| President's & Committees' Reports - 2003 |
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The Midsumma Festival in 2003 was indeed a SCREAMER! This year our Signature Events continued to include Midsumma's Pool Party - on a hot and steamy Friday night, ALSO's Red Raw - on an equally hot and steamy night, Pride March - on a beautiful midsumma Sunday afternoon (with Midsumma's newest leggy drag queen "Dot" leading the way) a new-look Carnival in the Alexandra Gardens, complete with an appearance by the legendary US Comic, Joan Rivers and our festival finale, T-Dance featuring an outstanding live performance by the Androids accompanied by the Greyhound Hotel's 'Showbags' performing the hit song 'Doing it With Madonna". In addition to our Signature Events there was also a wide array of art & culture and community events - starting with the Opening Night at Chapel Off Chapel where David Hansen sung like an angel. My personal thanks to him for making the trip down from Sydney and for the beautiful choice of arias - particularly Carl Vine's "Love Me Sweet". Other highlights in 2003 included DT's Golden Stiletto Rally, all the gossip of over 150 years of queer life in Carlton, Fitzroy and Collingwood presented by the Australian Gay and Lesbian Archives and the return of the intrepid adventuress, Dr Gertrude Glossip, who lead an exploration of the queer life of those who call our Melbourne Zoo home. The Visual Arts Program brought us the beautiful large-scale sculptural jewellery works by Tim Horn as part of Midsumma's Queer Street and the extraordinary work of Peal Gillies at 200 Gertrude St. Our Black Box program once again provided a platform for the development of local emerging gay and lesbian theatre workers - Back to Back's "Porn Star" and YGLAM's "My Fishnet Singlet" were particular highlights. Indeed, the whole festival program, of nearly 100 events, went off without a hitch - it must have been due to the lovely prayers of the hundreds of people who attended the St Dorothy's Day Mass at St Agnes Church, Glenhuntly - an annual Midsumma event. The "insurance issue" However, for some weeks in November and December 2002 it did not seem as though we were being smiled on from above. Like some of our sibling festivals around the world and at home, unfortunately we experienced trying times. For Midsumma, the issue was very late notice in November 2002 that our public liability insurance premium had increased by 1500%. It was an enormous challenge to reduce the cost of the premium and to raise the necessary funds to cover the increase. And so, the "Save Midsumma" and "Midsumma Dots" campaigns were born. As a result of the hard work of the Board and our many volunteers who sold "dots" we did save our community Festival. All but the traditional opening night Street Party went ahead and as such Midsumma cemented its place as constant on the proud global calendar of events that celebrate and rejoice in that which makes us who we are - our inherent personality and sexuality. We could not have done it without the support of Melbourne's Gay & Lesbian Community. Also integral to our survival were our wonderful major sponsors, Ford and United Airlines and all of our other supporters; our Governmental partners, Tourism Victoria, the Victorian Arts Centre and the Cities of Melbourne, Yarra, Stonnington, Moreland and Port Phillip who supported us in so many ways. The FY02/03 financial statements In the face of the demise of other gay and lesbian festivals around the globe, this past year has very much been about securing Midsumma's future. Accordingly, the accounts I am pleased to present show a surplus for the financial year of A$15,021. This is a significant improvement on the past two years ($1,208 and $1,093 respectively). It is a credit to the Board and its financial responsibility. It is a particular credit to the hard work of Lee Matthews, our Treasurer (amongst many other roles - is there nothing this guy can't do?). As a result of the scare that the public liability issue caused and a reduction in revenue (including a 15% reduction in Grant Income) the Board was very mindful to ensure that expenditure was kept in check. In every area, administration, fundraising, marketing, sponsorship and events, Midsumma cut costs, but did not compromise on quality. Overall expenditure was reduced by $26%. Significant improvements in the Balance Sheet have also occurred in the past year. In particular I note the 45% reduction in receivables which is a result of a more rigorous approach to debt management and collection. My thanks to Geoff our Bookkeeper for his terrier like approach. Overall the current asset position of Midsumma has improved by 35%. We are now in a position where our asset to turnover ratio is within that which is recommended by the Arts Council. With this new-found measure of financial security, Midsumma is now in a position where it can look at expenditure on development which was once only a dream. However, this measure of financial security has been hard fought for and therefore the financial strictures and policies which have been put in place must be maintained. Goodbye After 7 years of attending monthly Board meetings (and countless others), this last year as President, I have decided to retire from the Midsumma Board. My decision is tinged with sadness; however, I will remain involved with Midsumma as a volunteer. It has been an honour, privilege, but also an awesome responsibility to lead Midsumma. I thank the Midsumma members for that opportunity. I also thank my fellow Board Members - in particular my two Vice Presidents, Lena Cirillo and Kris Darmody. My very best wishes are extended to Kris as she takes over the Presidential reigns. The professional relationship that necessarily develops between a Chairman and their CEO is crucial to the work and life of an organisation. Accordingly, I also want to pay a special tribute to Brenton Geyer, our Festival Manager. Thanks for a great year (and for the frocks). Finally, thank you to my long suffering partner in love and life, Brendan - you made a wonderful First Lady. Kind regards,
Leigh Johns
Volunteer Board of Management
Staff
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM... PERFORMING ARTSIn 2003 the Midsumma Performing Arts program was a celebration of innovative work that brought art and ideas to you at every level. We welcomed an exciting range of performing artists from diverse backgrounds and cultures who presented theatre in many different genres. They certainly put fire in my belly and stimulated the imagination of many. From contemporary theatre, physical theatre, music, comedy, drama and of course, our very large selection of cabaret works. What a marvellous selection there was. Midsumma Festival has had a successful partnership with the Victorian Arts Centre Trust for the past three years, which has been a mutually rewarding one. This partnership gave Midsumma Festival the opportunity to present performing arts in one of the major cultural institutions in Australia. It also gave the Victorian Arts Centre the opportunity to again as part of their programming; present something different and be exposed to the Gay and Lesbian audience base in a way that was about support and encouragement. I would like to thank the Victorian Arts Centre to contributing to an innovative community festival. QFUSION was a new curated program produced by Midsumma Festival which provided a platform for artistic expression which celebrated cultural diversity, was full of value and made up of four 20minute shows each week for two weeks. This was a one off opportunity that presented four shows led by three established companies and two independent artists. In 2003 Midsumma had no other program like it. All our artists in QFUSION seized the opportunity to present short works that were visually spectacular, uncomfortably confronting and thought provoking. Midsumma was able to bring together these works; this would not have been possible without Midsumma's commitment to supporting and being an umbrella for new, emerging and established artists as they take there work one step further. This was an opportunity for emerging and new artists to present their work in a supported professional environment. We exposed established companies theatrical work to a broader audience that was different to their usual audience base for which lifted their profile in a different arena. Thank you to all the artists and production crew for their passion and commitment to the program. Established theatre companies joined the QFUSION program including BacktoBack Theatre company, Polyglot Puppet Theatre and YGLAM a youth based theatre project. Two independent artists Kevin McGreal and Peter Elliot also contributed to this program. The media coverage was positive and in a range of different areas including print and radio. There was interest from arts industry peers and other cultural institutions around Australia. This including the follow up film version of one of the QFUSION plays "Porn Star" appearing at Sydney's Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival.
Audiences were surprised and delighted by the shows in QFUSION, which generated dialogue and debate about performing arts and its role in the broader community. Dialogue and constructive debate in the arts is always a healthy initiative to take.... lets do more of it!
Lena Cirillo
VISUAL ARTSMidsumma 2003 saw the return of the NewQ exhibition, now in it's seventh year. For the second year running we were happy to be working once again with the wonderful Counihan Gallery and the tremendous staff [thanks to the City of Moreland]. An exciting opening night followed by a well attended run of the exhibition. New Q this year focused on the multi media works of four artists and is seen as a lead into a major digital media exhibition for Midsumma 2004. A two venue opening event in the City of Yarra saw a crowd assemble, first at 69 Smith St gallery for the 'A Room of One's Own' exhibition then proceed to Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces to launch the 'Cabinet'; work of Pearl Gillies. A comparison of first time exhibitors [at 69 Smith] to the widely acclaimed Gillies sculptural jewellery works in the 24 / 7 window show. The final event on the Midsumma Visual Art calendar was the Queer Street launch within the City of Melbourne. Opening night saw 300 people being led through the inner city streets by a gaggle of drag queens. Starting at Melbourne Town Hall's new City Gallery where the exquisite glass works of Tim Horn hung next to portraits of the Queen from the City of Melbourne collection. The next stop on the grand tour was the Manchester Lane installations of Tim Craker, Heather Saltmarsh and Paul Wreakes - all using text and image to convey a powerful political message. The opening night ended at Platform exhibition space in deGraves St where textile artists Nicky Schonkala, Douglas McManus and Garry Conroy Cooper wove an autobiographical thread. The Midsumma 2003 visual art program offered a diverse range of works catering to all aspects of 'our', and the greater, community. Positive feedback was received from every area of the program. Gallery directors, journalists, artists and the public inspired the Visual Art Committee to head into the 2004 festival with renewed enthusiasm and energy.
Mark McDean MARKETINGThe Festival continued to build on our excellent marketing reputation by again rolling out a strategic campaign that reinforced Midsumma as Melbourne's premier arts & community celebration. The festival theme met the high standard of previous campaigns, producing an attractive, eye catching image that enabled viewers to connect with it on many different levels. The festival guide was again considered one of the best produced in the industry. The press continued to favourably cover the festival, with some 150 different articles appearing throughout the campaign. Arts coverage was regular and supportive in The Age, the Herald Sun and our local municipality based Leader Newspapers, while our media partners: MCV, Blue Magazine and JOY Melbourne went beyond the call of duty with coverage of all areas of the Festival. A special mention also of B.newS for their exhaustive coverage and Sydney Star Observer who made sure that all Sydney-siders knew where they should be in the middle of an Australian Summa. Midsumma, in partnership with Tourism Victoria, continued to build on the Interstate reputation of the festival, while starting to branch out towards an International campaign. For the second year in a row, we sent festival delegates to participate in the annual Int'l Gay & Lesbian Tourism Symposium scheduled in West Hollywood after the 2002 festival and just recently in Miami South Beach for 2003. The Midsumma Website, supported by Morpheum New Media, continued to grow as a reliable source of festival information out in cyberspace, with www.midsumma.org.au attracting 365,829 page hits in the month of January, and 7,505 sessions and 142,522 page hits after the Festival, in the month of February.
Lee Matthews
OUR BIG DAY OUTMidsumma's Carnival was again the big bang at the end of three weeks of performance, music, art, sport, parties, tours and tournaments, thanks to the support of Melbourne's gay and lesbian community who ensured it's survive. It's gratifying for all of us who worked on it, that despite our insurance difficulties this year, we were able to produce a Carnival, which many said, was the best they can remember. Carnival can't happen without support and input from our stallholders, volunteers, sponsors, production staff and entertainers, and we thank them for sticking with us, and helping to produce a great day. With your help, we were able to deliver a Carnival, which belied its budget driven underpinnings, in a year when many similar events around the world didn't do so well. We owe sincere thanks to all those who supported our efforts with our expanded dot program. Your generosity and willingness to support the festival was a real boost to those of us out there shaking buckets - you showed us that Melbourne really does value Midsumma. Carnival is produced by a hard working team of volunteers who go to a lot of effort to ensure that it involves and represents a broad spectrum of Melbourne's gay and lesbian community, and we're already at work on Carnival 2004 to ensure that it continues to evolve and develop. Midsumma's major events will be back next year, bigger and better than ever. See you in 2004!
Jeffrey Grad
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