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ANNUAL REPORT
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CONTENTS 001 - WHO WE ARE PG 4
002 - CHAIRS REPORT PG 6
003 - DIRECTORS REPORT PG 8
004 - WORKSHOPS PG 10
005 - JUNIOR ENSEMBLE PG 14
006 - MEMBERS SHOW PG 16
007 - EMERGING ARTISTS PG 18
008 - OUTREACH PG 22
009 - ROOM 13 PG 28
010 - ACCESSIBILITY PG 32
011 - STATISTICS PG 36
012 - AUDITORS STATEMENT AND DIRECTORS DECLARATION PG 38
013 - FINANCIALS PG 42
014 - THE TEAM PG 48
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3 The Great Freckle Fiasco // Image by Hannah Grant
For young people, by young people
WHO WE ARE
All young people have something to say. And at Shopfront, we do more than just listen – we make sure their voices are heard. Shopfront is a space where young people come together to express themselves. To learn, share and bring their imaginations to life. A space for celebrating the amazing ideas and creativity generated by young people and emerging artists.
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We believe all young people have a right to expression – no matter their background or ability. That finding their voice and ensuring it is heard is crucial to them, as it is to Australia’s cultural landscape. This belief is intrinsic to the Shopfront process of creation. As a youth-led co-operative, young people have a say in everything we do. Through Shopfront they gain invaluable skills in artistic leadership and community building, shaping and becoming the next generation of creative content makers and community leaders. We might be in our 40th year, but we’re young at heart (just like our members). We’re known for our daring, adventurous and socially relevant work with young people across Australia and Internationally, and are still the only dedicated youth-led arts organisation in the Southern Sydney and Illawarra region. But it doesn’t stop there. We’ve got big plans for the future, and we hope you’ll join us in our mission to empower the young artists and social change makers of tomorrow. Starting today. Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge the Bediagal and Kameygal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional custodians of the land on which Shopfront is built. We would also like to pay respect to the elders past and present.
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5 Funfair // Image by Hannah Grant
At Shopfront in 2015, fresh beginnings abounded on the precipice of change. We welcomed our new Executive Director, Daniel Potter aka ‘Potts’ or ‘Potter’, and a perfect fit quickly unfolded.
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CHAIRS REPORT
Daniel has forged his path as a leader of our cooperative, and in the broader youth arts sector—building on the rich legacy that preceded him. We commenced building works on re-developing our premises, secured multi-year funding in a significantly changed funding environment, and changed our Cooperative Rules and our name following extensive consultation with our members. Amid all of this change, we were guided by our constant: the young and emerging artists who told their stories and created outstanding art— always questioning, ever inspiring—in new and wonderful ways, facilitated by our phenomenal artistic leadership team.
At our very own 88 Carlton Parade, Carlton, we pondered life, death and the choices we make in between on the shores of an incredible river bank in As I Lay Dreaming. We stepped back in Shopfront’s history and presented Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet under the guiding hand of our founder, Errol Bray, among others. And animation, live performance and puppetry culminated in Junior Ensemble’s Chasing your Shadow. We continued to expand our Outreach and Accessibility programs in our broader community. Leveraging our previous success with our Bodylines program, we created new opportunities for our participants with our Bodylines Ensemble, re-mounting Out of Line with the Australian Theatre for Young People. Young people at Lomandra School shared real memories with colourful, creative masks in Lomandra Storytime.
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Dirtyfeet Out of the Studio // Image by Hayley Rose Photography
We thank our artistic partners and collaborators who made it all possible, and look forward to working with you well into our future.
We also thank our key funding partners— Australia Council for the Arts, ArtsNSW, NSW Government Department of Family and Community Services, local government, and those generous philanthropic organisations and individuals who support our cause. In particular, we are grateful for the multi-year funding afforded to us by ArtsNSW from 2016 and the Australia Council for the Arts from 2017. We appreciate their investment in us, which will allow us to implement new processes to make the organisation increasingly financially stable and independent in coming years, with a focus on some more commercially focused, sustainable business practices. As always, we welcome new members who joined us over the year, including Viv Rosman who became a Director on our Board. We thank Gordon Makryllos for his service on the Board, and wish him well in his future endeavours. On the eve of our 40th birthday, we get set to honour our history, and celebrate the opportunities that lie ahead staying true to our vision to hone the skills of the artists of tomorrow—the young makers, dreamers and creative risk takers of our world. I remain honoured to share in Shopfront’s history, excited to help shape the future ahead of us and, above all else, inspired by you all.
Elizabeth Hristoforidis Chair of the Board
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“The process of discovery involves uncovering what is hidden and reconsidering what is known”
Yet I can’t help but feel like in my first year at Shopfront, this is the provocation that sums it all up. Who are we? Why do we do what we do? How do we do it? Why are we different? Why are we here? Who are we doing it for? This was very much a year of transition and focus. We have reconsidered everything we thought was known, and in doing so have continued the cycle of reinvention that has made Shopfront a 40 year success story. As a staff team we have spent countless hours writing funding applications, editing strategic plans, responding to the changing funding environment, shuffling papers and all that necessary stuff... but we have spent many more hours talking to our young creators, hearing about what is important to them, what they want to change about their world, what they want to create, and questions about things like what even is “Art” in 2015? These conversations have forged a new direction for Shopfront, building on the great work of Caitlin, Howard, Amanda and the many many staff and young people who have gone before. It has truly been a very exciting first year for me, watching and being involved in the incredible new things that happen here every day. I have loved being part of the process of creation; watching the Bodylines Ensemble tell us about real issues in their beautiful work Out of Line at ATYP, seeing the Junior Ensemble Chasing their 8
Shadows, getting my fortune told at Funfair, being absorbed in the digital works of Studio
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Anyone who completed their HSC in 2015 might find this quote all too familiar – it was the question from last years HSC English exam. Yuck.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT
and seeing Kogarah High school students claim their voice when it comes to school issues, amongst hundreds of other exciting and beautiful moments.
Even now, after 12 months I continue to catch myself; how is it that a company with such a rich history and legacy can still hold the excitement of a disruptive startup? And the answer to that (I believe) is in the people. The young creators that make up our community first and foremost, but behind them are our board of directors who continue their dedicated and tireless work, our staff and artists who are wholly committed to supporting the vision of our young people, and of course those in the wider community who believe in and support the work that Shopfront does both financially and through volunteering their time. It is important also to recognise the continued belief in our work that is displayed by our major funding bodies the Australia Council for the Arts and the NSW Government through ArtsNSW and the Department of Familiy and Community Services. Thanks to all of these people who make up our community, Shopfront has a fresh and exciting future to look forward to – a future of relentless discovery and reinvention. One which will continue to empower our young creators to tell their stories and talk about the issues that matter to them.
Let’s keep discovering, questioning and creating.
Daniel Potter Executive Director / CEO
9 Disgust // Image by Hannah Grant
SHOPFRONT
WORK SHOPS
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Workshops at Shopfront are an exciting mix of creative play, technique, and collaboration. Our youth-led process empowers young people as creators - their stories on stage, their voices out loud. The programs are heavily subsidised to ensure that young people are able to attend even when finances might be a barrier to participation. Across 2015 we offered a total of 20 workshops for young people aged 8-19 in our building. Through these workshops, young people developed performance, singing and voice, film-making, and design skills, and boosted their confidence. The program in 2015 was designed to allow for the creative freedom of the young participants, while also equipping them with a strong set of skills to propel their creative journeys forward. Each term of workshops had a specific skills set as the focus, with artist facilitators weaving those skills into the workshops alongside the interests of the participants.
“It was very fun and I made lots of friends� 10
PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
The Great Freckle Fiasco // Image by Hannah Grant
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SHOPFRONT
HIGHLIGHTS:
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WORK SHOPS
WORKSHOPS // NOBODY OWNS THE MOON Alice Williams led two successful holiday workshops inspired by Australian children’s book Nobody Owns the Moon by Tohby Riddle. These workshops were a mixture of theatremaking, design and music with presentations in our theatre space for friends and family.
“WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW MUCH THE KIDS ENJOYED PERFORMING AND HOW CONFIDENTLY THEY DELIVERED THE PERFORMANCE.” PARENT FEEDBACK
WORKSHOPS // STUDIO FILM-MAKING With David Molloy now at the helm, Shopfront’s Studio film-making workshops flourished in 2015. Older participants were challenged to adopt professional film-set practices and techniques, and the addition of four dedicated editing computers and software took the works created to another level. “THE WAY THAT SOME GROUPS MADE FILMS REALLY QUICKLY, ON A WEEK BY WEEK BASIS, AND OTHERS EXPERIMENTED WITH HORROR AND VARIOUS HORROR TECHNIQUES SUCH AS USING MAKE UP AND LIGHTING AND WHAT NOT, AND HOW THE OTHER GROUP PLAYED A LOT WITH COSTUMING. I LIKE THE EXPERIMENTATION.” PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
WORKSHOPS // ACTORS TOOLBOX Across Terms 1 and 2, budding artists aged 12-15 honed their skills in our Actors Toolbox series. Through exploration of voice work, script, scene and character work, young artists were given a strong set of skills to put in their toolbox for future endeavours including putting them to use in the Junior Ensemble production.
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“CONGRATULATIONS – A FANTASTIC PRODUCTION. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THE CHILDREN OUT OF THEMSELVES, GIVING THEM CONFIDENCE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES SO CLEARLY.” PARENT FEEDBACK (C. COMAN)
WORKSHOPS // SHOPFRONT OUTDOORS Shopfront took our processes outdoors and to the wider community again this year, featuring in both CreARTivity and Park Larks. Engaging young people through simple creative tasks linked to place, memory, character creation, and of course fun, these events are an opportunity to interact with the local community and spread the word about Shopfront. CreARTivity was also an opportunity for Howard Matthew to share some of the Room 13 processes from Athelstane Primary School with their local community. “AN AWESOME SHOW. ONE OF THE BEST I’VE SEEN HERE. THE KIDS ACHIEVED SO MUCH IN A SHORT TIME. AND I COULD SEE A DIFFERENT SIDE TO A FEW I KNEW. CONFIDENT. THANK YOU FOR GIVING THEM THIS WONDERFUL OUTLET.” PARENT FEEDBACK (C. FITZGERALD)
WORKSHOPS // FUNFAIR Our End of Term showcase in 2015 was bigger than ever before. With a full day of drop-in workshops and activities, the building was alive with young people exploring their creative sides in things such as green screen filmmaking, circus skills, hip hop dance, singing, and recycled material craft. Heading into the theatre for the performances via a red carpet and thunderous applause, young people really were the stars in one of the most vibrant and connected end of year showcases to date.
ARTIST FACILITATORS: TERMLY WORKSHOPS: Alison Bennett, Hannah Grant, Jane Grimley, Nataliya Karina David Molloy, Kevin Ng, Lauren Scott-Young, Hannah Strout, Barton Williams, with James Harding, Solomon Thomas, and Steve Wilson-Alexander HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS: Alice Williams, Jane Grimley, Tom Hogan, Lucy Watson, with Carla Guedes of Nura Gili UNSW CREARTIVITY: Tom Christophersen, Howard Matthew, Hannah Strout PARK LARKS: Tom Christophersen, Maria White FUNFAIR: Michaela Burtenshaw, Tom Christophersen, Hannah Grant, Jane Grimley, David Molloy, Kevin Ng, Margot Politis, Johnny Quach, Lauren Scott-Young, Lucy Watson JUNIOR ENSEMBLE: Natalie Rose, Chris Dunstan, Valerie Berry, James Brown, Gigi Gregory VOLUNTEERS: Lauren Scott-Young, Cecilia Regan, Sasha Davidson-Lynch, Nicola Gao, Michaela Burtenshaw
“I THOUGHT THE CONCERT WAS FABULOUS. REALLY EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS. THE PERFORMANCES HAD DEPTH. THE KIDS SHOULD BE REALLY PROUD. IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU GIVE THEM FLEX TO BE THEMSELVES AND THINK 13 FOR THEMSELVES.” – PARENT FEEDBACK
JUNIOR ENSEMBLE CHASING YOUR SHADOW
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DEVELOPMENT: 25 JULY – 21 NOVEMBER SEASON: 26-29 NOVEMBER
Returning to lead the Junior Ensemble project for a third year, Natalie Rose and Chris Dunstan were also joined by Valerie Berry to deliver this year’s production. Considering the role of the imagination in dealing with obstacles and with strong links to displacement and refugee themes, it was a thought-provoking production that featured puppetry, digital animation, and live performance. The school show was particularly successful, with St Joseph’s Rockdale Years 5 & 6 attending the performance and making their very own shadow puppets. The team have taken the production further and it will be remounted in 2016 as part of the Way Out West Children’s Festival.
The production also gave us insight into the interests and ideas of a group of young people with varied ages, including the desire of the older age group (12-16) to create their own work without the younger participants. This will be reflected in 2016 programming. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Natalie Rose, Chris Dunstan, Valerie Berry PRODUCTION MANAGER: Gigi Gregory PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS: Australia Council for the Arts, ArtsNSW, Hurstville City Council, Hurstville and South Hurstville RSL clubs as well as Earlwood Bardwell Park RSL Club through the Clubgrants program. 14
PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
“Great work, team! Fantastic puppetry and themes for all generations! Go Shopfront!” PARENT FEEDBACK
15 Chasing Your Shadow (Process Image) // Image by Valerie Berry
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MEMBERS SHOW ROMEO & JULIET
SEASON: WEEKENDS, 17 JULY – 1 AUGUST
In the lead up to our 40th Birthday, Shopfront welcomed founding Director Errol Bray and 1980s member Kirsty Jordan back into the building to put on a classic – Romeo and Juliet. With a large cast and two sets of Romeo and Juliet pairs playing on alternative nights, the production featured live and pre-produced music performed and created by the young people. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Errol Bray, Kirsty Jordan, Solomon Thomas
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17 R&J // Image by Diane Sylvester
EMERGING ARTISTS CIVIC LIFE DEVELOPMENT: 25 JULY – 21 NOVEMBER SEASON: 12-14 FEBRUARY The Civic Life Artist-in-Residence program offered two early career artists, time, space, and mentorship to create new work, harness a working process, and the opportunity to get immersed in an innovative arts community. After a 6-month development process (August 2015 – January 2016), Shopfront held a season for the two new works created in early February 2016. PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS: The Australia Council for the Arts, Arts NSW FACILITATORS CIVIC LIFE // BETTER VERSIONS OF OURSELVES
Better Version of Ourselves was a new play script written by Anne Lau, and presented in a rehearsed reading for the Civic Life season. This play enquires about what it means to truly find ourselves. Is it better to face painful realities or convince ourselves of more favourable ones? Are our identities determined by the perceptions of others or do we find it when no one is watching?
SHOPFRONT
CIVIC LIFE // AS I LAY DREAMING
DEVELOPMENTS
PLAY & THE SCOUT PLAY
Rose Maher directed a reimagining of As I Lay Dreaming, a play written by Cath McKinnon. This play is about place, time, memory and the fragility of our existence. With an ensemble of 11 emerging artists, Rose and the team created an epic yet fragile soundscape and original music performed by the cast. The piece spoke about place, about the stories that the river keeps, the memories and dreams it holds of the people that frequent there.
Across 2015, Shopfront played host to a number of creative developments and small productions from both emerging and experienced artists. These included: post, Company of Rogues, Woodcourt Art Theatre, and the development of new play Monument by David Molloy. We were able to support these artists to present their work in our theatre space and provide other non-financial resources.
ARTIST FACILITATORS: Rose Maher with Alexandra Francis, Brett Johnson, Claire Stjepanovic, Felicity Tchorlian, Hannah Goodwin, James Harding, Lauren Scott-Young, Lucy Heffernan, Solomon Thomas, Steve Wilson-Alexander, Kirby Medway, Charlie Davis, Christie Woodhouse and Cath McKinnon.
DEVELOPMENTS // FACE SHOW
Two brand new responsive and durational works by the Monday Night Cards Collective. Bunker Play saw four young artists spend a full 24 hours inside a square on the floor of Shopfront’s theatre, and attempt to write a brand new play to be performed at the end of the time. Live streamed and open to the public, the work challenged the artists to go beyond their creative limits. Another durational work, Scout Play saw the same artists disperse themselves to the four corners of the outskirts of Sydney, collecting rewards and stories as they went while being tracked via live GPS, and finally ending in the Shopfront building with an on-the-spot performance.
MENTORS: Anthea Williams and Clare Grant
A cast of emerging artists spent six months developing a brand new work – Face Show. This intimate and interactive work was presented in late December, officially closing the Shopfront season for the year and drawing in new audiences from across Sydney. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Solomon Thomas, Doug Niebling, Lauren Scott-Young, Hannah Goodwin, Carly Young, Claire Stjepanovic, Steve Wilson-Alexander
ARTIST FACILITATORS: Matt Abotomey, Lily Calderbank, Doug Niebling, Solomon Thomas
ARTIST FACILITATORS: Anne Lau with Christie Wykes, Dominique de Marco, Oliver Trauth-Goik, Pippa Ellams, Kyle Charles Gannon MENTOR: Hillary Bell
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DEVELOPMENTS // BUNKER
19 Better Versions of Ourselves // Image by Hannah Grant
DIRTYFEET
SHOPFRONT
Shopfront’s partnership with Dirtyfeet continued throughout 2015, working to support early career movement artists through residency with Dirtyfeet in the Shopfront space. DIRTYFEET // CHOREOGRAPHIC LAB MAY, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2015 (6 WEEKS TOTAL)
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The Choreographic Lab provides a supportive environment where early career professionals can come together to explore their creative practice. The Lab builds relationships between artists, facilitates the development of methodology and skills, and can be the first steps towards the creation of new work. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Rhiannon Newtown, Alysha Firbank and Ivey Wawn MENTORS: Martin del Amo, Brooke Stamp and Angela Goh PROGRAM MANAGER: Anthea Doropoulos DIRTYFEET // OUT OF THE STUDIO DATES: 15 JUNE – 4 JULY 2015 Out of the Studio provides an opportunity for choreographers to further develop their ideas explored during the Choreographic Lab and a platform to present a first draft work to audiences in a theatre context. ARTIST FACILITATORS // CHOREOGRAPHERS: Rhiannon Newtown and Rosslyn Wythes ARTIST FACILITATORS // DANCERS: Ashlee Barton, Ivey Wawn, Emma Harrison, Courtney Scheu, Annabel Sais, Kate MacDonald, Natalie Pelarek and Julian Relong Wong MENTORS: Carlee Mellow and Lizzie Thompson
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Dirtyfeet Choreographic Lab // Image by Hayley Rose Photography
PRODUCTION TEAM: Anthea Doropoulos, Sarah Fiddaman, Melinda Tyquin, Kevin Ng, Hayley Rose Photography 21 and Hospital Hill
Lomandra Storytime // Image by Hannah Grant
“It’s rare to find the arts being used for selfexpression and social cohesion in such a simple community-based setting. It is a model with a proven track record, which could be easily replicated around Australia. Sydney has a real gem in its own backyard” HOWARD SHEPARDSON, LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE. OUTREACH // CREATIVE MEMORIES DEVELOPMENT: FEBRUARY – MARCH 2015 PRESENTATION: 18TH MARCH AN IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE JOURNEY INTO THE POWER OF MEMORY...
OUTREACH
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In 2015, Shopfront Outreach worked with around 700 young people with our education, health and community partners. Supported by the NSW Government through the Department of Families and Communities, Shopfront Outreach creates youth arts projects in response to individual, group, community and local issues and needs. Shopfront Outreach doesn’t have a ‘one-size fits all approach’, but rather crafts the artistic form of each project around the content created by and with the young people we work with. Our 22
methodologies are youth-led and we view the young people we work with as developing artists and socially-engaged artists in their own right.
In 2015, we held a full Outreach Season featuring works at long-term partners Menai High School, Kogarah High School and Lomandra School drawing new audiences from across Sydney to experience the world through the eyes of Shopfront Outreach young people.
An intergenerational film project, Creative Memories saw young people from St Ursula’s College, Kingsgrove working with seniors from the Rockdale Area to produce a 30-minute film exploring memory and bringing to life seniors’ stories of life in Rockdale across their lifetimes. Year eight students at St Ursula’s took on the roles of animators, interviewers, visual artists and film-makers to create the film which featured original music by Shopfront young person Hanning Zhang. The film was screened at a large intergenerational event at Shopfront for NSW Seniors’ Week in partnership with Rockdale Council. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Kate Blackmore, Hannah Grant, Steve WilsonAlexander, Claire Stjepanovic DELIVERY PARTNERS: Rockdale Council, St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove
OUTREACH// LOMANDRA STORYTIME APRIL – OCTOBER 2015 PRESENTATION: 30TH OCTOBER EVERY PLACE HOLDS A THOUSAND STORIES... Shopfront have a long history of working with Lomandra School, a specific purpose school for young people with challenging behaviour and/or emotional trauma in Campbelltown. In 2015 we worked with Lomandra young people to create imaginative stories set within the school grounds and to perform real life stories in the places where they happened. On October 30 audiences journeyed into the creativity and memories of Lomandra students as they experienced photo stories and soundscapes imagining miniature worlds within Lomandra’s grounds followed by a series of site-specific performances using masks as young people shared memory stories of experiences at school in the exact spots where they happened. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Hannah Grant, Steve Wilson-Alexander, Danielle Hollows, Claire Stjepanovic UNSW SOCIAL WORK STUDENT: Katie O’Brien OUTREACH PRODUCERS: Alison Richardson PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Claire Stjepanovic PARTNERS: Lomandra School, The Packer Family Foundation, Crown Resorts Foundation 23
SHOPFRONT
OUTREACH OUTREACH // PIXEL PLAYGROUND // THE MYSTERY OF MENAI HIGH
WHAT MATTERS TO YOU? WHAT ARE THE MOST A MYSTERIOUS BOX HAS LANDED IN THE IMPORTANT THINGS IN YOUR LIFE? MIDDLE OF MENAI HIGH SCHOOL. IT’S MAKING EVERYONE BEHAVE ON STRANGE ‘Pixel Playground’ works with young people AND BIZARRE WAYS... at risk of disengaging from school due to a variety of different reasons. Across 2015, Shopfront worked with Menai High School’s Shopfront worked with Year 10 newly arrived Year 7 support needs class to create an young people at Menai High School to create imaginative, site-based performance about original film What’s Important. EADL’ (English the day a mysterious box landed in the school as an additional language or dialect) students quad and started controlling everyone’s can arrive in High School in the middle of a minds and behaviour. Combining film and school year. They may find it hard to integrate live performance, The Mystery of Menai High with other students, often finding themselves took audiences on a journey around the quad on the fringes of school life. In making What’s encountering the bizarre occurrences caused Important, they became the voice of their by the strange box until it was finally defeated entire school, finding out what matters to by our Year 7 heroes. The young people created everyone – staff and students. original characters and combined their own The young people were interviewers, camera imaginations and ideas as we created a operators, editors, animators and original whole-group story and scripted short scenes music creators and the final film was unveiled together. at screenings held all day for Menai High The Mystery of Menai High was performed to School on November 13 as part of the 2015 audiences on November 20 as part of the 2015 Shopfront Outreach Season. Shopfront Outreach Season. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Hannah Grant, Michael Moebus aka Meem UNSW SOCIAL WORK STUDENT: Katie O’Brien ULTIMO TAFE YOUTH WORK PLACEMENT & ARTIST: Davidson Allieu OUTREACH PRODUCER & ARTIST: Claire Stjepanovic PARTNERS: Menai High School, Matana Foundation
“SHOPFRONT, UNLIKE AN ASSIGNMENT OR HOMEWORK, IS AN EXPERIENCE. IT’S AN OPPORTUNITY EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE.” HARRY AND GIBRIL, PARTICIPANTS, MENAI HIGH SCHOOL
ARTIST FACILITATORS: Hannah Grant, Michael Moebus aka Meem, David Molloy, James Harding UNSW SOCIAL WORK STUDENT: Katie O’Brien ULTIMO TAFE YOUTH WORK PLACEMENT & ARTIST: Davidson Allieu OUTREACH PRODUCER & ARTIST: Claire Stjepanovic PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kevin Ng
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PARTNERS: Menai High School, Matana Foundation
OUTREACH // PIXEL PLAYGROUND // KOGARAH HIGH TAKEOVER WHAT DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE IN YOUR WORLD? Shopfront and Kogarah High Year 9 and 10 students explored how site-specific art can create dialogue and change. Beginning with a range of photographic exploration processes, the young people shared their memories from around the school and captured things they wanted to change or highlight. Key themes emerged - they wanted to be able to talk to the staff openly about truancy, they wanted students to stop dropping enormous amounts of litter around the school, and they wanted the school rules to feel more relevant to combat the bullying some students experience. We created a series of interactive installations which tookover the school for the entire day featuring film, performance, sculpture and photography to inspire change and frank conversation. The installation takeover took place on December 8 as part of the 2015 Shopfront Outreach Season. “THE ART WE MAKE WITH SHOPFRONT MAKES EVERYTHING IN OUR SCHOOL LOOK BETTER AND HAPPIER, AND YOU CAN TALK TO PEOPLE AND EXPLAIN THINGS VISUALLY INSTEAD OF JUST ORALLY WHICH DOESN’T HAVE AS MUCH EFFECT” - VICKY, STUDENT, KOGARAH HIGH SCHOOL ARTIST FACILITATORS: Hannah Grant, Steve Wilson-Alexander UNSW SOCIAL WORK STUDENT: Katie O’Brien OUTREACH PRODUCER & ARTIST: Claire Stjepanovic PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kevin Ng PARTNERS: Kogarah High School, Matana Foundation
Kogarah High School Takeover // Image by David Molloy
OUTREACH // PIXEL PLAYGROUND // WHAT’S IMPORTANT?
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008 OUTREACH
OUTREACH // SHORT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS
OUTREACH // IMPACT REPORTING AND DOCUMENTARY
In 2015 Shopfront partnered with the Australian Red Cross, Advance Diversity Services (formerly St George Migrant Resource Centre) and the Daystar Foundation to create bespoke short engagements to meet the needs of the young people they work with. With the Australian Red Cross, we worked with young people at Beverly Hills Intensive English Centre to explore their thoughts and experiences about their new lives in Australia through drama, leading to the creation of a short performance. With Advance Diversity Services, we used photography and collage to capture what they’d been learning from other local support services. With the Daystar Foundation, we developed a script participants had written about life on the work-for-the-dole program for performance.
During 2015 we developed our existing evaluation processes to better measure the impact of Shopfront’s Outreach work to enable us to clearly explain how and why the work achieves what it does. Accompanying the report is a short documentary focussing on the 2015 Outreach Projects highlighting their impact on young people and project partners.
ARTIST FACILITATORS: Hannah Grant, Kyle Walmsley, Alyson Evans, Sarah Hope
IMPACT REPORT COMPILED BY: Katie O’Brien, Hannah Grant and Claire Stjepanovic DOCUMENTARY FILMING: Howard Matthew, David Molloy, Hannah Grant, Katie O’Brien DOCUMENTARY EDITING: Kate Blackmore
ULTIMO TAFE YOUTH WORK PLACEMENT & ARTIST: Davidson Allieu PARTNERS: Daystar Foundation, Advance Diversity Services, Australian Red Cross, Beverly Hills Intensive English Centre. 26
27 Kogarah High School Takeover // Image by Hannah Grant
ROOM 13
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SHOPFRONT
ROOM 13 // ATHELSTANE SCHOOL Room 13 is a student led art studio where young people create their own work outside of the confines of the school curriculum. 2015 marked the second year of the Room 13 project at Athelstane Public School in Arncliffe. The school caters for students aged 5-11 years old and also has a support unit for students with intellectual and physical disabilities. In 2015 students continued working with Room 13 lead artist and creative producer, Howard Matthew (visual and digital art). The project also accommodated guest artist Kay Yasugi (puppetry) who worked with students of the support unit. The studio was open every Wednesday during the school term. Across the day there was a balance of structured sessions for identified class groups as well as an open studio for a regular lunchtime committee. The committee helped manage the space and identified competitions they could enter. It was also a space were they could develop their own work across the year without any external agenda or set deadline. Highlights of the year included winning Rockdale Outdoor Sculpture Youth Prize, entering artworks into the World’s Biggest Classroom competition and creating a group canvas for Reconciliation Week. Across the year both artists worked with approx. 300 students and through various competitions their work received audience figures of over 3000 people. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Howard Matthew, Kay Yasugi, Michael Moebus, Grant Moxom PARTNERS: Athelstane School, Arts NSW Fresh AIR initiative
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Athelstane Room 13 // Image by Howard Matthew
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ROOM 13 // WONIORA ROAD SCHOOL
At Woniora Road, Room13 operates every Thursday during school term. Students choose to come into the studio during the day in their own time, or as alternative to lesson time. Some stay for a short period and others for the entire day. Howard Matthew, Room 13 Lead Artist, led the studio for the whole of 2015. Guest Artist Michael Moebus, aka Meem, worked with students to create original music and songs during Term two and three. This year’s work A New Beginning was co-created by all the students who attended room13. A New Beginning was realised as an installation and video, taking the form of a landscape it mapped the emotional journeys of the students and was filmed using a model train track. This journey was accompanied with original sound score created by the students in collaboration with Michael Moebus.
A New Beginning was exhibited at the MCA during World Mental Health Day in October 2015 and at Sydney Opera House on International Day Of People With Disability, December 2015. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Howard Matthew, Kay Yasugi, Michael Moebus, Grant Moxom PARTNERS: Woniora Road School, Arts NSW Fresh AIR initiative
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ROOM 13
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Woniora Road School in Hurstville caters for students aged 12-18 years old with mental health issues and emotional disorders.
31 Woniora Rd Room 13 // Image by Howard Matthew
ACCESSIBILITY
BODYLINES ENSEMBLE Term 1 and 2 allowed the Bodylines Ensemble to reflect on a busy and adventurous 2014. Having premiered their first full length live work, Out of Line, at Shopfront the previous November, Bodylines took the first two terms of workshops to explore, and play with choreographic ideas. We concurrently brainstormed how we might take Out of Line to the next level for its reiteration at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) in August. BODYLINES // OUT OF LINE Unfortunately, some of our school performers from 2014 were unable to join us again in 2015, however we also gained 4 new participants, who launched themselves wholeheartedly into learning this show, learning and performing this show, with some of them performing in front of an audience for the first time. Our senior emerging artists were steadfast in their support and encouragement of our younger performers. They demonstrated their years of experience at Shopfront, the skills they have developed and the professional and supportiv attitude that comes with an earned sense of leadership. This was yet another step in their learning, around seniority, leadership and professionalism.
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For this show, we were supported by key support artist Lucy Watson, who has been working with the Accessibility Program for over 4 years, as well as two new support artists, Lauren Scott-Young and Claire Stjepanovic. Each of our support artists worked and performed with a team of characters in the show – the Justicators (the all-seeing, allpurveying character of the senior artists), the Robot Students, and the Rebels (characters that have been swept up in the pressure of bullying). It was an incredible opportunity for our young dancers to perform at such a key arts location, at the Wharf, as part of ATYP’s Cameo Series. It would not have been possible without the support of the Lifetime Care and Support Authority through Arts NSW, and the St George Foundation. Production Manager Tara Ridley and Producer Alison Richardson added to the delight of this experience for our dancers, by taking them on tours of the wharf precinct and Circular Quay during break times. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Margot Politis, Lucy Watson, Lauren ScottYoung, Claire Stjepanovic PRODUCER: Alison Richardson PRODUCTION TEAM: Tara Ridley, Emma Lockhart-Wilson, Michael Moebus
010 004
Shopfront’s Accessibility Program reached great new heights in 2015. Rapidly developing, making and performing new work through both the Bodylines and Harness ensembles. During the year, Shopfront held a stall at the Accessible Arts NSW Arts and Disability Expo at Carriageworks; and met with organisations across the country for potential future collaborations and exchanges. The program was also a finalist for the second year running at the NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards, for Promoting Inclusion.
PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS: The Australian Government through The Lifetime Care and Support Authority and Arts NSW; the St George Foundation; The Australian Theatre for Young People; Kogarah City Council; Accessible Arts NSW
33 Woniora Rd Room 13 // Image by Howard Matthew
34
Bodylines perform ‘Happy Dancing’ at Kogarah // Image by Hannah Grant
004 010
ACCESSIBILITY
BODYLINES // IT’S LIKE THIS In Term 4, Bodylines started on Part One of their new program supported by the St George Foundation called It’s Like This. This program is specifically designed for 6 young ensemble members to devise and direct their own new short performance works with their peers as their cast, supported by professional Accessibility and Support Artists. First off to bat were Ben Rowntree, 16, who created his new work, Disgust; and Jessie Chapman, 17, who created Happy Dancing. From there we decided that the rest of the pieces would also each have an emotional focus. Michael Moebus created soundscapes for the pieces, as designed by the directors. 2016 will go on to see 4 more works created, and all of these works will be filmed and edited as a suite of short dance films. Bodylines performed these two new pieces live at Kogarah Council’s celebrations for International Day of People with Disability in December. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Margot Politis, Lucy Watson, Lauren Scott-Young, Claire Stjepanovic, Anthony Matthew, Ben Rowntree, Becky Howell, Laura Connon, Jack Phipps , Brianna Lowe PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS: The Australian Government through The Lifetime Care and Support Authority and Arts NSW; the St George Foundation; The Australian Theatre for Young People; Kogarah City Council; Accessible Arts NSW
ACCESSIBILITY // HARNESS EMERGING ARTISTS In the later part of this year, our senior artists made the decision to work in their own space and focus on their practice as adults, separate to the Bodylines ensemble and on a different day and time. They have started working on Saturdays and have officially adopted the name, Harness Emerging Artists. This allowed these young adults to focus on issues and experiences that affected them directly, in deliberate separation from the under 18 performers they had worked so closely with for so many years. We began the process of making a future work for 2017, with Verity Mackey as facilitator, and Margot as mentor to Verity, Harness explored ideas around selfefficacy, the right to make mistakes and the freedom to make their own decisions in life. With a new score created for them by sound artist Patrick Free, Harness created a new starter work addressing the above ideas. This new direction and sense of stepping up for these senior artists, was further highlighted by Mathew Coslovi joining the Shopfront staff as Access Associate to Margot Politis, in his first paid position of employment. Mathew learned about Shopfront, the Accessibility Program, and artistic programming in a more focused and deeper way. He accompanied Margot to meetings with arts organisations, was effective in decision making for the program, and co-wrote a funding application with Margot for the Accessible Arts Delineate grant – for which we were successful! Harness also performed at Kogarah Council’s celebrations for International Day of People with Disability in December. ARTIST FACILITATORS: Margot Politis, Lucy Watson, Lauren ScottYoung, Claire Stjepanovic Chloe Lozelle, Mathew Coslovi, Gemma Thomas, Jake Allen, Teneile English, Steve Konstantopoulos, Stuart Mooney PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS: The NSW Government through The Lifetime Care and Support Authority and Arts NSW; the St George Foundation; The Australian Theatre for Young People; Kogarah City Council; Accessible Arts NSW 35
SHOPFRONT
2015 STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT YOUNG PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN PROGRAMS: 1400 EMERGING ARTISTS SUPPORTED: 44 EMERGING ARTISTS EMPLOYED: 24 NEW WORKS CREATED: 18 NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES / PUBLIC EVENTS: 47 AUDIENCE NUMBERS: 5337 .
STATISTICS
ARTIST TRAINING
11
At Shopfront, we pride ourselves on the calibre, expertise, and ethos of our artist facilitators and are dedicated to ensuring our programs are run to the same high standard across the board.
36
In 2015 we held an Artist Training Day which brought together experienced artists we work with regularly and new artists who were just beginning their journey with Shopfront. Artists and Shopfront staff spent the day sharing policy and practice, and opening up new avenues of creative and professional collaboration and networking. We look forward to building our Artist Training Program in future years as we continue to develop a regular training, creative development and Shopfront team days. In 2015, we offered an Artistic Internship to an emerging artist interested in furthering their facilitation skills. Lauren Scott-Young spent time working alongside more experienced artists across various workshops, and has now transitioned into lead facilitation roles. We also offered an Outreach Team Internship to Davidson Allieu, a former Outreach young person who was studying for his Certificate IV in Youth Work at Sydney TAFE. He explored arts and youth work practice working closely with Outreach Director, Hannah Grant, and this has led to paid work as a Trainee ArtistFacilitator. Lomandra Storytime // Image by Hannah Grant
37
38
39
12 40
41 Funfair // Image by Hannah Grant
Cash
2
357,110
226,773
Receivables
3
19,771
47,692
Other
4
8,379
9,805
385,260
284,270
Total Current Assets Non Current Assets Property, Plant & Equipment
5
Total Non Current Assets Total Assets
Income Grants
11
400,733
459,267
Performances & Community Delivery
12
16,064
25,351
Other Funding
13
30,000
19,773
6,055
11,446
69,281
74,751
522,133
590,588
Interest Received Other
14
Expenditure 79,979
117,101
Project Costs - Expenses
26,479
37,049
Accounting Fees
-
360
Advertising/Promotion/Documentation
89
18,966
Audit Fees
4,080
4,020
Bad Debts
1,389
-
Current Liabilities
Building Upgrade Costs
46,025
-
1,883,019
2,320,181
1,883,019 2,167,289
Creditors & Borrowings
6
17,140
32,441
Computer Supplies
2,465
2,466
Tax Liabilities
7
9,362
8,107
Consultancy Fees
635
11,545
Provision
8
11,385
8,040
Council Rates
7,527
7,129
Other
9
189,384
103,524
Depreciation
9,818
8,324
227,271
152,112
Financial Charges
471
490
Fund Raising Expenses
468
819
Insurance
15,596
17,890
Light, Power & Water
6,135
4,180
Miscellaneous Expenses
1,218
2,539
Members’ Equity
Other Equipment
604
500
Total Liabilities Net Assets
2,478,170
2,015,177
Asset Revaluation Reserve
2,100,000
1,657,200
Printing/Photocopying/Stationery
2,970
5,398
Retained Profits
378,170
357,977
Professional Development & Training
1,692
289
Repairs/Maintenance/Replacements/Cleaning/Security
3,520
7,458
Staff Recruitment
-
620
Staff Salaries & Contractors
235,753
263,997
Subscriptions/Licence Fees
2,161
1,855
Superannuation
28,883
32,901
Telephone/Fax/Internet/Website
3,443
9,303
Travel/Accommodation & Allowances
4,856
3,016
Workers Compensation Insurance
12,339
7,377
Provision: Annual Leave
3,345
(9,732)
Total Equity
42
2014 ($)
Project Costs - Artists’ Fees
2,320,181
2,705,441
2015 ($)
2,478,170
2,015,177
013
Provision: Building Repairs
-
Assets Purchased and transferred to Statement of Financial Position Profit for the year
Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income for the Year Ended 31 December, 2015
Current Assets
Note
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
2014 ($)
Statement of Financial Position at 31 December, 2015
2015 ($)
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
Note
2,572 501,940
558,432
20,193
32,156
43 The above Statement of Comprehensive Income is to be read in conjunction with the attached notes to the financial statements.
20,193
Profit for the year
32,156
Add Assets transferred to Statement of Financial Position
-
2,572
Adjusted Profit for the Year
20,193
34,728
Retained Profits Brought Forward
357,977
323,249
Retained Profits Carried Forward
378,170
357,977
Asset Revaluation Reserve 1,657,200
Asset Revaluation - Land
442,800
Closing Balance
2,100,000
Cash on Hand
394
300
Cash at Bank: Operating Accounts
14,282
44,836
Cash at Bank: Cash Management & Savings Accounts
161,901
81,637
Cash at Bank: Term Deposits
180,533
100,000
357,110
226,773
Note 3: Receivables Sundry Debtors
Other Income (Incl GST)
216,596
282,034
Less Outflows
44
Wages, Suppliers, GST
(546,811)
(767,454)
Net Cash Used/ Provided by Operating Activities
124,282
(212,382)
Interest Received
6,055
11,446
Net Cash Used/ Provided by Operating and Investing Activities
10
130,337
(200,936)
Cash at beginning of Year
2
226,773
427,709
Cash at end of Year
2
357,110
226,773
Statement of Cash Flows for the Year ended 31 December, 2015
273,038
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
454,497
47,692
Prepayments
3,975
9,805
Cash Drawer - Payments in advance to employees for expenses
4,404
-
8,379
9,805
Note 5: Property, Plant & Equipment
1,657,200
Grants Received (Net of GST)
19,771
Note 4: Other Current Assets
1,657,200
Inflows
2014 ($) Note 2: Cash
Land & Buildings – Opening balance
1,760,000
1,760,000
Land revaluation - NSW Valuer General valuation as at 01/07/2015
442,800
-
Building Improvements – Cost
105,212
105,212
2,308,012
1,865,212
(21,235)
(18,605)
2,286,777
1,846,607
Furniture & Equipment – Cost
141,944
137,764
Accumulated Depreciation
(108,539)
(101,352)
33,405
36,412
2,320,182
1,883,019
Opening Balance
2015 ($)
013
Accumulated Depreciation
Notes to the Financial Statements. For The Year Ended 31 December, 2015
Retained Earnings
Note
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
2014 ($)
Statement of Changes In Equity for the Year Ended 31 December, 2015
2015 ($)
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
Note
Note 6: Creditors and Borrowings Superannuation Payable
8,418
Trade Creditors & Accruals
8,722
32,441
17,140
32,441
Note 7: Tax Liabilities PAYG Withholding Payable
4,712
GST Payable (Net)
4,650
8,107
9,362
8,107
Note 8: Provisions Annual Leave
9,385
6,040
Building Repairs
2,000
2,000
11,385
8,040
Note 9: Other Current Liabilities Grants for Future Expenditure - Other - NSW FACS - Operating
2,000 4,058
15,024
45 continued on next page
-
40,000
- NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing
109,976
-
- ArtsNSW Strategic Initiatives
-
4,000
- Australia Council
-
42,500
- Dept of Education & Community - Project CBP
21,000
-
- Crown Resort Foundation
15,000
-
- St George Foundation
30,000
-
- Hurstville City Council
5,500
- Kogarah City Council
3,850 189,384
103,524
Note 10: Cash Flow Information Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Operating Surplus 20,193
32,156
9,818
8,324
Decrease/(Increase) in Receivables
27,922
(47,486)
Decrease/(Increase) other Assets
1,426
(5,161)
Increase/(Decrease) in Creditors
(15,301)
(1,552)
Increase/(Decrease) in Provisions
3,345
(9,732)
Increase/(Decrease) in Other Liabilities
87,115
(176,677)
Net Cash (Used)/Provided by Operating and Investing Activities
134,518
(200,128)
Purchase of Assets/Building Improvements
(4,181)
(808)
Net Cash Provided by Activities
130,337
(200,936)
Profit for Year Non Cash Flows in Operating Surplus Depreciation Changes in Assets and Liabilities
2015 ($)
2014 ($)
Note 12: Performances & Community Delivery Box Office
11,959
7,043
Bar Sales
1,486
973
Merchandise Sales
237
516
Contract Workshop Fees
574
16,819
Project Management fees
1,808
-
16,064
25,351
Note 13: Other Funding Matana Foundation
10,000
10,000
Scanlon Foundation
-
7,500
Crown Resort
15,000
-
St George Foundation
5,000
-
Other Funding
-
2,273
30,000
19,773
Note 14: Other Income Civic Life Fees
-
200
Workshop Fees
49,150
41,760
Donations
7,363
6,222
Membership Fees
2,375
2,648
Venue & Equipment Hire
4,625
9,862
Miscellaneous
5,141
2,426
Fundraising
627
2,373
Sponsorship
-
9,260
69,281
74,751
Notes to the Financial Statements. For The Year Ended 31 December, 2015
- ArtsNSW
Note
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
2014 ($)
Notes to the Financial Statements. For The Year Ended 31 December, 2015
2015 ($)
Shopfront Arts Co-Op. Limited
Note
Note11: Grants Received Arts NSW - Annual Program
84,000
84,000
Arts NSW - Project Funding - Fresh Air
40,000
40,000
Arts NSW - Strategic Initiative
4,000
21,000
Arts NSW - Disability Partnership
62,700
29,850
Arts NSW - Project Funding - Young People
-
35,428
NSW Family & Community Services - Operating
59,460
59,396
NSW Family & Community Services -"One Off"
5,000
3,212
Australia Council - Theatre Fund
85,000
85,000
- Experimental Arts
-
22,000
- Community Partnerships
-
40,500
Hurstville City Council
-
7,000
Kogarah City Council
-
8,500
Rockdale City Council
1,900
7,022
ClubGrants
26,173
16,359
ClubGrants Category 3 - Building Upgrade
32,500 400,733
459,267
013 47
46 continued on next page
SHOPFRONT // BOARD
SHOPFRONT
Board Chair - Elizabeth Hristoforidis Deputy Chair - Nadia Lindop Glenn Murray, Treasurer Secretary - Michael Webb Samantha Crome, Scott Parker, Gordon Makryllos (Until May 2015), Daniel Potter (From Feb 2015), Viv Rosman From April 2015) SHOPFRONT // STAFF
SHOPFRONT SUPPORTERS:
014
TEAM
Executive Director - Daniel Potter Outreach Director - Hannah Grant Accessibility Director - Margot Politis Workshops Coordinator - Hannah Strout Book Keeper - Zengbing Jones Accessibility Associate - Mathew Coslovi UNSW Social Work Placement - Katie O’Brien Artist-Facilitator Internships -Lauren ScottYoung, Davidson Allieu
Leon Wang, Mikayla Hajinikitas, Nathan Harrison, Rachel Roberts, Rachel Moore, Annie Greig, Alison Pickel, Maria White, Lisa Rathbone Ferguson, Anthea Hall, Poppy Burnett, Anastasia Morris, Daniel Potter, Isaac Feeney, Caitlin Newton-Broad, Melanie Carolan, Sarah Emery, Holly Huang, H Charnock, Sanja Simic, Ruth Nugent, Annie Maynard, Christoper Dunstan, Hannah Strout, Gill Evans, Anne-Marie Foote, Kylie Bates, Judy Foote We would like to thank all the parents, friends and members who have volunteered their time to assist with barbeques, costumes, maintenance and all the other support they have offered across the year.
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R&J // Image by Diane Sylvester
49
50
In our 2014 Annual Report, the financial statement on Page 23 was incorrectly titled “Shopfront Theatre for Young People Co. Op. Ltd. Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended 31 December 2014”. This statement should have been titled “Shopfront Theatre for Young People Co. Op. Ltd. Statement of Profit and Loss for the year ended 31 December 2014”.
What’s Important? // Image by Hannah Grant
51
52 Front and Back Cover: As I Lay Dreaming // Image By Kevin Ng