Sydney news

Yesterday at the Powerhouse Museum, Theatre of Image announced a new funding partnership with the NSW Department of Education & Training; and also launched the 2008 Season for Toi including Pixel & Friends…The Colour Show which will play at The Powerhouse Museum in April.

In front of over 250 school teachers Virginia Judge, State Member for Strathfield and Parliamentary Secretary for Education, announced details of a three-year partnership between Toi and The Department of Education & Training on behalf of The Minister for Education & Training, John Della Bosca. 

“There is no other company in NSW that provides such rich visual theatre solely for an under 12 audience", said Ms Judge. “I applaud Theatre of Image for its commitment to producing such high quality work that transports children through the experience of full-scale live performance and that fires the imagination and ignites creative expression in them”.
 
“The department has committed $300,000 to Theatre of Image over three years and ensures that the company can continue to provide outstanding visual theatre,” added Ms Judge.  “Their work not only connects to the Creative Arts but to other learning areas including English, Human Society and Its Environment and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education”.
 
Ms Judge went on to speak about Toi’s commitment to regional touring that ensures that children, their parents and teachers across the state can access this wonderful work. This includes the presentation of productions in Gosford, Orange, Wagga, Newcastle, Bathurst and Griffith.
 
“The new partnership with The NSW Department of Education & Training formally established a collaborative relationship between education, teachers and students (years K-6) and contemporary arts practice,” said Theatre of Image Founder & Artistic Director, Kim Carpenter. “It represents a significant contribution to the development of a highly arts-literate society of the future.”
 
Also at the presentation to teachers was multi-award-winning actress Noni Hazlehurst who spoke of importance of children’s entertainment. Her presence provided a welcome counterpoint to her highly reported 2007 Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture where she spoke of the need of quality children’s entertainment. 
 
“It’s fantastic that the NSW Government is supporting Theatre of Image for the benefit of children from Kinda through primary school,” said Ms Hazlehurst. “The earlier kids are exposed to top quality performance in top notch live theatre productions the better.”
 
“If artists and teachers are allowed and enabled to expose children to beauty and truth through the arts and above all, to the power of their imaginations – we can deliver an education revolution, the likes of which you can hardly imagine,” Ms Hazlehurst added.
 
“Children today live busy lives, with so much competition for their attention. A visit to a quality live theatre production can be a refuge for the imaginations of young children,” said Mr Carpenter. “It can unlock all kinds of personal, creative possibilities as well as provide indelible memories for life, no matter what path they choose to follow.”

Visit: www.theatreofimage.com.au