Tasmanian Regional Arts Inc. inspires contemporary art making with, by and for regional communities. 2015 PO BOX 5251, Launceston 7250 Office Address - Level 1, 74 Elizabeth Street, Launceston 7250 CONTENTS PAGE President’s Report ......................................................................................................................... 2-4 CEO Report .................................................................................................................. 5 TRA People ........................................................................................................................ 6 State Executive Committee ......................................................................................................... 6 TRA Staff ........................................................................................................................... 6 Our Achievements in 2015 ....................................................................................................................... 7 TRA Statistics 2015 ................................................................................................................................................. 8 TRA Involvement in Regional Arts Australia ..................................................................... ..9 Regional Arts Fund .................................................................................................... ....9-11 Regional Arts Funds Grant Recipients in 2015 ........................................................ ..12-14 RACT Insurance Tasmanian Portraiture Prize ................................................................... 15 TRA’s Local Committees in 2015 ............................................................................ ..16 – 17 Life Members ...................................................................................................... ……..18 TRA’s Affiliate Members in 2015 ........................................................................... …….18 TRA’s Partners in 2015 ........................................................................................... ……19 Treasurers Report ............................................................................................................................ 20 TRA Audited Financial Reports - 2015 1 PRESIDENT’S REPORT As elected president for 2015, it is my pleasure to submit this report for the past calendar year. It’s rare for a community organisation to sustain its relevance and stability over an extended period, as Tasmanian Regional Arts (TRA) has managed to do for 70 years. Longevity means there will always be periods of change and rejuvenation to keep pace with government funding policies, community expectations and the development of arts practice. Prior to my appointment as President in April 2015, TRA was in the midst of recovery from a particularly challenging period in its otherwise very successful history. The organisation had been at a critical point where closure was a real option unless there was substantial reform and it had been without a CEO for 8 months prior to Jan 2015. I’m delighted to report that this reform has now been achieved. The community support and associated improvements in governance make TRA a vibrant and viable concern as it enters 2016. I commend the State Government and the Minister for the Arts, who through Arts Tasmania provided skeletal finding to allow TRA to continue working through the implementation of the recommendations of Professor Peter Mathews review in 2015. If the State government had not sustained its support through this critical time, TRA would be in a very different position. As a result, we are about to roll out Waterlines in 2016, a curated, state-wide arts project that invites TRA members to examine the concept of Waterlines. Works will be created in the regions and showcased at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. This project alone has already secured an additional $146,000 from national funding sources and demonstrates the renewed faith in TRA. During the year, with the support of Regional Arts Australia and the Federal Ministry for the Arts, TRA continued to deliver the Regional Arts Fund (RAF) grants. Distributing $171,473 to 40 projects across the state. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Sue Baker, previous President and present Treasurer, and Travis Tiddy, Vice President, who together drove the implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Review, secured skeletal funding so the organisation had a chance to rebuild and ran a national search to attract and appoint the best CEO for TRA’s future. Much of the work they did was like the foundations of a building, largely invisible but totally essential. TRA Life Member and invaluable State Executive Committee (SEC) member Lee Cole continued to serve as our representative on the Regional Arts Australia Board and assisted that organisation as it restructured to a skills based Board. His dedication to TRA and practical support for the new CEO was greatly appreciated. A key player in improving the quality of our governance has been Robin Lohrey. She has significant formal expertise in this area and her eye for detail is unsurpassed. Thanks to her work, and that of the Governance sub-committee, we have a much clearer and cohesive constitution along with a raft of SEC policies, compliance schedules and systems to provide efficient and effective governance for the future. Her legacy will guide the organisation for years to come and she will be dearly missed as she steps down from the SEC at this AGM. 2 Another long-term member of SEC and active branch member who is stepping down is Chris Cowles. Chris Cowles joined Southern Beaches Regional Arts in 1996 and was elected to the SEC in 2008. In the short time I have been on the SEC, he has done significant work researching and developing policies for our Life Membership appointments and the Regional Arts Video Engagement project, plus he’s been incredibly generous with his expertise in marketing and branding. Goodness knows how many other things he contributed across the length of his membership. Long term committed volunteers like this are a special breed. The new constitution has reduced the size of the SEC to a more effective and appropriate size and with this we say farewell to a number of hard working and valued SEC members, Amelia Rowe and Brian Ritchie who have each served on the SEC for the last year. The year started on a high with our new CEO Alison Copley relocating from Cairns and beginning work on 13 January 2016. With the support of her small and dedicated team of two part-time staff – Kitty Taylor and Amanda Pilon, TRA delivered: THE REGIONAL ARTS FUNDING and undertook a state wide road engagement process to promote the RAF fund and explain the application process and improve the quality of applications. Presented a webinar over 120 people subscribed to which is now available on the website giving everyone access to a detailed session on how to apply to the fund. IMPROVED INSURANCE- The previous provider of the aggregated insurance TRA offers to members and affiliates had introduced an age cap for claims. This exposed an enormous number of our members to an unacceptable risk. With the support of a SEC sub-committee chaired by Michelle Kaal TRA undertook an extremely detailed review of TRA’s insurance policy and put it out to tender. The result was a higher level of cover with no age cap for volunteers and no increase in fees for members in 2016. IMPROVED ARTISTIC PLANNING- Appointed an Agile Ideas Group Chaired by Neil Cameron with the below members. o Neil Cameron (Chair): Leading Community Theatre Consultant o Annette Downs: Senior Producer Tasmania Performs, Chair of TRA o Elizabeth Walsh: Prior Artistic Director of Ten Days, Prior Chair of Dance Aust. Council o Brian Ritchie: Curator Mona Foma Festival o Magdalena Lane: Department of State Growth, Culture and Creative Industry Development - Tasmania o Travis Tiddy: Festival Director Queenstown Cultural and Heritage Festival o Colin Langridge: Exhibitions and Touring Coordinator, Contemporary Art Tasmania, PHD Visual Artist o Lola Greeno: Living Treasure – Master of Australian Craft. Tasmanian Indigenous Elder This group helped to fast track our newly arrived CEO’s networking within the State and the development of the 2016 Waterlines project concept. RELOCATED HEAD OFFICE – SEC member, Lee Cole, did an enormous amount of work assisting the staff to sort through the organisations many years of archives and the move from the Latrobe Office to the new Launceston base. 3 Most importantly, the TRA staff began the process of rebuilding relationships with the Branches that had been hard to support without a CEO. Conversations were held across the island to introduce the Waterlines project for 2016 and to explain the process around the call for Expressions of Interest. I feel confident that Tasmanian Regional Arts, with continued support from the State and Federal Government is now a fully refreshed, revitalised organisation well placed to continue its critical role in the Tasmanian Arts ecology guided by a dedicated CEO in Alison Copley. Annette Downs Annette Downs – TRA SEC President 2015 4 Tasmanian Regional Arts Inc. inspires contemporary art making with, by and for regional communities. CEO REPORT It is with great excitement for the future of Tasmanian Regional Arts (TRA) that I write this report having now been in the role of Chief Executive Officer for just over one year. Whilst 2015