While the pandemic has affected all of us, Canberra’s rich, diverse and accomplished local arts scene has particularly felt the pinch.
At the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown, many artists had lost not just their regular income, but the sense of self-expression and connection they felt with their audience.
This has led to the ACT Government stepping in to create both an online events calendar and a two-month arts festival to help Canberra ‘RISE’ together as health restrictions slowly ease.
They have done so by creating RISE Canberra, an online events calendar to serve as a one-stop shop for all Canberra events while public health restrictions remain in place, and the two-month Where You Are Festival, which kicks off 10 July.
The RISE Canberra Calendar has been designed to provide insight into the diversity of practice and the innovative nature of the local arts scene, aiding to connect Canberrans with the events they love.
From speaking events to COVID-safe walking tours to workshops aimed at reducing your carbon footprint – such as raising backyard chickens – Canberrans can also find more conventional listings like live music and theatre or virtual wine tastings.
Navigating the platform has been made easy by allowing users to search by date or event category, and with a news page featuring updates of the latest listings.
The RISE Canberra Calendar will also host an editorial stream of interviews, profile pieces, podcasts and more to highlight myriad listings of interest in the calendar.
Alongside the events calendar, the $240,000 two-month Where You Are Festival will run 10 July to 11 September, acting to highlight unique Canberra experiences across art and culture, music, ideas and forums, sport, community and food.
Curated by Events ACT, it’s described as “the typical festival re-imagined”, delivering a program connecting the ACT community with the best experiences the Canberra region has to offer, both online and offline while public health restrictions are in place.
Featuring activities ranging from online streamed concerts, workshops, performances, experiences to connect with nature, and opportunities for the whole family, the festivalwill provide plenty of variety.
Canberra’s innovative creators and organisations were able to apply for up to $20,000 to deliver program elements for the Where You Are Festival through an EOI process.
The full Where You Are Festival program will be available on risecanberra.com from 10 July, where the RISE Canberra events calendar is now available.
Photo credit: Lakespeare (2018) by esh Photography. As part of RISE Canberra, Lakespeare will present Rockspeare on 7 and 8 August 7.30pm, live and streaming ticket options available via Eventbrite.
