ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10 Contents 2 INTRODUCTION 3 CORPOraTE PLAN 2009/14 STraTEGIC OBJECTIVES 4 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 5 DIRECTOR’S REPORT 6 A YEAR OF HIGHLIGHTS 8 EXHIBITIONS 14 FILM 16 PUBLIC AND EDUCATION PROGraMS 22 ABOUT US 30 ADMINISTraTIVE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 36 DISCLOSURE INDEX 38 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Cover image: Screen WorldS, emergence As one of Australia’s major cultural, tourism, leisure and learning destinations, ACMI is integral to Melbourne’s international reputation as one of the world’s truly creative cities. Located at the heart of Melbourne’s iconic Federation Square, ACMI celebrates, explores and promotes the cultural and creative richness of the moving image in all its forms – film, television, games and digital culture. Through a vibrant annual calendar of film programs, festivals, major exhibitions, live events, creative workshops, talks, forums, education programs and Collection resources, ACMI delivers diverse audiences with countless ways to engage with the moving image. Throughout 2009 ACMI underwent a significant transformation – the completion of a four year master plan for future growth and prosperity. Highlights included new gallery and production spaces, substantially enhanced visitor experiences and an expanded suite of exhibitions, education, film and public programs. At the heart of ACMI is a new permanent, free entry exhibition, Screen Worlds: The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture. Charting the history and future of the moving image, the exhibition opened to great acclaim and fanfare in 2009, providing a new year- round Melbourne attraction for families, tourists and students. 2 ACMI Annual Report 2009/10 CORPOraTE PLAN 2009/14 STraTEGIC OBJECTIVES WORLD CLASS COLLECTION AND RESEARCH To cement ACMI as a leading To provide on-site and on-line international culture and tourism access to a wide range of iconic destination at which to experience works and curated packages excellence and innovation in of films, documentaries, screen culture. moving image art works and other screen resources from ACMI and other sources. CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE To position ACMI as a centre of ENVIRONMENTAL excellence in screen literacy and SUSTAINABILITY research, which fosters creative skills, new talent, and opportunities To become an environmentally for formal and informal learning. sustainable organisation and position ACMI as a leader in environmentally sound exhibition INNOVATION CaTALysT management and design. To position ACMI as a state-of- the-art centre and catalyst for ORGANisaTION SUSTAINABILITY promoting innovation in screen and digital media content through To ensure a robust sustainable creative-industry collaborations business and operating plan, and professional networks. with diverse funding sources. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT To build, engage and reach out to diverse audiences, especially Australian communities, in exploring and personally creating the media that drive our lives. ACMI Annual Report 2009/10 3 PRESIDENT’S REPORT It has been a significant achievement and on Finally, our thanks to the Victorian Government behalf of the Board, I commend the leadership for its continued support over the past year, of the project teams, our staff and volunteers and in particular, the former Minister for and our many supporters for their shared the Arts, Lynne Kosky MP, who has been commitment to realising these projects. instrumental in ACMI’s recent successes. And we look forward to working positively and The suite of new public offers introduced in collaboratively with the current Minister for 2009 only serves to complement the already the Arts, Peter Batchelor MP, to ensure ACMI successful calendar of award winning programs continues to play a leading role in Melbourne’s delivered across film, exhibitions, public and vibrant arts scene into the future. education programming. We have an incredibly It is my great pleasure to present the talented and creative team that conceive and 2009/10 Annual Report. deliver truly world class programs to an ever increasing audience. Many of the major achievements of the past year are borne from years of planning and Across the organisation, it has also been The Hon. John Thwaites hard work. They reflect on ACMI not only as a a year of consolidation for our business President major Australian cultural institution, but as a plans and in the delivery of our strategic centre that is increasingly recognised for its objectives. We remain focussed on leadership on an international stage. affirming our position as an international cultural and tourism destination and Throughout 2009/10, the spotlight was firmly centre of excellence and innovation. on us as we prepared to deliver concurrent major projects that would both transform Throughout the year, we’ve taken substantial the physical spaces within the building, and steps via our Sustainability Steering Group significantly increase our program offer. and the ACMI Green Team to engage the organisation in a shared commitment to This report speaks for itself in terms of reducing our carbon footprint. the success of these projects. We’ve seen spectacular audience growth, major increases We’ve worked closely with both our external in schools attendance, and a significant consultants and Sustainability Victoria to jump in the number of people engaged in our measure our energy use, identify priority dynamic calendar of Public Programs. areas for efficiency, and in setting targets to measure our performance. We play an integral role to play in Melbourne’s reputation as a truly international arts city, Driven by our Environmental Sustainability and increasingly, ACMI is being recognised as Policy and Environmental Action Plan, we a hub for screen culture advocacy, engagement are now in a position to actively measure and creative practice. and track our performance and to meet, and where possible, exceed our targets. Our aim is The development and delivery of our new to be a lead agency amongst peers on carbon permanent free-entry exhibition, Screen footprint reduction. Worlds: The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture, and the creation of a new national I would like to acknowledge the tireless screen culture resource centre, the Australian commitment and support over many years of Mediatheque, has cemented our reputation our retiring Board Members, Annette Blonski, within industry as a major contributor. Peter Doughty, Natalie Miller OAM and Dan Pearce, whose term ended on June 30, 2010. In the reporting period, we welcomed Bill Shannon and Sue Rowley to the Board and we look forward to their positive contribution to ACMI’s ongoing future success. 4 ACMI Annual Report 2009/10 DIRECTOR’S REPORT For overseas visitors and educators, the Our international connections continue to bear extensive exploration of the Australian fruit too. We have collaborated with many contribution to moving image practice over its peer institutions and organisations across the history, and the impact of the moving image globe in 2009/10, most notably, the Museum in capturing and sharing uniquely Australian of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. This ongoing stories, is a major legacy. relationship saw us secure the blockbuster Tim Burton exhibition for Melbourne, which we The Australian Mediatheque too has opened in spectacular fashion in June. significantly expanded opportunities for broad general public engagement with a major We were honoured to welcome MoMA repository of digital and analogue resource Director, Glenn D Lowry to Melbourne for It is with immense pride that I reflect materials, while importantly protecting and a rare keynote speech on the future of on a watershed year for ACMI – one that preserving materials for future generations. museums in the 21st century. Tim Burton has produced significant milestones and himself took part in a sold out series of achievements for an institution that is still It is the result of a significant collaboration entertaining and insightful public programs. so young, yet clearly coming of age. with screen culture agencies and organisations around the country, in particular our lead Tim Burton: The Exhibition itself was a smash After 4 years of planning and preparation, partner, the National Film and Sound Archive, hit with audiences from day one, selling more we completed major redevelopment (NFSA). This shared commitment has provided tickets in its opening days than any previous works that have literally transformed our the Australian community and visitors to ACMI exhibition. It looks set to kick-start exhibition and production spaces and our Melbourne with a truly national screen culture another year of milestones at ACMI. already impressive program offer. It is a resource centre. significant reinvention of ACMI and lays At the close of our biggest year yet, there is the foundation for a bright future. In the past year we have also opened a second indeed much to be proud of. temporary exhibitions space, two new studio This culmination of our redevelopment production facilities, and we’ve undertaken Thanks to the energy, passion and strategy would simply not have been a significant refresh of our wayfinding and commitment of our staff, volunteers and possible without the support of the directional signage inside the building and out. management, combined with the support of Victorian Government and our many These have combined to enhance the visitor our Board, we’ve taken a giant step toward collaborators and partners. experience and substantially broaden our reaching our goal of being the world’s