CarriageWorks was officially launched last
Friday by NSW Minister for the Arts, Bob Debus. His speech singled out the
centre’s inaugural director, Sue Hunt.
“Sue has worked pretty much day and night
since she started,” he said, “to not just make this opening possible,
but to put in place the foundations for an incredible new resource for the arts
in this city which, will go on and grow for many, many years.”
Mr Debus described the venue – the result
of a $49 million redevelopment program at the former Eveleigh Rail Yards – as
“a significant investment by the NSW Government”.
“It is about making work as much as it is
about presenting work. And it is about growing and developing the contemporary
arts companies, through the catalyst of infrastructure.”
“No one knows precisely what will happen
here over the next ten years or more… but the power and significance of a
permanent site to the arts is generally acknowledged, around the world.”
The new centre will hold its open weekend
on 20-21 January. Visitors will be able to take guided tours through the new theatre
spaces, rehearsal rooms and scenery construction workshops at 11:00 am and 2:00pm
on both days, and take part in one of four panel discussions on contemporary
arts and dance, the rail history of CarriageWorks, and the adaptive re-use of
the building (12:00pm and 1:00pm daily).
There will also be an audio-visual
exhibition on the building’s history, entitled Trains of Treasure, and a
testimonial booth where people who worked on the site during its years as a
railway carriage workshop will be given the opportunity to record their story.
Source: http://www.artshub.com.au/ahau1/news/news.asp?Id=150963
More information: http://www.carriageworks.com.au/whatson/whatson.html