Georgie James and Susannah Doyle attended the meeting with Hothouse Theatre to help shape the cultural future of the region.
Last month HotHouse Theatre unveiled its Beyond the Butter Factory vision with a night of creative inspiration at Wahgunyah’s School of Arts Hall, inviting people from the region to collaborate and help shape a vibrant cultural future.
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Led by recently appointed creative director of Albury’s HotHouse Theatre, renowned international director Dr Lindy Hume AM, the evening was a rousing success with locals from Corowa, Wahgunyah and Rutherglen attending and contributing.
“I wanted to share an idea that I had for a regional festival,” Dr Hume said.
“It’s a little idea where various communities around the villages and towns that have creative communities could participate and collaborate with Hot House to put together and co-curate a mini festival of music and performance.
“It was about getting people to think about their environment and their towns as potential places for where performances might happen.”
Beyond the Butter Factory marks a new era for regional arts, moving high-quality performances from the Wodonga base into community halls, winery cellars, and landscapes across Indigo and Federation Shires.
A highlight of the initiative is a proposed 2027 Festival of Intimate Epics.
The 10-day event will feature solo and small-ensemble theatre across programming hubs including Corowa and Rutherglen.
It blends arts, tourism, and agriculture, aiming to boost local economies and support Federation Council’s ‘North of the Murray’ visitor strategy, and aligns with local council arts and culture strategies, prioritising public art and community expression.
Dr Lindy Hume AM presented her vision for a regional performance festival at Wahgunyah School of Arts in August.
Dr Hume said these initiatives can only be realized if communities want them, and it was important for people to come to these meetings and listen to the ideas being shared to achieve a combined sense of direction to move forward.
“If there's enough enthusiasm from the community and enough sense of people bringing something to the table, then we'd be very excited to work and collaborate with communities to see what's possible next year,” she said.
“I'm talking to lots of people in different communities, trying to encourage people to think about how they would respond to that idea.
“A lot of these sorts of things are generated initially by the kind of community discussions that we are having right now.”
With strong community and council support, the next steps include formal briefings and partnership development.
Another meeting will be held at the Old Stone Hall in Beechworth on Tuesday, September 22 from 6pm to 7:30pm.
Anyone interested in attending can book their seats for free via Humanitix.com.
