Practice 101: Festival Commissioning

Join Arts Northern Rivers for a conversation with Arts Festivals leaders; Hannah Fox (RISING) & Rosie Dennis (BLEACH*, Big City Lights).

Designed for artists and arts workers eager to present their work in festivals, this session offers a rare and in-depth discussion of contemporary arts programming across metropolitan and regional festival contexts.

Art festivals stand as vibrant celebrations, bringing together diverse cultures and creative expressions of place. From visual art, installations, and performances to live music, participatory/community-engaged projects and food events, festivals are a unique space for cultural production. This conversation is a professional development opportunity to gain valuable insights and strengthen your creative pitch for working in festivals.

Guest Speakers:

Hannah Fox

Hannah is an artist, curator and festival director with a focus on sound art, large-scale public art, contemporary music and live art. Prior to her role as RISING Co-Artistic Director, Hannah worked as Artistic Associate at Melbourne Festival; and as the Associate Creative Director of Dark Mofo.

Her broad spectrum of work has included performance interventions for the Tate Modern, a Janes Addiction stage show, and choreographing cranes and forklifts for a large-scale car stunt show. She’s a founding member of the creative partnership Supple Fox, which currently collaborates with artist Byron J Scullin on work including the large-scale, outdoor sonic artwork Siren Song, which continues to be remounted in cities around the world.

Rosie Dennis

For more than 15-years’ Rosie Dennis has curated and delivered large-scale place-based experiences. She is a well-respected arts leader whose work has contributed to a national conversation about contemporary place-based practice and the role arts and culture plays in creating community and shaping liveable cities.

She is the current Executive Director of Bleach and Big City Lights Festivals on the Gold Coast. Prior to moving to the Gold Coast, Rosie was the Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Projects and the inaugural Live Art Curator at Campbelltown Arts Centre. As an independent artist Rosie’s work has been presented at over 25 festivals across Central Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Most recently Rosie was the co-Artistic Director of Performance Space’s LiveWorks Festival (2023) and the inaugural Creative Director for Hobart Current (2021).

Venue
This event is hosted in The Great Hall at M|Arts Precinct, Murwillumbah. You can access the venue on Wollumbin St via the pathway between M|Arts and Kat Harvey Cheese. Free parking is available at Knox Park (across the road).

Accessibility
The Great Hall is wheelchair accessible and accessible bathrooms are available. Auslan interpreters are available for Deaf and/or hard of hearing guests. If you plan on attending and you need an Auslan interpreter or other support, please let us know as soon as possible.

Learn more about the professional development series delivered across the region and online in 2024.

Free event – limited tickets.

If you are unable to attend, please ensure you release your ticket so another local artist or arts worker can benefit from the session. If booked out, please join the waitlist and you will be notified if a place becomes available.

PRACTICE 101 has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.