BAF seeks artists for next mentoring program

REGRETTABLY, the importance of the performing and visual arts are undervalued. In the centuries ahead, when historians and anthropologists look to make sense of the 20th and 21st-centuries, they will turn to the books, plays, films, artworks, television programmes, and architecture, of the time. Collectively, it will tell them, precisely, who and what we were as a people.

The arts afford a fulfilling career. Being allowed to express oneself through creative endeavour is a luxury. While many are called, few are chosen; opportunities are diminishing; universal competition is increasing. There are fewer work opportunities and training grounds have diminished — even disappeared.

In the theatre, the demise of the repertory system (a permanent company of actors performing in a different play every 2-, 3- or four-weeks) gifted actors a rare opportunity: you were paid to learn your craft! The UK weekly repertory system (a different play every week) was considered the best training-ground available. One week an actor might be playing the juvenile lead, the following week a doddering 90-year-old complete with cornflour, powdered hair and a patchwork of painted-on wrinkles! Some performances were so outrageously funny — even awful, they have been written into theatrical folklore.

Success demands commitment and determination; however, it was not always such a thorny path to achieve the outcome; the impediments were not so clearly defined. The roadblocks have become daunting; so challenging are the obstacles to creative realisation they stymie the process. Now, more than ever, the young need experienced assistance to navigate the creative labyrinth, and a gift of funding to find their way to fulfilment. Applying for a government arts grant has become an artform. Dealing with the bureaucratic lunatics in-charge of the asylum is a frustrating impossibility. As a consequence of incumbency and the possession of a television remote-control, the cosmos has, by osmosis, imbued them with creative infallibility! We live in financially straitened times. Financial barriers have become impediments.

The Ballarat Arts Foundation(BAF) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Under the stewardship of Paula Nicholson it continues to raise money to provide seed-funding for those emerging creative practitioners who are looking to carve out a career. Their grants programme is competitive. Applications are assessed against a set of criteria and may progress to an interview with the selection panel. All BAF grants are funded through the generosity of our donors and benefactors.

BAF works to create and sustain a vibrant artistic community. The late Hollywood legend, Bette Davis, famously said: “showbusiness is not for sissies”. For every success story their can be ten-times as many tales of rejection. It is a ruthless business and those who seek to make it their life need support. BAF grants are vital to their success. Performance confidence is fragile. The mentoring programme was designed to encourage and further develop the endeavours of local artists. The opportunity of working and talking with an established professional can be the difference between success, or not. Structured mentoring partnerships allows the recipient to find new skills and increased conviction in their abilities; to dare to dream. Established performers who have been the recipient of someone’s generosity-of-spirit have an obligation to take-the-time to pass-the-parcel; to help the next generation achieve their goals.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Applications for the mentoring programme close on April 30. Details from the ballaratartsfoundation.org.au. Contact: [email protected].