Greater Melbourne Area
For the past 20 years Anna Monea has worked as an arts officer and producer in Melbourne, Australia. As producer of the Bayside Film Festival for seven years (from 2005 – 2011) she honed its focus on young and emerging filmmakers. Unique to the Festival was the Youth Documentary Project (YDP), which assisted young people create short documentaries and digital stories in a selection of Melbourne secondary schools. Over this period the Festival won two awards: In 2006 the Youth Documentary Project received a Commendation in Youth Engagement in the National Awards for Local Government which was administered by the Department of Transport and Regional Services. In 2011, the Bayside Film Festival received a High Commendation in the Local Government Professional (LG Pro) Awards in Excellence for Community Participation. In 2008, Anna coordinated and presented a concert on Australian and Korean new music for string and trombone at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York. As creative producer Anna instigated Rhapsody in Motion, a performance integrating visual arts, poetry and contemporary new music for the 2001 Centenary of Federation of Australia. Staged at the South Melbourne Town Hall, the concert was recorded by ABC FM and was broadcasted nationally on the New Music Program during NAIDOC Week in 2001, 2002 and 2003. www.RhapsodyinMotion.com In-conjunction with Amadeo Marquez Perez, Anna produced The Songs They Sang. This feature length documentary tells the true story of the performances, which took place inside the Vilna ghetto, Lithuania, during World War 11. These performances brought hope to the Jewish people during the horror of the Holocaust. The Songs They Sang involves a feature documentary, a 27 track CD, an education kit and a comprehensive website. www.thesongstheysang.com Anna is a dynamic producer with a commitment to the development of new Australian works in a broad range of mediums.
Due to Covid Restrictions both projects were undertaken over a longer time span: Arts Curator, Distant Shores Exhibition Linden New Art (9 June – 31 July 2022) Distant Shores involved 8 new migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum and explored each person’s cultural and personal links to their homeland and how they have created a new life here in Australia. Working with photographic artist Morganna Magee, each participant presented an image of a loved one e.g. mother; grandmother which was then recreated within an Australian setting. Both images were then exhibited alongside personal reflections on covid. I was responsible for concept development; grant writing; working with organizations to locate participants who would like to be involved in the project; working closely with Morganna and Auspicious Arts Project who auspiced the project; meeting with participants to gather their thoughts on Covid and reflections for their photographs; coordinating with Linden New Art on the Exhibition and Opening; publicity and promotion. https://www.lindenarts.org/exhibitions/linden-projects-space/morganna-magee/ Creative Producer Space2b Laneway Street Art Project, St Kilda Working closely with lead artist Heesco and assistant artists to create a mural along the entire length of the laneway behind Space2b located at 144 Chapel Street. Drawing on activities children played during lock downs Heesco developed a vibrant design incorporating large scale games for all to enjoy. I was responsible for grant writing; sponsorship; project coordination; researching games children play and then preparing information for lead artist and website; writing press release and webpage on Laneway Mural; publicity and promotion; and coordinating the Opening of the Laneway Mural in February 2022. https://space2b.com.au/laneway-kids-games/
Over an intensive six week period I produced two concerts in Melbourne and Bendigo with conductor Tim Phillips and Arcko Symphonic Orchestra. This involved liaising with venue staff in both locations to determine concert requirements; sourcing images from MOMA / Scala (Florence); the Australia War Memorial, the National Archives of Australia and Robins Family Collection to project during the concert and for promotional purposes; producing the flyer, poster and concert program, secure accommodation in Bendigo for 10 musicians, composer and co-producer; develop a payment schedule for musicians ie per diems, travel call; source and hire production and FOH staff, determine technical requirements in both venues, liaise with the conductor, musicians, composers and publicist, and oversee the budget.
As creative producer, Anna undertook the logistics to tour "Unspoken: What will become of me?" to metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. Unspoken features installations, activities, information forums and performance to create awareness and understanding of the value of end of life conversations. In consultation with council/health staff in each location, Anna developed individual layouts to stage this event in various locations from town halls and libraries to formal theater venues. She produced a number of resources to support this roll out and these include Overview of the Event; Risk Management Plan; Technical Specifications; documents outlining both Unstructured and Structured Approach to staffing this event; Booking approaches and the Event's Running Order, which included bump in and out requirements.
Creative Producer, "Unspoken, What will become of Me?" Health Issues Centre, Melbourne Unspoken involved a series of creative installations designed to encourage the audience member to consider conversations with friends and loved ones on Advance Care planning. This four day event was held at Experimedia, State Library of Victoria during October 2016. I developed the creative concept for Unspoken and worked closely with the CEO to ascertain the key messages the ten installations would convey. I commissioned four diverse artists/performers to create new works exploring these messages. In addition to producing this event, I was also production and stage manager. After the conclusion of this event I wrote a comprehensive report with recommendations to assist future touring of this work.
Journeys – Homeland to Here A multimedia exhibition featuring artists and designers involved with Space2b Social Design, a social enterprise supporting new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The exhibition featured large scale photographic works by Andy Drewitt. Each person shared a memento, a small reminder of their homeland. These signifiers encapsulated the devotional, the playful, the maternal. Over this period I was responsible for concept development, grant writing, interviewing the participants and writing their individual stories and captions; obtaining individual mementos and securing their presentation. Liaising with the artist, participants and CEO of Space2b as well as working closely with the Hobson's Bay Men's Shed to create the secure boxes to house each memento. Journeys: Homeland to Here was exhibited at The Gallery, St Kilda Town Hall from 8 June – 6 July 2016. The large scale photographs are on permanent loan to the Victorian Multicultural Commission.