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.

Letters to the Vice Chancellor

Dear Glyn,

We noticed you in the paper on Monday. It was an article about blogs, and academic blogs no less. I suggest that you read and follow and interact with Muddy Leaks (muddyleaks.blogspot.com) which is an exciting and important part of the University of Melbourne blogosphere. Perhaps we can even add each other to blogrolls.

It is so cool that you are keeping up with the program, with the times, with the kids. Seriously, we need to totes find each other on twitter too. And on facebook.

Love

Muddy Leaks.

MUDfest and the Farrago.

Farrago Edition 3, 2011 was an interesting issue for many reasons. One was the highly amusing horoscopes but there was a lot of more interesting and political stuff as well. Not to be daunted the Editors of Farrago ran a provocative cover and also a feature article about the way forward for the Union/Onion underneath the leader ship of Clemens Unger*. Under the title Westfield Parkville Tim Hall wrote about the the direction the University is taking with the Union. This very interesting and worthwhile article was on page 11.

On page 40 there was an article about about MUDfest: Covered in MUDfest by Vicky Smith (which doesn't seem to be up on the website for some reason - check out the emag. It will be there - page 40). This is not a go at the eds for relegating it to the bag of the magazine - when it really should be in the front news section - instead we would like to draw some parallels between the articles.

For a University Union to be concerning itself to becoming "the Parkville destination...in terms of retail, entertainment and hospitality...a layout like Melbourne Central, you get the drift of what should be there" is a worry. This is Von Westfield on his vision for Onion House. But wait there is more! "I like that Borders principle..." Yes, it is always wise to take business ideas FROM A BANKRUPT COMPANY THAT FORGOT IT WAS A BOOKSHOP. It is clear that the Union is at risk as the article continues of forgetting that "it is a University not a shopping centre." So. We have a mandate (apparent mandate) anyway to move away from being "stuck in the 1970s" and 'moving forward' to to the present. The cynic in the root system of this website asks:

1. How much is the architect being paid to redesign the second floor?
2. How much does this "major make-over" going to cost?
3. Will it actually benefit students and...
4. Why was there no money in the MUSUL budget for MUDfest?

This is where the two articles are linked. On page 11 we have a man with an expansive and expensive vision to transform the Union and 29 pages later there is an article about the same organisation completely annihilating the funding of a student festival. There is of course tough economic times at the moment as we are being constantly reminded by our politicians in the lead up to Federal Budget BUT, the cynic might not accept that there is no money at MUSUL. There is just no money for MUDfest as it is being channelled into other ventures. 

Incidentally factually the report in the Covered in MUDfest article that MUSUL has cut the budget almost in half is incorrect. The money raised for this years festival predominately came from C-CRAG (The Cultural and Community Relations and Advisory Group - hideous sounding acronym but really quite awesome) and ever lovely and supportive Theatre Board. Allegedly MUSUL have not provided any direct funding (as far as Muddy Leaks is aware) but have been assisting with the providing the designs and other materials. Fortunately it finished on a great positive note:

Arts Officer Extroadinaire: "For us it is not about going 'Oh crap, we don't have eighty thousand dollars to spend' it's about producing a festival that's sustainable, raw, and not too loud in terms of expenses - a festival that is about ideas."

Keep up the fight Farrago!

*Henceforth on this site the supreme leader of that darkside of the will be known as Von Westfield, although we are sure he is a lovely chap.

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*]