Arts Centre Melbourne Offers Inaugural Fellowship For Nation's Leading Performing Arts Collection

For the first time, Arts Centre Melbourne will offer a research Fellowship open to anyone with an interest or expertise in any performing arts discipline, or form of expression. The Frank Van Straten Fellowship will provide an opportunity for the successful Fellow to document, analyze and interpret any aspect of the 690,000 plus items in the national performing arts collection.

Digital media artists, visual artists, conservators, musicians, composers, writers, scholars and creators who have an academic interest in any area of performance are invited to apply for this fantastic opportunity to produce quality research.

The Fellowship is made possible through the generous contribution of the Frank Van Straten AM and Adrian Turley Foundation. Frank played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Australian Performing Arts Collection in the late 1970s and was the founding director and first archivist of what was then the Performing Arts Museum.

" We anticipate that the Fellowship will encourage innovative exploration and utilisation of the astounding range of material held in the Australian Performing Arts Collection,'' says Frank Van Straten.

"We hope that it will promote discussion and further study, and that it will help confirm and enhance the Collection's status nationally and internationally as this country's major performing arts resource."

Janine Barrand, Director of APAC said, "We are thrilled to offer this opportunity for committed Fellows. As custodians of this stunning and dynamic collection a greater focus and energy on researching APAC is timely.

"As part of the proposed redevelopment of the Melbourne Arts Precinct over the coming decade, a permanent public home for APAC is proposed that will enable visitors to marvel and share in this extraordinary collection that belongs to all Australians.

"The Fellowship will contribute to preparing for this, connecting the collection with the public through insightful research with public-facing outcomes.

Notes to editor:

Arts Centre Melbourne is the custodian of the Australian Performing Arts Collection that includes over 690,000 plus items across circus, dance, music, opera and theatre heritage of Australia's post-colonial history.

As part of a major redevelopment of Arts Centre Melbourne - a centerpiece of the Victorian Government's vision to transform the Melbourne Arts Precinct, a permanent free gallery showcasing the Australian Performing Arts Collection will feature in a new Arts Centre Melbourne campus at 1 City Road, where visitors can explore this extraordinary collection that belongs to all Australians.

For more details and to apply click here. Applications close on 25 October. The Fellowship commences in March 2020.