A signal of things to come for Melbourne’s young artists
In the tradition of the old signal box, Signal
creative arts centre is a beacon for Melbourne’s
creative youth (Image courtesy of the City of Melbourne).
Melbourne’s young art scene is set to benefit from the opening of
a new creative arts centre for young people.
The old signal box building on Flinders Street has been restored
and refurbished as the ‘Signal’ creative arts centre, delivered with
$113,000 in funding from the Australian Government’s Regional and
Local Community Infrastructure Program, a key part of the
Government’s Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan.
Signal caters for 13 to 20 year old creative artists and is the
‘older sibling’ of ArtPlay, an initiative opened in 2004 to cater
for creative arts activities for children aged two to 13 and
families.
Located at Melbourne’s Northbank, Signal is equipped with
workshop, performance and gallery spaces, a multimedia lab,
projective windows, and an 18-speaker sound wall.
“The City of Melbourne has created an innovative community arts
and cultural hub at Signal. The Signal program offers young people
in Melbourne opportunities to enter a world of creating alongside
professional artists and has programmed, challenging, creative-arts
activities for young people,†Mayor Doyle said.
Upcoming events include monthly workshops run by Express Media
and SYN FM, such as the Youth Journo workshop on May 5. The Youth
Journo workshops bring journalists working in the Australian media
to Signal, to talk to young people about breaking into journalism,
while the Express Media Workshops will focus on developing plays and
films written by young people.
Both Signal and ArtPlay provide many opportunities for the
employment of professional artists. Signal offers direct commissions
and a grants program to employ artists across a range of creative
disciplines that engage diverse groups within a broad public program
in the heart of the city.
Strengthened by partnerships with the University of Melbourne,
the Myer Foundation, Cybec Foundation and the Australia Council,
these two creative initiatives of the City of Melbourne, ArtPlay and
Signal, will become key centres in the heart of Melbourne.
Mayor Doyle said Signal was a major initiative of Council and he
was proud to deliver the world class facility to Melbourne’s youth.
The Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, said the
118-year-old heritage listed building had been out of action for
about 20 years, before fire destroyed it in 2002. Now it’s a
revamped space for youth to be artistically expressive.
“Since its decommissioning as a signal box, the Signal building
was damaged by fire several times. The restoration offers a number
of unique and dynamic spaces for social and cultural expression with
a design that includes sustainable energy features, such as double
glazing on windows and photovoltaic cells to offset the energy
requirements of the outdoor multimedia screens,†Mayor Doyle said.
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