Arts Centre Melbourne is delighted to open expressions of interest for the Frank Van Straten Fellowship – a unique opportunity to research and develop a project in exploration of the iconic Australian Performing Arts Collection.
The Frank Van Straten Fellowship aims to commission stories from the Australian Performing Arts Collection. It offers special access to collections for your project, along with a stipend of $15,000 and commences in July each year.
“The Australian Performing Arts Collection is wonderful primary source for all sorts of projects from performers and academics to family historians and Youtubers. The purpose of the Frank Van Straten Fellowship is to commission creative projects that tell stories from our collection,” said Claudia Funder, Australian Performing Arts Collection, Research Coordinator.
A key objective of the Frank Van Straten Fellowship is to enhance the analysis, discoverability, and interpretation of the Australian Performing Arts Collection through high quality research and/or creative works that will resonate with diverse audiences.
The Fellow will be given access to the Australian Performing Arts Collection as well as a stipend of $15,000 to undertake research aligned to key areas including: circus, dance, music, opera and theatre (which includes comedy, vaudeville and magic).
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. Arts Centre Melbourne has been the proud custodian of the Collection since its creation in the early 1980s.
Over the last four years the Frank Van Straten Fellowship has produced outstanding works highlighting stories from the diverse and rich history of performing arts in Australia.
Past recipients include Australian Writers Guild Award Nominee Dr Kate Rice with docu-drama series Performing the Past, Cathy Pryor with a digital exploration into the history of three iconic female magicians in Rare flowers and goldenbutterflies and Angela Bailey with The GLAD Project, an exploration into the queer and often secreted lives of Australian performing artists.
The latest recipient of the Fellowship was announced in October 2023, awarded to Dr Amaara Raheem who will put a lens on contemporary dance, exploring the history of iconic Melbourne company Chunky Move with her research to be delivered in mid-2024.
Applications for the 2024 Fellowship are now open. Please download the Guidelines and follow the directions for submitting your proposal. Applications close on Friday 15 March 2024. The successful applicant will be announced in May 2024.
Image: Curator Bronwyn Cosgrove – courtesy of the Australian Performing Arts Collection