About Us

About Us

In the Beginning:

The Arts Alliance of Pine Rivers originally developed from the Pine Rivers Council plan to develop arts within the community. The Pine Rivers Shire Council provided funding for the arts through various channels, and supported artists to apply for funding for facilities and development. However this process needs to be driven by the artists themselves, and for the various levels of Government to clearly understand the community’s needs for development and support. The Arts Alliance is the community’s response to the Pine Rivers Councils initiative and was incorporated in February 2007.

The Growing Years:

The AAPR is an Incorporated Association with an established membership, and an elected management committee.

We are a diverse organisation, with a broad and inclusive definition to allow a rich mixture of expertise and interests. Our members range from part-time hobbyists to internationally-recognised artists, and include Painters, Actors, Musicians, Sculptors, Writers and Photographers.

We have four key areas of diversity;

• Fine Arts such as painting, ceramics, sculpture etc
• Performing arts such as dance, theatre, music etc
• Literary arts such as writing, poetry etc
• Visual arts such as film, photography, digital, computer graphics and web design

The Arts Alliance of Pine Rivers (AAPR) operates as a non-profit organisation, with the purpose of supporting the interests of members by promoting arts and culture within the Moreton Bay Regional Council area.

Some of our objectives are:

• A focus group to lobby our council for support
• Newsletter publication for information
• Develop an Arts Society similar to neighbouring communities
• Create an artists group within the Shire
• Establish a range of facilities for artists to display, perform and conduct workshops and meetings
• Social and business interaction between artists, service providers, industry and commercial organisations
• Support and guidance for artists who require funding through Government sources.

To be successful we need the active participation of artists from all fields, particularly to support workshops and promotion of the arts.

Where we're going:

The AAPR has been very active in the community, and over the last 3 years has provided three major arts festivals for members and the community, plus a number of arts workshops and promotions.

The future planned activities includes a major Cultural arts festival incorporating community art show, performing arts, writers forum and community craft display. The Moreton Bay Regional Council has offered support for this festival, and our festival will be coordinated with the 2011 Moreton Youth Music Awards. The AAPR intends to conduct workshops to offer community members an opportunity to develop various arts skills. The workshops will be run by local professional artists and this will provide support to local artists.

The AAPR also continues to support the annual Pine Rivers Show, and has associated membership with groups such as the Moreton Bay Arts Council.

Our Committee:

	Ray Swenson - President Ray Swenson has extensive experience in the arts as an actor, director, administrator and a published palywright.
	Lexcia Dalton - Secretary Lexcia is the secretary and is an author who has produced short stories.
	John Bayne - Treasurer and Vice-President John Bayne is a foundation member of the Arts Alliance and is a visual artist with Oil and Acrylic Painting, and he is also a photographer and web developer, and combines these skills to support community groups with their web activities.
	Dan Wagner - Fine Arts Representative: Dan Wagner is a professional painter who works mainly in Acrylics. He has displayed his work in many venues across Australia, and offers additional services as an Art teacher. Dan represents the Fine Art membership group.
	Bernie Dowling - Writers Representative: Bernie Dowling is a foundation member of the Arts Alliance of Pine Rivers, and a professional journalist working in the Pine Rivers district. In recent years he has developed his skills as an author and self publisher, and has produced four books.
	David MacLaughlin - Writers Representative: David has experience with various art forms, including writing and musical theatre. He has previously been a RADF committee representative for council, and has a strong interest in heritage.
	Terry Frawley - Performing Arts Representative:
	Ken Armstrong- Community Representative Ken Armstrong is an oil painter who has been busy experimenting with the Australian light and colour offered in Queensland and elsewhere, producing a range of works including landscapes, portraits, bird scenes, figure work and religious pieces.