Wesfarmers Arts Partners
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Internationally renowned for inspired programming and the rapturous response of audiences and critics, the Australian Chamber Orchestra is a product of our country’s vibrant, adventurous and enquiring spirit. In performances around Australia, around the world and on many recordings, the ACO moves hearts and stimulates minds with repertoire spanning six centuries and a vitality and virtuosity unmatched by other ensembles.
Every year, this ensemble presents performances of the highest standard to audiences around the world, including 10,000 subscribers across Australia. The ACO’s unique artistic style encompasses not only the masterworks of the classical repertoire, but innovative cross-artform projects and a vigorous commissioning program. The outstanding Australian musician Richard Tognetti was appointed as Artistic Director and Lead Violin in 1989. Under his inspiring leadership, the ACO has performed as a flexible and versatile ‘ensemble of soloists’, on modern and period instruments, as a small chamber group, a small symphony orchestra, and as an electro-acoustic collective. In a nod to past traditions, only the cellists are seated – the resulting sense of energy and individuality is one of the most commented-upon elements of an ACO concert experience.
Art Gallery of Western Australia
The Art Gallery of Western Australia, founded in 1895, occupies a precinct of three heritage buildings on the south-eastern corner of the Perth Cultural Centre. The Gallery houses the State Art Collection, which includes one of the world’s finest collections of Indigenous art, the pre-eminent collection of Western Australian art and design, as well as Australian and International art and design. Wesfarmers has supported the Gallery since the 1980s, working collaboratively to present a diverse program of national and international exhibitions and educational programs for the Western Australian community as well as contributing to the acquisition of major works for the State Collection. Currently on show at AGWA until February 2013 is the exhibition LUMINOUS WORLD: contemporary art from the Wesfarmers Collection.
Bell Shakespeare Company
Wesfarmers Arts has supported Bell Shakespeare since 1996 and remains this leading Australian theatre company’s longest standing corporate partner. Shakespeare’s work explores human experience at its limits. It was never just meant to be read. Bell Shakespeare believe the only way to truly appreciate his work is to see it brought to life through live performance. Shakespeare and other great works they present are not stuck in the past, but that they are the key to exploring our present and imagining our future. These works challenge our beliefs and urge us to see ourselves in a new light.
These plays are not static and neither is Bell Shakespeare. They have been travelling the country for more than 22 years, bringing classic theatre to Australia, looking for new ways to educate, collaborate and recreate. Bell Shakespeare presents Australian theatre’s most comprehensive and wide-reaching education programme, allowing students and teachers, young and not-so-young, across this great country, to experience Shakespeare the way it was meant to be experienced.
Black Swan State Theatre Company
Black Swan State Theatre Company is Western Australia’s flagship theatre company, championing new Australian work and celebrating the classics to ignite discussion and inspire the imagination with great live theatre. Through a year-round program of main-house productions at the magnificent new State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, as well as an active education program and outreach to regional communities, Black Swan engages audiences with the shared experience of live theatre.
Musica Viva Australia
Musica Viva brings the world’s best chamber music ensembles to Australian audiences, presenting hundreds of concerts by international musicians each year to communities across the country. MVA’s critically acclaimed concert programs and award-winning schools initiatives engage people of all ages with the experience of contemporary and classical chamber music from around the globe.
National Gallery of Australia
Wesfarmers became the Gallery’s official Indigenous Art Partner from 2012. The partnership spans the award-winning Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowships program and the National Gallery’s full range of indigenous art programming, including the internationally acclaimed Indigenous Art Triennial.
The partnership began in 2009 with the announcement of the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship and Leadership program – a national initiative aimed at increasing participation by Indigenous people in visual arts management across Australia’s gallery and museum sector.
Perth International Arts Festival
Wesfarmers has worked in partnership with the Festival since 2004 in an ongoing program of commissioning and presenting new work across a wide range of performing and visual arts. In 2007, The PIAF Wesfarmers Arts Commission Series was named Partnership of the Year in the national Australia Business Arts Foundation Awards. Wesfarmers Arts is currently the official PIAF Visual Arts Program Partner – presenting the work of leading international and Australian contemporary artists to Western Australian audiences.
West Australian Ballet
Since its formation West Australian Ballet has developed an impressive reputation for superior classical and contemporary ballet and contemporary dance of the highest level. Its repertoire continues to develop steadily; classical ballet forming the foundation for the Company's vocabulary, combined with a distinct contemporary outlook on the art form. West Australian Ballet stages everything from full length classical ballets, narrative ballets and shorter works, and encompasses a variety of choreographic styles. The Company is based in Perth and resides at the West Australian Ballet Centre in Maylands. It offers an extensive program of dance throughout the year, with three to four major seasons in Perth, regional touring throughout Western Australia, choreographic workshops, an extensive education program and other community activities.
West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera was established in 1967 and celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2012. It is Western Australia’s only full-time, professional opera company. The company presents operas drawn from the mainstream operatic repertoire and increasingly is involved in the commissioning and development of new repertoire – including the Helpmann Award winning Batavia and The Love of the Nightingale from acclaimed composer Richard Mills and most recently young director Matthew Lutton’s new production of Elektra for the 2012 Perth International Arts Festival. WAO offers an annual season of main-house productions at His Majesty’s Theatre as well as programs in regional Western Australia, a strong education program and community events across Western Australia.
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Wesfarmers Arts is the Principal Partner of West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the WASO’s longest-standing corporate supporter. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is Western Australia’s largest and busiest performing arts company. Established in 1928, WASO is the state’s only professional orchestra, playing a central role in the cultural life of Western Australia.
WASO’s vision is to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Each year the Orchestra reaches out into the community and gives people across Western Australia and beyond the opportunity to experience the magic of classical music through concert performances, touring, education programs, and other initiatives.