A “who’s who” of South Australia’s arts and cultural scene came together to celebrate excellence, innovation, enterprise and achievement at the 2010 Ruby awards held at the Dunstan Playhouse on Thursday 2 September 2010.
Among those celebrating was Ms Marjorie Fitz-Gerald OAM, who received the Premier’s award for lifetime achievement. A pre-recorded message by the Premier of South Australia, the Hon Mike Rann, paid tribute to this remarkable and active arts supporter, while Minister John Hill, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts presented Ms Fitz-Gerald with a hand-crafted award made by the JamFactory’s Glass Studio.
Now almost in her eighties, Ms Fitz-Gerald is a much-loved arts identity and has been a formidable advocate in the areas of arts festivals and organisations, youth arts and regional arts and culture.
The 2010 winners are:
PREMIER’S AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Ms Marjorie Fitz-Gerald OAM Her many achievements include: Foundation member and Patron of Carclew Youth Arts; inaugural Chair of Country Arts SA, Chair and Life member of the Adelaide Fringe, Trustee with the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and Foundation member of the Association of Community Theatre.
GEOFF CROWHURST MEMORIAL AWARD: the award was presented to Margie Fischer, who founded Vitalstatistix and was instrumental in establishing the Feast Festival. Her work across the community as an advocate, role model and mentor has made her a much respected and influential figure in the arts.
BEST WORK: Man covets bird by Slingsby a performance company which is building an international reputation for theatre that challenges, moves and inspires adults and children aged 10 and up. This continues a winning streak for Slingsby who took out the Ruby award for Arts enterprise in 2009. .
BEST EVENT: Soundstream: Adelaide New Music Festival (2009) The only annual independent event of its kind in Australia, Soundstream connects audiences with contemporary classical music. This event was founded by artistic director Gabriella Smart.
COMMUNITY IMPACT (under $100,000): Out of the glass case: the APY Lands Roadshow Giving students in remote communities a unique educational experience, the SA Museum’s Roadshow was hosted by the Umuwa community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands.
COMMUNITY IMPACT (over $100,000): Windmill Theatre & Mimili Anangu Partnership In 2005 Windmill Theatre established a partnership with the Mimili Anangu School in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Significant outcomes from this partnership include a short documentary called Ngura ini Mimili nya (A place called Mimili) an associated literacy teaching package and the cross-artform production Nyuntu Ngalia (You we two)
SUSTAINED CONTRIBUTION (individual): Mary Moore A passionate and inspiring innovator, Mary Moore has created award-winning set designs for more than 100 productions, both here and overseas. She has produced work of the highest calibre throughout a career spanning three decades.
SUSTAINED CONTRIBUTION (organisation): Restless Dance Theatre For almost two decades Restless has been working with young performers with or without a disability. Their philosophy is to create works that are inspired by themes surrounding disability but not limited by them.
INNOVATION: The mystery of the flying kicks by Closer Productions This unique short film was made entirely from photographs, videos, animations and phoned-in theories which were collected from around the world. In 2010 the film won best documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival Shorts awards.
ARTS ENTERPRISE: Format Festival 2010. South Australia’s only do-it-yourself, artist-run, youth oriented festival. The 2010 event ran concurrently with the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival and focused on supporting local emerging artists and curators with an emphasis on community participation and hybrid art forms.
Named after the late Dame Ruby Litchfield, the Ruby awards were introduced by the Government of South Australia in 2006. The awards have been widely embraced by artists and arts organisations and the general public.
Every year, Arts SA presents the Ruby awards in conjunction with the Australia Business Arts Foundation SA awards.
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