’ off my business battle board. I would love for you to follow me to stay in the loop about the residency, and also other projects coming online in the near future!

I also wanted to note that South Burnett Arts Hour is continuing this month, with the third session under our belt earlier this week with special guests Mayor Brett Otto and Melinda Jones. The next session is penciled in for Tuesday 23 June 12-1pm with details due to be released shortly. Thank you to South Burnett Arts for partnering with me on this project and to BIEDO for enabling these sessions to take place via Zoom. You can catch the recording from the session held on 9 June here.

Reflecting on May: South Burnett Arts Hour

May has come and gone already and it was a flat chat month here at HQ! Thank you to my clients and program partners for your ongoing support, both those who are new and the ones who can’t get rid of me!

Here’s a few of my highlights from the last four weeks:

• New program launched - South Burnett Arts Hour. As one of many measures in response to COVID-19, galleries remained closed, performances cancelled and opportunities to meet face-to-face were limited throughout May. I teamed up with South Burnett Arts to develop and present a new online program for the South Burnett arts community, enabling access to relevant guest speakers and providing a platform for local, informal networking.
  
  You can read more about South Burnett Arts Hour and view the recordings here.

• New clients - providing grants support. As part of my range of professional services, I offer support throughout the grant writing process; from mapping out grant opportunities for your project, taking care of the writing for you from go to whoa, or providing a grants review before you hit submit. It was fantastic to work with new clients throughout May to support their grant writing endeavors!
  

• Celebrating Queensland Small Business Month with BIEDO. During May I continued to support the work of the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO), which includes the development of their monthly e-newsletters to their network, the BIEDO Burst.

The next South Burnett Arts Hour session will be held on Tuesday 9 June from 12-1pm. More details coming soon!

Program announcement: South Burnett Arts Hour

It’s been six weeks since I shared Navigating COVID-19 in the Arts, and there have been a great number of challenges and shifts in the sector during that time as the Coronavirus situation continues to unfold.

From the initial shock and overwhelm of #canceleverything, to sector-wide advocacy and calls for a comprehensive industry support package through the #CreateAustraliasFuture campaign, we’re now seeing a phase of adaption and innovation by artists and arts organisations to stay creative and connected with audiences during this time. However, for many in the industry it continues to be a time of economic and personal uncertainty. There is some respite on the horizon with schemes such as JobKeeper, and it’s also been encouraging to see a $27 million Federal Government injection into the sector, which includes $10 million for Regional Arts Australia, to be administered through the Regional Arts Fund.

In new closer to home, I’m thrilled to announce a pilot South Burnett Arts Hour program for artists, arts volunteers and arts enthusiasts living and creating in the South Burnett region. Please stay connected with our creative community during this time, and join me during your lunch break next Tuesday 5 May from 12-1pm for an opportunity to talk shop with other artists via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84972221887

This program is presented in partnership with South Burnett Arts. You can let us know you’re coming via the Facebook event and we encourage you to share this event with anyone in your network who may be interested in participating. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

Navigating COVID-19 in the Arts

In a time of global uncertainty due to the COVID-19 crisis, arts and cultural organisations and the broader creative industries sector are facing numerous and overwhelming challenges. From widespread event and festival cancellations that include industry juggernauts Dark Mofo and Vivid, to some organisations closing their doors entirely, we are in uncharted waters - but we are in them together.

Numerous arts bodies and advocacy groups such as the MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) are joining the call for sector support during this time, and we have seen the first announcement on arts sector support on a State level trickle through this morning (see below). Also, if you haven’t seen this already, Tony Burke MP delivered this powerful press conference on Saturday. Preach, Tony!

How is the arts industry responding to COVID-19? Here are some resources you can check out*:

• Queensland Government to assist arts sector through COVID-19 crisis (Press Release - 18 March 2020): Read the latest announcements from the Palaszczuk Government here.

• Support Act Wellbeing Helpline: 1800 959 500. Free and confidential 24 hour support via phone for those in the music industry. There is also crisis funding available that you can apply for online.

• I Lost My Gig Australia: Data collection initiative tracking economic impacts of COVID-19 on the arts, hospitality, media and entertainment industries as a result of event cancellations. Share how your event/s have been impacted here.

• National Association for the Visual Arts: NAVA released this Industry Advisory Note earlier this week and they are asking for responses to the COVID-19 arts impacts survey.

• Performing Arts Connections Australia: PAC Australia have partnered with Art Lands 2020 to distribute a COVID-19 impacts survey specifically for performing arts centres in Australia.

• Institute of Community Directors: Epidemic/Pandemic Policy Template for organisations.

• Museums & Galleries QLD: M&G QLD are encouraging all volunteer-run museums and galleries to close to the public. Read their COVID-19 Response here.

• ArtsHub - Coronavirus Australian arts event cancellations, state by state: Read about which industry events and festivals have been cancelled or postponed across the country.

*Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive, but rather provides a starting point for you to identify information most relevant to you and your professional/personal circumstances.

March Highlights

I would also like to share two highlights from earlier this month. March saw the completion of the Human Resource Management unit as part of my studies with Deakin University, bringing it home with an overall grade of 87% (High Distinction). I’m very pleased with this result and I’ve now commenced the next unit on my course path - Arts Marketing.

March is also the host month of Queensland Women’s Week & International Women’s Day. It was a privilege to represent the South Burnett Women Committee at Kumbia Kindergarten’s International Women’s Day Luncheon, and announce the recipient of the 2020 Dr Ellen Mary Kent Hughes Scholarship. Since 2016 this bursary program has offered $5,000 each year to a South Burnett woman pursuing tertiary education. This year’s recipient was Victoria Almond from Maidenwell, who worked hard in an Applied Science course last year to increase her GPA and achieve entry into UQ’s Bachelor of Veterinary Science program in 2020. Tori will be studying for the next five years to obtain her qualification and this scholarship can be used as per the recipients’ needs - accommodation costs (which can be significant for rural families), textbooks, laptop etc.

2020 Scholarship partners include Red Earth Community Foundation, AGL Energy, Bega Cheese & Dr Mark Radford - without them this wouldn’t be possible! Congratulations Tori, so well deserved.

Read more here:
Everyday Heroes - Rural women inspire at kindy event via the South Burnett Times (9th March 2020)

Dr Ellen Mary Kent Hughes 2020 Scholarship receipient Victoria Almond (left), and South Burnett Women Committee Member Olivia Everitt (right). Image courtesy of South Burnett Women.

Projection & Animation Workshop - Kingaroy

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in the Projection Art & Animation workshop, an intensive two-day program which culminated in a screening of moving image works by 13 regional artists on the iconic peanut silos in Kingaroy. Organised by the Central Queensland Regional Arts Services Network in partnership with South Burnett Arts, South Burnett Regional Council and Bega/Peanut Company of Australia, it was fantastic to develop new work under the mentorship of artist Donna Maree Robinson.

It was great to take part in this program as an artist participant as opposed to being in a coordinating role, and to set aside a weekend of designated creative time to make new work using stop-start animation techniques in iMotion. You read more about the project and view some of the outcomes via the following links:

READ > Arts Workshop Lights Up Silos - via South Burnett Online

WATCH > Participant Interview: Olivia Everitt - thanks to Tina at Torkit Solutions

WATCH > Snapshot: Animated Artworks on Silos - via Torkit Solutions

Thank you to everyone who made this project a reality - it was a privilege to take part!