Regional Victorian community halls in the spotlight

Mon 16 May 2011

The humble Victorian community hall will come under the spotlight later this year through a major new statewide arts program Home is Where the Hall is, launched in Dunkeld over the weekend.

Home is Where the Hall is a Regional Arts Victoria initiative which will celebrate the central role that community halls play in communities across the state. Community halls are the heart and hearth of small communities across Victoria where locals can meet and celebrate local and personal milestones.

This program will help communities look at their community halls in a different light, and celebrate the role they play in our cultural and social life. Whether a community hall is historic or contemporary, they all hold within their walls the stories, collective memories and lifeblood of their communities.

There are more than 700 community-managed halls in regional Victoria alone, with some dating back to the late 19th century. In November this year the Home is Where the Hall is program will see halls across the state throw open their doors and host activities selected and designed by the local community, including bake-offs, dance competitions, exhibitions, performances and film nights. The initiative is set to add to the exciting calendar of arts and cultural events already on offer in regional Victoria.

The arts and creative industries are among Victoria's great strengths, hugely enriching our identity and way of life. The Victorian Government wants all Victorians to have access to the arts, which is why they provided an additional $73.5 million to the arts in the 2011-12 Victorian Budget. The Budget's $4 million Regional Arts Transformation package delivered targeted funding to support arts projects in small town communities and encourage major arts companies to increase touring across regional Victoria.

Regional Victorians will also benefit from:

• a $24 million investment in the Victorian College of the Arts, including provision for a regional training program
• the $1 million Victorian Sculpture Initiative to support the placement of outstanding works of sculpture in public spaces such as civic squares and sculpture parks across Victoria
• the continuation of popular funding programs including the Local History Grants program.

Regional Arts Victoria (RAV) will work in partnership with artists and regional local governments and communities to deliver these initiatives, and to connect and transform communities through the arts.

Expressions of interest for communities keen to participate in Home is Where the Hall is can be downloaded from the RAV website