Harmony of the Heart will be the next Multi Arts Confederation community rally to oppose the building of the ATO on the waterfront and campaigning for a performing arts precinct in its place. Harmony of the Heart will take place at 5:00pm at the Gosford Waterfront next to Eat Street Cafe on Harmony Day, March 21.
“The event is about unblocking the arteries of the heart to Gosford, bringing the pulse back to the natural rhythms of the land,” said the Multi Arts Confederation vice president, Ms Victoria (Fi) Hopkins. “This time we will be holding a massive drumming circle in the shape of a heart. “It will be a diverse gathering on the waterfront as the sun sets on our beautiful bay. “Joining the heart and keeping the beats we have support from community organisations including The Rhythmn Hut, Brackets and Jam, Gavi Duncan and special guest Eddie Tutu.
“Dancing will be highly encouraged in the middle of the heart shape and members of the community are invited to wear red and to bring their own drums to add to the beat. “Once again, this rally is to continue to put pressure on all three levels of government for Gosford to have its own arts, entertainment and cultural precinct that we, the community, deserve to have on the former Gosford school site,” Ms Hopkins said. Ms Hopkins said she had written to Gosford Council as part of its public consultation for the consideration of the Doma development application for part of the former school site.
“I registered my objection to the proposed development of the Gosford Waterfront site and adjoining former Gosford Public School site. “The site has been earmarked for community use as a multi-arts precinct, which would invigorate the city centre and provide a cultural footprint,” she said.
“Community expectation has been overlooked as no transparent community consultation and engagement process was undertaken to allow for comprehensive debate over the change of use of the site. “For more than a decade, the site had been promised to house a multi-arts precinct. “The Gosford CBD has a number of commercial and mixed retail commercial spaces which could accommodate and welcome a large and longterm commonwealth tenant, such as the ATO.
“As the site is currently vacant land, it would lend itself to creating and building, as promised, a multi-arts precinct without the need to demolish and/ or renovate inappropriate spaces within the Gosford CBD to create and occupy arts facilities. “Conversely the building and construction of commercial office premises, at a substantial cost, could be better served by utilised existing commercial office premises within the CBD.
Email, Mar 8, 2016 Victoria (Fi) Hopkins, Multi Arts Confederation