August Musings

Welcome

There's plenty of winter warmth on offer over August at the Convent and we are waiting for you to come for a taste. With yummy meals, great coffee and our regular art, craft, fashion and food markets happening each weekend, rug up and take your ringside seat to soak up all the atmosphere. In this month's Muse you will learn of our campaign to stop innapropriate development in St Heliers Street, our plans to ramp up Open Day in November and we introduce you to Convent tenant KAGE dance theatre... and more.

What's new

Convent writer, Tony Wilson's latest book 'Making News' has hit the shelves of the St Helier Community Store and is a dark and hilarious story about celebrity, culture and the media... a behind the scenes look. Sounds like a fun read for a wintery weekend.

What's hot

The Ballarat Farmers' Wife will be at the Sunday Arts market this weekend with her handcrafted and dyed winter goodies. Explore Sunday Arts for unique creative works by Melbourne artists. read more ...

Our community

This month we chat with Simone Collins, General Manager of KAGE, a dance theatre company based at the Abbotsford Convent.

Simone, How long have you been a tenant at the Abbotsford Convent?
KAGE moved in in January 2010, however I only moved in and joined the KAGE team in March 2010. I'm still a bit of a newbie.

What do you enjoy most about being a tenant at the Abbotsford Convent?
I like being part of something bigger. Each tenant brings different skills, ideas and something special to the Convent and together we have created a really amazing and unique place.
KAGE has been making use of the new Rosina Dorm rehearsal spaces since they opened in late 2009.

Tell me a little about the productions you have developed or will be developing in the spaces?
KAGE is working on a new show entitled SUNDOWNER and did a development showing in the Rosina Blue Dorm in February. SUNDOWNER is a performance work combining dance, drama and original composition to explore the often hidden personal experiences of young onset dementia (YOD). The title comes from the disorder Sundowner’s Syndrome, which is well known to those who provide care to the aged and/or infirm. Sometimes referred to as ‘sundowning’, it was once believed that the syndrome was caused as a result of missed day/night light cues, hence the sudden onset at sundown. ‘Sundowners’ experience periods of extreme agitation, confusion and irritability, making them difficult to care for during this period - good all day, but with the quiet of evening comes frustration, malfunction and blind rage. KAGE is creating this show in partnership with Alzheimer's Australia and the cast includes the Tivoli Lovelies. The development showing was actually my first day on the job for KAGE and was a great way to start. Helen Morse (who plays the main character) incorporated the window which looks out onto the garden in the show, which suited it just perfectly.

What is your favourite spot at the Convent and why?
At the moment my favourite space is my office, Studio C1.5. It is nice and warm in these winter months and I seem to be able to get lots of work done when I am there. If I do need a break though, I am right next door to Handsome Steve's. I am all sorted. Oh, but I do also love the garden and am looking forward to seeing it in Spring.

3 items you would take if you were stuck on a deserted island?
My ipod, my cat and my keys. I live in hope that I could get off the island, but would have some company while I was stuck there, and no, I don't have an iphone.

The interview

Upon the announcement of plans to develop the Lourdes site across the road from the Convent in St Heliers Street, alarm bells started to ring in the ears of the local community and concerns were raised about the impact that the addition of further traffic congestion may have on the already problematic situation. In the Muse this month Maggie Maguire chats to Convent neighbours Susan Bannerman and Stuart Robinson about their concerns for the future.

Susan has lived at the end of St Heliers Street since 1991 and was an active member of the Abbotsford Convent Coalition for the eight years of the campaign to save the Abbotsford Convent from inappropriate development as a multitude of apartments. Stuart has been a local business owner for seven years and is the closest business to the Convent.

Stuart and Sue, How has the emergence of the Abbotsford Convent as a community destination impacted upon your daily life?

Sue We come here daily to the Convent, to walk our dogs, to have coffee and enjoy the serenity the place offers. What we’ve seen over the last five years in terms of the site’s growth has been phenomenal.

Stuart It is wonderful to now be in a suburb that before the Convent opened, had nothing here so if you wanted to get something you had to catch the bus to go elsewhere. Now there is a real buzz about the place which we all love.

The recent announcement of plans for a child care facility and residential development opposite the Convent; how do you think this will impact on the the precinct?

Sue During the eight year campaign to acquire the Convent for the community, many studies were conducted regarding the appropriateness of residential development on the peninsula. All of those studies indicated that residential activity was not appropriate and as a result, the state government decreed there was to be no residential development in the precinct. That fact appears to have been overlooked with Council’s proposed development. Given the involvement and terrific support that the City of Yarra gave us all during the days of the Convent campaign and the availability of all the relevant historical documents in their archives, we don’t understand why those items weren’t considered prior to this proposal happening. We know that the majority of current Councillors were not on the Council back then during the campaign and therefore they may not be aware of the history of the site but they really do need to consider Lourdes in that context.

Stuart We are all concerned that due to the number of children in the area, the streets around here are just not safe now. For instance, 540 buses full of children and community groups come just to the Collingwood Children's Farm each year. That is not counting the students at the School in the Convent or the little kids being dropped off every day at the Early Learning Centre on the corner of St Heliers Street. If Council puts more child care onto the Lourdes site, we will have additional cars dropping kids off in the morning and collecting them at the end of the day and it will just add more chaos to the street.

Sue Fundamentally, the Lourdes site is not only inappropriate due to the intensity of its overdevelopment but because it adds more activity yet it provides NO parking for the residents or the child care centre’s staff or visitors. It will certainly exacerbate the already serious parking and traffic problems we all experience. The residents in the area have been up in arms for years about the traffic but nothing has been done about it. And now we hear that there will be residents in 28 apartments – along with their friends and visitors. Council says the car parking solution for the residents is that they cannot own a car – which is plainly laughable. How are they going to police that?

What do you think should be done to address the potential risks associated with this development?

Stuart Sadly, instead of the Council finding a solution, they are merely compounding the problem which will risk the ongoing viability of the Abbotsford Convent and the Collingwood Children's Farm and we don’t want that to happen.

Sue The good news is that we understand the Council is doing a 6 month long term traffic management study of the precinct; which is great. However we understand that currently the Lourdes site is not included in the study and neither is anywhere on the other side of Johnstone Street which is also rapidly developing with both commercial and residential activity. We have to get the Lourdes site included into the study as a possible solution to the safety and traffic issues. We believe that the Abbotsford Convent is keen to work with the City of Yarra on this significant challenge and they want to talk through the options with the Council. There could probably be significant benefits for Council and the community if we collectively investigate using the Lourdes site and part of the Convent’s car park to develop lasting traffic management solutions.

Stuart This is a real opportunity for the Council to find a solution. We should all work together as has happened successfully in the past. That is how the amazing jewel in the crown of the City of Yarra, which is the Abbotsford Convent, was created and here is a chance to do that again!

The Lourdes development: what you can do

The Abbotsford Convent Foundation will strongly object to the development proposal by making a personal presentation to the City of Yarra at their meeting on Tuesday 3 August, as will many local community members who are also very concerned about this inappropriate development. The ACF's objection will be strengthened by your voice, so any objections Council receives from community members will assist in the campaign. You can lodge your objection via email to the City of Yarra Councillors and key staff; this is the link to their email addresses: www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/Council/Councillors/ (the Convent is in Langridge Ward). Please also copy Andi.Diamond@yarracity.vic.gov.au (CEO) and Craig.Kenny@yarracity.vic.gov.au (Director, Community Programs Division). Or post your letter to: PO Box 168 Richmond 3121. Please act before before 3 August. If you have any suggestions, strategies, expertise, time to offer to this campaign, please get in touch with us asap.

Looking forward: Convent Open Day 2010

You are invited to a community forum to help shape this year’s Convent Open Day, to be held on Sunday 7 November 2010. Although this date might seem far into the future, planning for Open Day is about to begin. The event will deliver a showcase of creative practice from the Convent community and provide opportunities to observe, discuss and buy the work of the arts and wellbeing practitioners and participate in and learn from their practice. We want the day to offer exhibitions, performance, creative classes and workshops, plus loads of food, coffee, wine and playtime.

To make this event possible and to make it relevant to all of the community, your input is sought. From the initial community forum, it is hoped that an Open Day advisory committee will be established to devise the event with maximum benefits for the Convent tenants, their supporters, visitors and extended community. Two forums will be held: Tuesday 17 August at 6pm and Thursday 19 August at 12pm, in the Bishop’s Parlour. For more information, or to rsvp, please do not hesitate to contact Brenton Geyer on 9415 3600 or bgeyer@abbotsfordconvent.com.au. Refreshments will be provided. All welcome.

Wellbeing insights

The second in the series of free Wellbeing seminars happens on Sunday 8 August at 2pm in the Convent Salon. Last month, 35 people attended to further their knowledge and appreciation of what, when and how we eat. In August, the seminar will bring the modalities of Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais and Yoga together to further our understanding of our bodies and how movement and exercise contribute to wellbeing... read more...

Coming up at the Convent ...

Regular Markets this month include the Sunday Arts Market and the Finders' Market happen on Sunday 1 August from 10am - 4pm. The Shirt & Skirt Market and Makers' Market happen between 10am - 4pm on Sunday 15 August. The Slow Food Farmers' Market happens between 8am - 1pm on Saturday 28 August. Come along and explore our range of markets and creative activity during July. Read more ...

The Abbotsford Convent Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation and its growth depends on the generous support of donations, bequests and gifts. For more information about tax-deductible donations, please click here.

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