Strange Fruit & Deaf Arts Network
Recently Strange Fruit formed a partnership with Deaf Arts Network and held a series of ‘Swaying into Pole Position’ sessions on the ground floor of the KPMG building at 161 Collins Street, Melbourne. The sessions were held over 8 days in late October 2010 and some Deaf and hard of hearing people came along to watch 5 participants perform on 5-metre high swaying poles.
Strange Fruit is a Melbourne based performing arts company that produces and performs a remarkable style of work that fuses theatre, dance and circus, using these swaying poles. Their performances have captivated the audiences worldwide. The poles’ extreme strength and flexibility allows the performer to bow to different angles, swaying back and forth.
For the past ten years, Deaf Arts Network has produced an innovative culturally & linguistically inclusive arts workshop program including hip hop, stencil art, photography, visual arts and circus skills. Deaf Arts Network is a program of Arts Access Victoria which values and promotes contributions made by people with a disability across all areas of the arts.
| The Atrium, Melbourne – 20 to 29 October 2010 | |
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Strange Fruit and Deaf Arts Network presented The Atrium.
161 Collins Street hosted this unique collaboration between Strange Fruit and members of Melbourne’s deaf community. The workshops signalled the beginning of a new artistic relationship as deaf performers from Deaf Arts Network were trained to perform atop Strange Fruit’s five-metre high flexible poles. The internal courtyard atrium of 161 Collins played an integral role in this evolving relationship; the glass that surrounds the courtyard allowed the onlooker to experience the work free from any sound. Workshops were open to the public at all times. The project aimed to broaden awareness and understanding of cultural difference.
Workshops were approximately two hours in length. This project was made possible with the generous assistance of The City of Melbourne, The Besen Foundation, the SachsenFonds group, KPMG Melbourne and with the support of the Deaf Arts Network and Arts Access. |
