Grants Already Awarded
2005-06
Shahin Shafaei was awarded a grant of $3500 as a contribution to his postgraduate course fees at the Victorian College of the Arts. Shahin, an Iranian actor, playwright and film-maker with an MA in English Literature from Teheran University, was an asylum-seeker who had spent two years in Curtin detention centre. After coming to Melbourne he was accepted as a student in the MA in Community Arts. In the last two years he has been working with some of Melbourne's African communities.
Westside Circus was awarded a grant of $5000 as a contribution to a confidence- and community-building project, set up with North Yarra Health in a housing commission estate in Fitzroy. Westside runs workshops for schools and businesses throughout Melbourne.
2006-07
The Australia Pro Arte chamber orchestra was awarded $10 000 to fund its launch concert for 2007. The APA, founded by Jeffrey Crellin and now under the artistic direction of William Hennessy, is an inspiring group of supremely talented musicians. Its aim is to provide opportunities for the best of our up-and-coming players, with the aim of making memorable music up close. Its concerts take place in the exciting BMW Edge space at Federation Square, Melbourne and are broadcast by ABC-FM. The orchestra also offers concerts in regional Victoria. For more details about the APA, go to www.proarte.com.au
2007-08
The fund is making another grant of $10 000 to the APA (now renamed the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra) to sponsor its first concert at the new recital centre on Southbank, Melbourne.
The fund has granted $9960 to the St Kilda Ecocentre to pay for the development of its website. The Ecocentre is a grassroots organisation that runs practical, carefully planned sustainability projects (energy-saving, water-saving and gardening) with local schools and community groups.
The Hamer/Martin Environment sub-fund has granted $6600 to the St Kilda Ecocentre for its new biodiversity and wildlife program in schools.
