Brisbane Airport joins the party at Brisbane Powerhouse
They say time flies when you are having fun but it is still hard to believe Brisbane Powerhouse will be TEN years old on Monday 10 May 2010. Since being opened as an arts centre on 10 May, 2000 by Lord Mayor Jim Soorley, Brisbane Powerhouse has been committed to providing the people of Brisbane with access to world class art forms –theatre, dance, music, comedy, kids programs, visual arts, film and beyond – presenting a consistently diverse program and bravely taking chances on new work.
Brisbane Powerhouse is proud to welcome Brisbane Airport on board as a Celebration Partner.
Brisbane Airport is committed to highlighting Brisbane as a city that values excellence and culture and recognises the significant role Brisbane Powerhouse plays in strengthening Brisbane’s reputation as a vibrant, contemporary and creative city.
Brisbane Airport spokesperson Jim Carden said that Brisbane Airport is committed to supporting cultural and community activities that help make South East Queensland one of the world's great places to live, work and visit.
“Brisbane Powerhouse is emerging as a world class cultural centre in the same way that Brisbane Airport, with our recent expansion of the International Terminal and planned upgrade of the Domestic Terminal, is emerging as a world class facility and gateway airport.”
“Brisbane Airport is proud to support the diverse program that Brisbane Powerhouse offers to our local community.”
During the past decade, Brisbane Powerhouse has produced such landmark productions as lawn and Roadkill with Splintergroup, Ridiculusmus’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Nick Earls’ The True Story of Butterfish as well as presenting the annual World Press Photo exhibition and the Brisbane Jazz Festival, Powerkidz, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Brisbane Queer Film Festival.
There have been many other highlights and milestones across the ten years, almost too many to mention, with such notable events and artists visiting as Miriam Makeba, The Brodsky Quartet, Tim Page, The Mighty Sparrow, a 2007 refurbishment and subsequent re-opening by Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, the addition of Bar Alto, Sacred Monsters with Akram Khan & Sylvie Guillem, Being Harold Pinter by Belarus Free Theatre and of course last year’s masterful marathon, GATZ and much, much more.
Attendance grew from a modest number in 2000/2001 to 643,918 patrons in 2008/2009, with tickets sales skyrocketing from less than $100,000 in 00/01 to more than $3 million in 08/09. Record numbers were seen in 2009 for World Press Photo, with more than 28,000 people viewing the exhibition and the inaugural Brisbane Comedy Festival exceeded expectations with over 24,000 paid attendees across sixteen events.
2010 is shaping up to be an exciting and dynamic year with Brisbane Powerhouse playing host again to the World Press Photo exhibition, cult filmmaker, John Waters, The Brodsky Quartet, Eddie Perfect and more. The year has also already seen the inaugural World Theatre Festival, the 2nd Brisbane Comedy Festival, which was even more huge than last year, and of course yet to come are our other regular programs, Powerkidz, Brisbane Queer Film Festival and Brisbane Jazz Festival which just keep getting bigger and better each and every year.
To celebrate its tenth birthday, Brisbane Powerhouse will open its doors wide on Sunday 16 May to invite kids and adults alike to its 10th Birthday Party, filled with kids’ activities, bands, music and comedy as well as a visit from Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and more.
More information online at brisbanepowerhouse.org