ARTISTS in the City of Greater Dandenong now have their own networking forum after the launch of The Hive Creative Network earlier this month.
More than 50 artists gathered on Thursday 19 June for the official launch at the Walker Street Gallery.
City of Greater Dandenong co-ordinator of arts and cultural development Dr Sarah Dugdale said The Hive was an exciting initiative that would tap into the abundent creative talent in the city.
“The Hive will provide forums for the arts community to get together and network, share ideas and find people to collaborate with,” she said.
“We’ve had an artists’ network in the city for many years but it needed revitalising.
“It was also an opportunity for us to engage in social media in a way we hadn’t before.
“We have a Facebook page that will be regularly updated with information and events.”
Ms Dugdale said a dynamic part of the project would be encouraging artists to engage with each other, while art lovers would also find information on The Hive website about events in the city.
The launch brought together visual artists, videographers, musicians and performance artists.
Feedback suggestions included local artist talks, street art programs, more live music, public studio spaces for artists and opportunities to connect with other artists and promote current projects.
Ms Dugdale said the council already provided some of the intitiaves suggested, such as public studio space, but the message was that opportunities for artisits needed to be better publicised.
Councillor Matthew Kirwan, who lobbied for the The Hive concept, said being an artist could be “an isolating experience”.
He said there were “probably more artists (in Greater Dandenong) than even our artists think”.
At the launch alone, an artist discovered another artist living around the next corner, Cr Kirwan said.
Mayor Jim Memeti also spoke of the untapped potential of the artists network.
He spoke of a Springvale dance teacher who had been unaware of the recent Emerge multicultural arts event at Dandenong Market.
The Hive’s first professional development seminar is slated for September.
To find out more about The Hive go to www.facebook.com/thehivegreaterdandy.
