West End-based arts and culture organisation Metro Arts launched its 2023 season on Wednesday night at their New Benner Theatre in the West Village, outlining the year ahead for contemporary art.
Metro Arts’ 2023 program focuses on “highlighting multidisciplinary artists, new perspectives and bold choices” and aims to support independent artists in visual and performance art. CEO and Artistic Director Jo Thomas spoke of the importance of independent art to the industry.
“Independent artists give strength, vitality, and life to the Australian arts sector. They are indispensable, they are vital, and they are crucial.”
The organisation will support a number of performances and exhibitions using Metro Arts’ high-end facilities.
The 2023 performance program kicks off in March with Pink Matter’s Betwixt, a street dance and spoken word performance delving into identity and culture. Bring a Plate Dance Company’s The People’s Dance Party will hit on 25 March only, bringing an “immersive dance experience” and pop-up performances in various styles.
Brisbane-based musicians The Architects of Sound will bring their “live, loose, and LGBTIQA+” musical-comedy show Rough, Red & Raw to the New Benner Theatre on 6 April. indelabilityarts’ SHE: See Us, Hear Us, Engage With Us, shining a light on women’s mental health and collective experience, will run for eight shows from 3 May.
The launch began with a brief performance and monologue by acrobat Cecilia Martin. In her production Break, a collaboration with performance collective The Farm, she explores her journey to recovery and the cost of dreams and success. It premieres on 21 June at the New Benner Theatre.
The new Federal Government’s arts and culture policy Revive, revealed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, will provide much-needed breathing room for a sector hit hard by the COVID pandemic. Thomas emphasised the industry’s reliance on this support to survive.
“This time now, here, feels really urgent. I think we’re on shifting sand. There’s still a lot of work to be done coming out of the pandemic,” Thomas said.
“There is hope, with a revitalisation and a national cultural policy for the first time in ten years, and we remain hopeful that there will be more meaningful funds to support this policy in the May Budget and moving forward.”
Tickets are on sale from 1 February 2023 via metroarts.com.au
Metro Arts 2023 Performance Program:
Betwixt
By Pink Matter
1 – 4 March 2023
The People’s Dance Party
By Bring a Plate Dance Company
25 March 2023
Rough, Red & Raw: The Architects of Sound
By The Architects of Sound
6 April 2023
SHE (See us, Hear us, Engage with us)
By indelabilityarts in collaboration with PIP Theatre and The Good Room
3 – 13 May 2023
Break
By The Farm & Cecilia Martin
21 – 24 June 2023
Metro Arts 2023 Exhibitions:
CTRL+ALT+DEL:RECLAIM
Various Artists
21 January – 4 February 2023
OPEN VIDEO
Various Artists
11 February – 4 March 2023
The Woman Remembers
Various Artists | Belloo Creative
8 – 11 March 2023
Be There or Be Square
Renee Kire
18 March – 15 April 2023
teetering, tittering, tits up
Tiana Jefferies
18 March – 15 April 2023
Main Drag
Easton Dunne
18 March – 15 April 2023
Precision: The Art of Cutting
Curated by Stephanie Lindquist, with Minqi Gu
6 May – 10 June 2023
MAVA PATHFINDERS: In Review
Caitlin Franzmann, Elizabeth Willing and James Barth
24 June – 22 July 2023
Cover Image, Ned Hammond
OTHER IMAGES
Image 1 –Break
Image 2 – Architects of Sound_Alt Hero Image
Image 3 – Betwixt
