ANNUAL REPORT 2017 1 BAC Inc. Board Staff Julia Mulligan Daniel Ballantyne Chair Chief Executive Officer Phil Nizette Monika McInerney Deputy Chair Creative Program Director Tom Thornton Philip Piggin Treasurer Creative Program Officer Bob Clark Ann McMahon Secretary Creative Program Officer Lyndon Anderson Jack Lloyd University of Canberra Business & Operations Director Member Delegate Skye Rutherford Damien Haas Marketing Manager Belconnen Community Council Pat Miller Member Delegate Finance Officer Govert Mellink Dianne Libke Lora Shaw Front of House Coordinator Susan Conroy Damien Hicks Technician Vicki Thompson Our Purpose To fuel a love of and engagement with the arts. Our Vision To be an outstanding centre of arts and cultural activity in the ACT and beyond. Background artwork by: Dianne Firth. The Board and Staff of Belconnen Arts Centre wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we meet and work, the Ngunnawal people. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region. Contents Chair's Report 4 Chief Executive Officer's Report 6 Creative Program 8 Treasurer's Report 12 Financial Report 2017 13 Our Thanks 14 Chair's Report 2017 has been a watershed year for Belconnen Arts Centre Inc (BAC) with the ACT Government advancing completion of the original vision for an outstanding centre of arts and cultural activity on the shores of Lake Ginninderra. This is the most significant strategic development since the arts centre came to life in 2009. BAC’s facilities and business operations will effectively double and planning is well underway. I thank ACT Minister for the Arts Gordon Ramsay, many on all sides of government, artsACT and Procurement and Capital Works officers and members of the community for their support. Attention to site functionality, program capability, business opportunities and the challenges of transition are key elements for focus in the year ahead. Whilst preparing for this expansion we have continued strengthening our governance, furthering our commitment to the Belconnen community and improving stakeholder relationships and business capabilities. BAC is in the third year of its five-year strategic plan and its creative program continues to produce remarkable creative, educational, social and health outcomes as it engages and transforms many lives. BAC has hosted events of national significance notably the National Ausglass conference (r)evolve and the Doug Moran Prize for Portraiture. Under Creative Program Director Monika McInerney’s leadership, the arts centre’s galleries were full throughout the year, exhibition openings continued as major creative and community events and art sales exceeded expectation. More workshops were presented than ever, and classes oversubscribed. We employed more artists across the creative program than in any previous year. BAC is a leader in community arts and cultural development practice 4 Above: Tribute 2017 exhibition by Kemarre Arts Indigenous Women's Group. focussing on access and inclusion. Program highlights include IGNITE: Alternative Arts Academy and Dance for Wellbeing. Under Ann McMahon’s thoughtful guidance, IGNITE is increasingly being recognised for its elements to inspire and motivate participants with all levels of disability. Philip Piggin’s work is extraordinary in taking Dance for Wellbeing from strength to strength as an offbeat and vivacious program changing lives for those with long term health conditions. These and other programs are leading to more creative collaborations, new strategic partnerships and expansion of offsite activities. BAC’s facilities house resident companies including Musica Viva, The Young Music Society and the Griffyn Ensemble and the dance studio is a base for small business arts organisations growing dance and movement for wellbeing practice. Business and Operations Director Jack Lloyd and Front of House Coordinator Di Libke have worked tirelessly ensuring sustained hire of our quality venues. I acknowledge the depth of experience and professional expertise provided by our Board in their delivery of outstanding governance during this exciting time of transition. It has been a pleasure to welcome Treasurer Tom Thornton onto the Board and I thank him for his refinements to our financial reporting systems. I am sad to see Lora Shaw, Vicki Thompson, Bob Clark, and Lyndon Anderson stepping down. I thank them and all Board members for their fine governance, professionalism, valued work for BAC and their support for me personally. Your efforts are especially appreciated considering the additional pressures with BAC’s exciting transition whilst balancing competing family and work demands. On behalf of the Board I particularly thank BAC’s management team led by our energetic CEO Daniel Ballantyne, who advocates our strengths across the ACT, and with Monika and Jack, attends to BAC’s creativity and operational imperatives to ensure BAC delivers community expectations in an exceptional way. Thanks also to all the staff, tutors, casuals and contractors, our wonderful volunteers plus BAC’s growing network of partners, supporters, sponsors and public funding bodies, each playing a vital and integral part in ensuring the delivery of such inspiring arts and cultural activity. Julia Mulligan Chair, Belconnen Arts Centre Incorporated 5 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 2017 opened with optimism, witnessed great creative achievement and then closed with an exciting prospect. Long anticipated projects came to life, leaving beauty and new insights on how to fuel a love and engagement with the arts. 2017 also proved that strategic focus and sticking to a plan works. Monika McInerney leads BAC’s outstanding creative program team of Ann McMahon and Philip Piggin who, with their burgeoning community of artists, teachers, producers and energetic volunteers, delivered their program onsite and throughout the Canberra region that was designed, evolves from and is delivered through community arts and cultural development practice. Ann McMahon’s stewardship of IGNITE Creatives proved how a well- conceived and resourced project becomes truly transformative. Seven artists living with disability met with a professional collaborator each week for six months to develop their creative practice and prepare for entry into mainstream arts. All IGNITE Creatives artists experienced major advances and since have attracted awards, funding or have travelled nationally and internationally. A conspicuous highlight was Katie Senior and Liz Lea receiving the Canberra Critics Circle 2017 Dance Award for That Extra ‘Some. BAC’s celebrated Dance for Wellbeing grew exponentially thanks to new ACT Health funding and Philip Piggin’s astute application of principles developed through his stewardship of Dance for People with Parkinson's. Philip’s team of dance tutors led classes across the ACT taking participants beyond the therapeutic and social to an engagement where all become creative beings. Philip’s contribution was recognised with a 2017 Australian Dance Awards nomination for Services to Dance. 6 Top: Liz Lea and Katie Senior perform That Extra 'Some. Image: Lorna Sim. While the IGNITE: Alternative Arts Academy and Dance for Wellbeing are exemplars of a wider integrated approach, the creative program team’s constant attention to arts practice development, collaboration and community engagement also yielded the art sale, gallery hire and workshop income contribution to 2017’s positive financial result. Independent artists and cultural entrepreneurs continued to be crucial and thanks go out to the many dance studio/creative workshop based small businesses and event makers who choose BAC’s facilities. Jack Lloyd leads BAC’s business and operations team who exercise BAC’s main strengths; our people, our facility and our brand. 2017’s renewed marketing effort under Rachel Hollier, and then Skye Rutherford, combined with Diane Libke’s outstanding customer focus drove the trading income turnaround detailed in BAC Treasurer Tom Thornton’s report on page 13. Many others also contributed; Pat Miller in finance, technician Damien Hicks, the always buoyant front of house casuals and BAC’s amazing and remarkably consistent volunteers whose skill and teamwork grows year on year. Of all BAC’s wonderful volunteers it is our talented board chaired by Julia Mulligan who lead us and are defining how the ACT Government’s $15 million funding for BAC’s Stage 2 development will transform our site into a true multi-arts facility. Construction will commence in the second half of 2018. As we prepare to be transformed, the people of Belco and beyond are expectant and ready! Daniel Ballantyne Chief Executive Officer, Belconnen Arts Centre Incorporated Above: Offbeat – Dance for People with Parkinson's class. Image: Lorna Sim. 7 Creative Program Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) Community arts and cultural development practice is at the heart of delivering all of BAC’s programs, events and creative engagements. 2017 witnessed the realisation of taLK bLAK : Take II delivered in partnership with the Ted Noffs Foundation – Street University with funding provided by the Eldon & Anne Foote Foundation and the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund. Participants enjoyed real life music industry experience through a suite of professionally led development engagements, resulting in the production and distribution of their compilation CD taLK blAK Radio. BAC’s program, IGNITE: Alternative