Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts

The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts is a performing arts center in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Queensland. The venue was renovated and re-opened as an arts centre in October 2001. The Centre is named after Judith Wright, who was a celebrated Queensland poet[1] and an advocate for Indigenous rights and an environmental activist. Wright was one of two Australian poets considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature. She died June 25, 2000 in Canberra.[2]

Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
The Judy
Address420 Brunswick Street (corner Berwick Street), Fortitude Valley
LocationBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates27°27′34.64″S 153°2′11.91″E
TypeTheatre
Genre(s)music, contemporary dance, circus, cabaret, art exhibitions
Capacity300
Construction
Builtoriginally Bushells Tea Company
OpenedOctober 2001
Website
www.judithwrightcentre.com

The Centre is managed by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Affectionately called The Judy, it is located at corner Berwick Street and 420 Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley.

The venue includes performance spaces that are well equipped for lighting, sound and AV and the three rehearsal studios for dance, theatre and music feature natural light. The audience experience is intimate with a relaxed welcoming style of cabaret and racked seating. The main performance space is a black box style with plenty of flexibility to stage a diverse range of performances. The venue encompasses two adjacent buildings, one two-story and the other five-story. The larger structure was originally a factory for Bushell's Tea. Redevelopment of the site was designed by COX Architects & Planners and built by Multiplex Constructions.[3]

The Centre is home to some of Queensland's top creative and cultural organisations including Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts, Artour, AusDance Queensland, BlakDance, Circa Contemporary Circus, Creative Partnerships Australia, Expressions Dance Company, Flying Arts Alliance, Institute of Modern Art and Musica Viva, as well as Carbon Creative, and Slingshot Bar Gallery. Its facilities include a 300-seat performance space, rehearsal spaces for theatre, music, dance and circus, an art gallery, artist studios, coffee shop, and bar.

Each year, the venue hosts the Queensland Poetry Festival.[4] The premier event for contemporary music BIGSOUND is held annually in September bringing together about 120 top emerging bands and national and international music buyers for a conference that attracts speakers including Peter Garrett, Nick Cave, Claire Bowdich and more.

See also

References
  1. "Judith Wright Centre". Arts Queensland. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  2. Mcilroy, Jim. "Judith Wright, 1915-2000". GLW issue 411, Wednesday, July 12, 2000. Green Left Weekly. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  3. Cox, Philip Sutton (2008). Cox Architects and Planners. Images Publishing. p. 297. ISBN 192074407X. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  4. "Queensland Poetry Festival in August and the Poet in Residence program". 612 ABC Brisbane. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.


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