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Punctum is a live arts organisation based in central Victoria, Australia.
Established in August 2004, Punctum produces and creates small to large-scale performances and installations.
Punctum has an Artistic Director, its founder Jude Anderson, Program Coordinator Bec Anderson and Associate Producer Krista Horbatiuk based in Castlemaine, and a core group of 10 members – all practising arts professionals with national and international profiles working in a diverse range of art forms, from theatre to sound art, installations, dance, new media, experimental film, contemporary poetry and spoken word, sculpture, and exhibition design.
Each artist of Punctum creates works of art that continually push the boundaries and conventions of performance and installation.
Our work has a national profile for its contemporary themes, the strength and diversity of artists involved and unconventional, innovative exchanges with audiences, which often occur in the least expected places.
Punctum also manages an “arts incubator” – a place where artists working with contemporary forms can research, practise, and build works.
Punctum (pronounced pounctoum) rejoices in punctuating the cultural landscape.
Jude Anderson, Peter Anderson, Megan Beckwith, Emilie Collyer, Grant Davis, Rebecca Anderson, Paul Fletcher, Peter Freund, Krista Horbatiuk, Penny Larkins, Jacques Soddell
For the past 25 years Jude has created and directed contemporary performance works. In bringing together artists to build ephemeral adventures for audiences, her works focus on gathering people together to have singular experiences. Jude has produced, directed and taught contemporary performance in Chile, U.S.A, Italy, and France. She returned to Australia in 2001 where she now lives and works in Castlemaine, Victoria.
Since 1994 Jude has directed and produced over 45 productions, installations, and live art performance works many of which have been created and toured internationally. Productions she has directed and co-directed have been programmed by some of Europe’s major international festivals. in Australia since 2003 she has produced and directed 9 major works all of which have received State Government support.
In 2004 she founded the live arts organisation Punctum for which she is Artistic Director. In 2007 she established Punctum’s Live Arts Incubator where contemporary arts research and practice is assisted and presented in a regional context. In 2010 alongside creating works and programs with Punctum, she established In-Habit International - a residency program for Victorian artists researching contemporary art forms and cultural exchange in international regional contexts.
Jude is currently on the board of Regional Arts Victoria, is Chairperson of Victoria’s Touring Consultative Committee, a board member of Arts Management Advisory Group, a grants panel member of Arts Victoria’s International programs, and a member of Australian Women Directors’ Alliance
Peter Anderson is an independent writer, curator and arts researcher. He has been actively involved in writing and the visual arts since the late 1970s, publishing poetry, short fiction, art criticism, essays and cultural journalism for Australian arts publications, general magazines, and newspapers. He has worked as a consultant to artists, arts organisations, regional communities, and government agencies, working on projects ranging from policy research to conference co-ordination and strategic planning.
Since 2001 Megan Beckwith has developed several works for both the Melbourne Festival and Melbourne Fringe festival and is an integral member of two Central Victorian contemporary arts organisations – Punctum and Fourcast. Megan has choreographed and performed in 6 Punctum works since 2003, performed in the Castlemaine State Festival 2005/07, and is a freelance 3D digital animator whose work is now being commissioned nationally. Megan is currently teaching VCE and VET dance at Bendigo Senior Secondary School whilst developing a contemporary dance company in Central Victoria. Megan received her Masters from the Victorian College of the Arts in early 2005 and Punctum was proud to produced her thesis choreography for Commonwealth Games Festival in 2006. Megan is also a founding member of Punctum.
Writer Emilie writes plays, performance text, poetry, fiction and is an actor and improvisor. Award winning plays include Argonauta (Young Playwright’s Award) and Promise (George Fairfax Award). She has had work in publications including: Kill Your Darlings, The Green Fuse (Picaro/Varuna Poetry Anthology 2010), Torpedo, Voiceworks, The Australian Book Review, Viewpoint and with Binara Publishing. She has been affiliated with and produced by ABC Radio National, La Mama, Melbourne Theatre Company, Playbox, The Victorian Arts Centre and St Martins among others. In 2010/11 Emilie is Café Poet in Residence at c3 Contemporary Art Space. You can visit her online at www.betweenthecracks.net.
Emilie is a founding member and board member of Punctum. She has co-written works with Jude Anderson since 2001. In 2009 she was the Project Coordinator for In-Habit.
Prior to his move to regional Victoria in 2005, Grant was Technical Director for the Melbourne Arts Centre and Myer Music Bowl. He was Technical Director for the Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore and for Anthill Theatre in the 1980’s. Grant was touring Technical Manager and lighting designer for Punctum’s SHACK (endangered species) and designed the lighting for the SHED (The Morris Shed Collection) tour. His innovative lighting design for SHACK was the subject of a recent industry publication - CX. Grant is currently a part time technical director at Girton College in Bendigo and is technical director and lights designer with Punctum since 2005.
Prior to becoming the Program Co-ordinator for Puctum Rebecca Anderson was employed as the Production Administrator at Chunky Move Dance Company. Rebecca has also been a Production Co-ordinator for numerous Adelaide Festivals and Come Out Youth Arts Festivals. Rebecca has worked extensively in Stage Management for such companies as Company B Belvoir, Circus Oz, DV8 Physical Theatre, Performing Lines, Erth, Womadelaide, State Theatre Company of SA , Windmill and The State Opera of South Australia among others. Rebecca has been fortunate enough to tour extensively both nationally and internationally and is excited to lay her hat in Regional Victoria.
Paul is currently undertaking his Masters in Animated Film Research whilst teaching part time in the VCAs Film and Television Animation Department. He has his own production company, Digital Compost, and has produced and created films for local and international short film festivals. Paul’s early animation work was included in the NGV Popism exhibition in 1981. In May 2005 he received an award for his film Lake Qualm in the Darwin International film festival. Paul designed and created films for works for The Gas Connection, SHED and SHACK. Paul also regularly contributes audiovisual work to the Undue Noise performances, gallery exhibitions and artist in schools projects.
Peter is Punctum Board and Artistic Hard Core Chairperson. Peter is Marketing and Publicity Manager with the City of Ballarat. His role is attached to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Her Majesties Theatre and the Eureka Centre. After Peter graduated from the V.C.A. drama school he acted with Innovative Melbourne theatre company Whistling in the Theatre, and in the occasional M.T.C. production. Since moving to Ballarat 16 years ago, Peter has had many works commissioned as a local writer and actor most particularly where historical context and events are explored and presented.
Peter is a founding executive committee member of Punctum and has been its Chair since 2005.
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Krista has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Studio Art and Art History) from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and an Honours degree in Contemporary Music Studies from Macquarie University, Sydney. Since graduating and moving to Australia in 2000 she spent her first eight years in Sydney working as Special Events Co-ordinator for Opera Australia, Events Manager for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Programming Co-ordinator for Ashkenaz Festival (a short stint in her hometown of Toronto, Canada). At the beginning of 2009 Krista moved to Victoria where she has worked as Production Manager at Big West Festival and Junction 2010: Regional Arts Australia National Conference and Festival (Tasmania), Manager for Speak Percussion and Operations & Program Manager for the Castlemaine State Festival. Now working in a more freelance style Krista is currently producing programs with Punctum live arts, co-ordinating the community and music programs for the Castlemaine State Festival, teaching arts and events management to Castlemaine youth and directing her first self-produced festival Global Gardens in Central Victoria. She spends her spare time volunteering on the Boards of Zingaro Festival (Malmsbury klezmer festival) and Xtreme Inc. (Castlemaine youth events), presenting a world music show on Castlemaine's local radio station WMA FM and singing with a community women's a capella choir, the Chat Warblers.
Penny graduated with Bachelor of Arts (musical theatre) from W.A.A.P.A. in 1998 and has a graduate diploma of Education from R.M.I.T. (2001). Penny has worked with Oz Opera, Dainty Consolidated Entertainment, Ben Gannon, and has studied with Kavisha Mazzella and Felicity Richardson in Italy.
Penny taught VCE Drama, English, and Theatre Studies at Bendigo Senior Secondary School between 2004/06 and devised and performed 2 works with Punctum in 2006/07. She has coordinated several regional music events and productions and joined the Punctum’s core committee in April 2007.
Sound Designer Jacques is a Bendigo based sound artist producing electroacoustic music, with an interest in deconstructing natural sounds (field recordings) to create new sounds & textures. He uses similar techniques in manipulating video for new images and textures. He produces artworks for theatre, dance, live performance and installation and is passionate about promoting experimental art, hence his past involvement with the film society movement (bendigo film group, ACOFS), current promotion of experimental music & film in the local community (undue noise, liquid architecture & radio show possible musics), as well as involvement in Punctum since its inception. He also curates exhibitions and concerts. With his wife, Fran, he creates fungal music and runs cajid media, a label for australian sound art. He was a microbiologist in a former life, specialising in the microbiology of wastewater treatment.
Artists who have worked on Punctum Projects:
Vanessa Walker: Project Manager
Ian Scott: Actor
Paul Lum: Actor
Trevor Nesbitt: Actor
Michael Jewell: Actor
Chris Harris: Installation and Lighting Designer
Tammy McCarthy: Actor
Julie Millowick: Photographer
Jared Lewis: Sound Designer & Technician
Alison McNicol: Installation Designer
Keith Wiltshire: Sculptor
Myles Walsh: Actor
Carl Panuzzo: Musician /Singer
Damask Leary: Actor
Tara Gilbee: Artist
Workspace Castlemaine
Arts Victoria
Regional Arts Victoria
Australia Council for the Arts
The Capital - Bendigo's Preforming Arts Centre
Abbotsford Convent
Australian Latin American Foundation
Sutton Grange Winery
Trouble Magazine
Mount Alexander Shire
City of Greater Bendigo
City of Yarra