MUDfest and the Farrago Round 2

From the last Mudfest Report:

“Media Collective

The Media Collective were contacted as soon as they were elected and met with re both supporting MUDFEST in farrago as well as possible project as they could run, either be they media or writing.

While initially highly responsive to promoting they were not interested in doing anything that distracted from their core work project wise despite repeated attempts to take the majority of the work off of them.

Their promotion of the festival was also poor, on occasions failing to put in agreed copy or advert due to ‘space restrictions’. I spent a lot of time communicating with the editors of farrago for little result and do feel the lack of MUDFEST presence in farrago was a key loss in publicity terms and in festival engagement”

Now for some much better news for Mudfest this year!

This year as previously mentioned Farrago has covered Mudfest 2011! They are also generally being gorgeous and following us on our twitter and facebook etc. It seems that there is a good working relationship between the arts officers and the editors this year so fingers crossed for HEAPS more publicity. Esp. as a paper free festival needs all the cross-promotional help it can get!

There is also a very pretty advertisement on the backpage of the current issue.

GO PICK IT UP NOW AND READ IT.

Retro Publicity Image

Target Audiences

From the 2009 Mudfest report

“MUDFEST11 had three target audiences.

1.      University population. The main audience for the festival was the 40, 000+ undergraduate and postgraduate students, research academics and lecturers that inhabit Melbourne University. The festival was designed both for people too make a point of visiting an MUDFEST artwork as well as people encountering a MUDFEST artwork in their normal day to day university routine. The theme of Hidden Spaces and the campus centric festival meant that a lot of University population encountered MUDFEST.

2.      Arts audience. The artistic and cultural community whom have an interest in the presentation of new work and the work of emerging artists and collaborations. Basically this could be summarised as friends of the artists involved. MUDFEST attempted to use this group by getting shows to cross promote, so the friends of one group would come in and then see another groups work

3.      Local Community. Beyond the university community the festival aimed to engage the larger arts population.”

THIS YEAR WE WANT YOU!

Thematically speaking

Note: This is the first of a series of posts, drawing from and responding too the report for Mudfest11 in 2009. This was emailed anonymously to Muddy Leaks through a contact associated with Joan.

From the 2009 Mudfest report:

“MUDFEST was given a theme. This theme was decided so as to challenge students to create new work and not just put work into MUDFEST which is part of their annual programming. In my view the best work for MUDFEST11 was the projects that fully worked with the theme. The theme also challenged the artists to see the university with new eyes.

The theme was the hidden spaces. Attached to the theme was a quote as well as a page of definitions of the words Hidden and spaces “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” Rene Magritte”

[Before this post continues Lilly would like to mention that she didn’t find a single hidden space artwork on campus during the festival despite overdosing on the theatre and performance work and a treasure map would have been a great idea]

This year in 2011 Mudfest has the theme Kaleidoscope, here is the 2011 Mudfest Vision as listed on the application form:

"Kaleidoscope – Greek kalos “beautiful” + eidos “shape” + scope “instrument for seeing” The Mudfest vision for 2011 is the kaleidoscope of imagination. What do you see when you look at the world?

A kaleidoscope offers an infinity of vision – so does the mind.

We are looking for work that is beautiful, ugly, political, rebellious, spontaneous, accidental, fun, and alive. Be playful with your art – mess with its form, its story, its location. Challenge the audience, challenge your form, but most importantly, challenge yourself."

Add your unique shape to the growing Mudfest kaleidoscope. So wear something gorgeous to an opening night; dye your hair for your audition and remember us here at Muddy Leaks  - we want to share in your colour.

What is the "Melbourne Experience" worth?

On a more serious note, it is indicative of the state of the tertiary education sector that a student operated and run arts festival (MUDfest) goes from a budget of approx. $73, 000 to absolutely nil. ie: 0.

[It is true that the efforts of students involved have managed to ensure a smaller level of funding from some sources but this post in not about that epic journey.]

It would do the University of Melbourne good to realise that the perfect University is not one without students for it is the students and staff that make up a University. A lot of time is invested in promoting campus as a vibrant and exciting place to be but what makes it that? It is not the presence of shops etc. It is the people and the culture that forms around these people that is important. Specifically in this case of MUDfest, we are taking creative people.

Numbers. Student numbers. We all get one, and yet we are surprisingly much, much more than that. Students who come to Melbourne University expecting the "Melbourne Experience" do not necessarily crave the sanitised quotes on screens in a student centre. But they might love theatre, or art, or music. They might love to read, they might just might want to get involved in sharing their passion with others. Dreaming Larger is not about hoarding away the pennies it is about facilitating student programs and initiatives. Proposing to cancel the primary arts festival on campus was a disgrace. And it remains so. A key witness to this manoeuvring remarked that the cause for the funding withdrawal related to previous budget over-spending. This may be the case, but surely the way forward is to work with student representatives to ensure they know how to work within a set budget rather than removing it altogether.

Lilly Pads are famous plants, we inspired Claude Monet and we adorn your mugs and place-mats, but even we do not have a magical solution for money shortages in the tertiary sector. The only thing we can suggest is working  with students and not against them.

Money Makes the World Go Round

Money Makes the World Go Round, the world go round. Money Makes the World Go Round, that clinking clanking sound! That makes the world go roooooouuuuuunnnnnnndddd.

It's strange isn't it, dear University how much the lines of a Cabaret set in 1930s Berlin have such resonance with the way one conducts business today. An Oscar Winning Cabaret no-less?! One that was performed (albeit in a different form) in Union House Theatre but Queens College in 2009. Ah, 2009 a year when there was money around...

If you happen to rich
And you feel like a night's entertainment
You can pay for a gay escapade.
If you happen to be rich and alone
And you need a companion
You can ring (ting-a-ling) for the maid.
If you happen to be rich
And you find you are left by your lover,
And you moan and you groan quite a lot
You can take it on the chin,
Call a cab and begin to recover
On your 14-karat yacht! WHAT!?

Everything was bright (well quite) and there was budgets. Yes, budgets! For arts! For Students! And then... it all changed. Well, lots of things changed really. Cost cutting further under cutbacks for the Union. Everything has a new price, a new connotation.

When you haven't any coal in the stove
And you freeze in the winter
And you curse to the wind at your fate.
When you haven't any shoes on your feet,
Your coat's thin as paper,
And you look 30 pounds underweight
When you go to get a word of advice
From the fat little pastor,
He will tell you to love evermore.
But when hunger comes to rap,
rat-a-tat rat-a-tat at the window
*knock knock* (at the window)
Who's there? (hunger) oh, hunger!!
See how love flies out the door...

And so in late 2010 according to Insider Sources within the Darkside of the Union/Onion (as opposed to the Force) it came to pass that all the money would become no money.

No money at all.

[do stay tuned for more hard-hitting musical theatre journalism, and proper information too: * jazz hands*] 

What Was MUDfest?

A MUDfest design 2007

2009 MUDfest Design

MUDfest was a bi-annual Arts Festival at the University of Melbourne. It was arty, fun and a fantastic opportunity for creative people to cross-pollinate their comfort zones into a delicious mix.

In recent years there was a container turned into a Muddy Duck Pond club-come-cabaret; theatre; people living in a caravan in North Court; a wax car; theatre; hidden installations so hidden they were never found; theatre; performance art; theatre. During MUDfest the University became a veritable humming hub of creativity.

This is what MUDfest was. Has been.

You note the past tense, dear reader?

It is now an endangered species.