Page 1772 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 2 May 2012
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I received one only yesterday from a member of the public who has talked about their long association with the arts community in Canberra. The really interesting thing about this, and the thing that you see as you go through the arts community, is the number of people who are involved in multiple aspects of arts in the ACT. That really increases the richness of our arts experience in the ACT and our arts practice.
This person who has written to me is a photographer and a practising artist, has done some work with Megalo and has, in addition to receiving instruction at Megalo, exhibited there as well as being involved in concerts and live music. So this person is well experienced and able to sort of look at both sides of this. She says:
Certainly the concept of an Arts Precinct at Kingston is commendable, and yes, Megalo should be an important part of this. The point at issue is surely whether or not the Fitters’ Workshop is the best location for that presence.
She goes on to say that she thinks these are the issues that need to be considered and I think that these were the issues that were considered by the committee when they looked into this. She says:
The Fitters’ Workshop is too small for Megalo’s requirements so an extra annex will need to be built.
This is something that needs to be said quite explicitly. When we talk about Megalo and moving into the Fitters Workshop, they are not. They are not moving into the Fitters Workshop. They are moving into the Fitters Workshop and some.
The considerable amount of money that has been put on the table for Megalo is to build an annexe to the Fitters Workshop so that they can actually fit most of their heavy equipment and their dirtier equipment in an annexe which has appropriate sewerage and plumbing. This annexe, my correspondent goes on, “will disadvantage other existing members of the complex like the Old Bus Depot Markets”. This is something that the committee heard about. She goes on to say:
The interior of the Fitters’ Workshop will need far more modification to accommodate Megalo than would be required to render it suitable for a multipurpose concert hall.
The Megalo modifications would permanently destroy the acoustical qualities of the building.
And my correspondent goes on:
There is, apparently money, land and development plans for a new building in which Megalo could be accommodated.
I think the outcome of this inquiry has made it perfectly clear that the members of the committee believe that the money that is on the table for Megalo should be spent on Megalo. It should be spent on accommodation for Megalo at the Kingston arts precinct, but outside the Fitters Workshop. The Fitters Workshop, it is the general
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