Arts Centre Melbourne, in partnership with Melbourne Fringe, will present the fourth year of Take Over! commission with a brand new approach. The Take Over! program has commissioned 10 artists/companies to make unique works which will be developed online and presented during Melbourne Fringe 2020.
The Take Over! program supports independent, visionary artists to push their creative boundaries. This year, they have been asked to develop a work that will include a two-week at-home residency culminating in a final event during Melbourne Fringe in November, which could be performed live or online.
“We received a staggering 94 applications for this project from Victorian independent artists – bold, courageous and inspiring ideas from many of our leading performance makers,” said Arts Centre Melbourne Creative Producer, Theatre and Contemporary Performance, Daniel Clarke. “Reflecting on the artists who have been selected, I am excited by the breadth of life experience that the 2020 Take Over! artists bring to the program.”
From July to September, the two-week online residencies will be a chance for the artists to explore and connect with their audiences during their creative developments. Practicing within a coronavirus landscape – this newfound way of working – will be a crucial part to their artistic process and realising the outcomes of the work.
“Spanning dance, theatre, spoken word, music, live art and installation we asked artists to consider their relationship with their audience, both online and in real life,” Clarke said. “I’m confident that this year’s Take Over! will result in many new works being created, works that capture a moment in time and ignite the imaginations of both our artists and audiences.”
At the beginning of each residency, the artists will introduce themselves and give a short introduction to the work they will be developing. By the end of the fortnight, the artists will engage with their audiences online, opening their creative process through steaming their content – all of which will be live captioned. Then, come November, all commissioned works will be presented together as part of a one-off durational event during Melbourne Fringe. Details for this are to be announced in due course.
“Take Over! 2020 will be epic,” said Melbourne Fringe Creative Director and CEO Simon Abrahams. “Its durational format, bold artist choices and unique approach to creating work will result in an event that will be constantly surprising as it shifts form and focus over its extended duration. Can you imagine anything more quintessentially 2020 than that?”
“The final program includes highly original, fearless and often deeply personal artistic explorations that demonstrate a vulnerability and fierce passion to understand more about humanity and the world we are living in.”
Take Over! has been commissioning exciting and ambitious world premiere works annually since 2017. Previously, the successful artists received commissioning funds of $30,000. This year, in response to the global pandemic, Arts Centre Melbourne and Melbourne Fringe wanted to give more artists the opportunity to create and present new works. As such, Take Over! has invested in the development of 10 new projects.
From the 94 applicants, the 10 successful artists selected for Take Over! 2020 are: Brian Lipson and Mark Wilson, Marcus Ian McKenzie, Karma Dance – Govind Pillai and Raina Peterson, David Williams, Joel Bray, Jonathan Homsey with Maggie Zhu and Maggie Chen, Moira Finucane, Soreti Kadir, Kate Hood, and Casey Jenkins.
For more information, visit www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/festival-and-series/take-over
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