Two Bouddi local residents were among 24 young artists presented with a grant at the Bouddi Foundation for the Arts annual awards day.
Killcare Heights flautist Ms Elissa Koppen and Empire Bay actress-dancer Ms Maddy Bell were both awarded $2100 through the grants to help support their artistic pursuits.
Ms Koppen aspires to establish a concert season on the Central Coast, providing musicians opportunities and economic incentives to stay on the Coast and providing a rich musical offering to the community. Ms Bell’s grant will help her defray costs of going to the United States for vocal and drama coaching, as well as to pursue further education in Australia.
The awards day was held at Wagstaffe Hall on November 10, with Foundation chairman Mr John Bell presiding over the festivities. “I am thrilled with the number and quality of our grantees this year and the size of our financial investment in them signals our commitment in making this Foundation a major player in fostering the next generations of Australian artists, ” Mr Bell said.
Following the awards, film director Mr Bruce Beresford joined Mr Bell for a lively interview providing insights from Mr Beresford’s career including his latest movie Ladies in Black. Mr Beresford entertained with stories from the making of his films which also include Driving Miss Daisy.
Mr Bell is a long-time friend of Mr Beresford’s with the pair adding a few anecdotes from their youth to the interview.
““Bruce and I went to Sydney University together and I starred in his first feature movie, all students, of course.
“We lived together for a while and did odd jobs together in our university holidays. “We also acted alongside each other in several university stage productions, but Bruce had already set his sights on being a movie director, ” Mr Bell said.
SOURCE: Media release, 4 Dec 2019 Peter Park, Bouddi Foundation for the Arts