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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-06-04 Daily Xml
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COME OUT FESTIVAL

Ms SIMMONS (Morialta) (14:57): My question is to the Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts. How successful was the 2009 Come Out Festival?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:58): In short, the Come Out Festival was incredibly successful. Come Out is the biennial Australian Festival for Young People and the main theme this year was Colliding Worlds, which provoked lots of youthful curiosity and enjoyment. This year's festival program of diverse companies, stories and art forms was curated by artistic director, Jason Cross, and has won much critical acclaim. The commissioned work, Children's Cheering Carpet—Saltbush, brought together—

Ms Fox interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: —I am informed by the member for Bright that it was excellent—the Italian company, Compagnia TPO, and Australian Aboriginal artists. This work was created especially for children aged four to eight and was performed on a touch-sensitive carpet that triggered images and sound, creating a virtual landscape for performers. Children readily participated in the performance and, as I understand it, adults were entranced, as was the member for Bright.

There were many other fantastic shows from around Australia and the world. The Come Out program presented 63 projects and was well received by schools. Sales progressed strongly from the time it was launched in late 2008. Events were clustered in three hubs: North Terrace, the West End and Tandanya. I am pleased to inform the house that Come Out 2009 included some fabulous regional programs.

The festival management team secured 18 new corporate sponsorship partnerships for 2009 and achieved a 12 per cent increase in total cash sponsorship in comparison with the previous Come Out Festival. As members would know, given the current economic circumstances, that is a pretty fantastic achievement.

The state government supports Come Out through Arts SA, the Department of Education and Children's Services and the SA Youth Arts Board. The BHP Billiton Youth Arts Fund was the major partner for Come Out 2009. Once again, I congratulate and thank BHP Billiton for its commitment to youth arts in this state.

Other major sponsors and supporters were: Beach Petroleum, Adelaide Airport, the Adelaide City Council, SA Water, TAFE SA, the Samstag Museum, The Advertiser, Channel 10, ABC Local Radio, Nova 91.9, Adelaide's Child, Lowdown Magazine, the Adelaide Festival Centre, Tandanya and Carclew Youth Arts. I thank all those sponsors. The Australian government also supports Come Out through the Australia Council for the Arts and Festival Australia. Come Out successfully bid for a substantial increase (almost 50 per cent) in federal government funding, including a 2009-11 grant through the Program Presenter fund of the Australia Council.

This year's festival opening entitled 'Tarnda ganya ngga' (the place of red kangaroo and rocks) was held in Victoria Square and proved very popular with schools. The event included a welcome to country by the Taikurtinna Dance group, community sculpture making and performances by a number of youth arts companies. It attracted over 2,000 school children, including a group from the School of the Air.

Early indications are that Come Out has achieved 91 per cent of its total box office income target and has surpassed its box office target for the schools-in-theatre component of its budget by 8 per cent. The festival is recognised nationally and internationally as unique because of the level of artistic engagement that it has with its core audience of young people.

The level of planning and consultation with young people in the lead-up to Come Out, and then after the event through the provision of teachers' notes and education packs, makes the level of engagement with young people deep and enduring. The Come Out festival is the standard-bearer for best practice in arts for young people, and the government is very proud to support it. I once again congratulate Jane Cooper, the chair of the Come Out Festival, and Jason Cross, the artistic director, and all of the team at Come Out, for a fantastic festival.

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