Polyglot’s December e-news

Thank you

With the arrival of summer in Melbourne, bright and hot, Polyglot is simultaneously looking back on twelve months of evolution, and looking ahead to another rich year of connection.

2023 has been big and busy, and has allowed us to dive even deeper in how we engage with children, families, and communities. From international premieres and commissions, play workshops at Rumbalara Football Netball Club in Shepparton, seasons at Sydney Opera House and Fed Square, local delivery partnerships in the US and Norway… we are so proud of what we have achieved.

We’ve reached more than 36,000 children and families, with 79% of our audience accessing our work for free;

We’ve toured Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Singapore, USA; and

We’ve provided 363 employment opportunities for our artists.

L: Come Back Home. Photo: Studio Znke, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore.
R: Paper Planet, Japan. Photo: Ai Ueda.

We offer a heartfelt thank you to all the children, families, and educators who have created, played, adventured and shared with us this year. Polyglot exists to give children the power and agency to be in control, to communicate their ideas, to have an effect and experience freedom. It is with our audience’s imaginations that our work truly soars.

Today is Polyglot’s final day of work for the year, and we’ll be back on Monday 8 January. We hope that you and your loved ones enjoy a restful break, with time for recuperation and reflection.

See you in 2024!

Funding update

We are pleased to share that Polyglot was successful in our application for organisational funding (Four Year Investment 2025-2028) from Creative Australia. Having missed out in the 2020 round, we are thrilled to have this stability to power us into the future. It will enable us to deliver Polyglot’s vision and program in a way that will have a far-reaching impact on the children and families we work with, and to create exciting new projects with our artists.

We acknowledge our friends and colleagues who were unsuccessful in their applications, particularly those making work with and for this important audience. We celebrate their art and vision that strengthen our whole sector.

Our impact and reach is made possible by a wonderful, warm community of supporters, many of whom have been integral to Polyglot’s story for years. We are so appreciative of our champions, especially during these past challenging years.

Here’s to Polyglot’s next adventures!

On now: Sound of Drawing

“Doing long whoosh drawings made the best sound.” Child, Sound of Drawing

Sound of Drawing has arrived at Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery for the summer. Our installation in the Playspace Gallery welcomes participants to turn the physical action of drawing into a live tapestry of sound. Some sessions will be facilitated by Polyglot artists, Hyphen staff or local artists, otherwise it’s open for you to explore freely. Make your collective mark in an abstract artistic masterpiece.

Until 27 January, FREE, no bookings required.

Sound of Drawing. Photos: Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery

Coming up: FLOAT

This January, Polyglot leans into the reflective offer of Tadao Ando’s MPavilion design, and extends this invitation to children and families in FLOAT. Join us to create boats from leaves, and offer them into the reflection pool within the pavilion. A live musician responds to the creative energy in the space, and the boats that bob and drift. Children and families are gently guided through play and what it means to reflect by artists, who will weave through the stories and ideas that arise from participants.

What holds you buoyant?

12-14 January, FREE, no bookings required.

FLOAT by Polyglot Theatre was commissioned by MPavilion as part of the MStudio commissioning program. MPavilion is a flagship initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

FLOAT. Photos: Darren Gill

We are also excited to be sharing MTALKS: Reflections on the importance of natural environments for engaging children in the arts. Join Cat Sewell, Polyglot’s Artistic Director and co-CEO, and Jenny Anderson, Stacie Piper and Kathleen Gonzales for a panel discussion and Q&A on the joys of engaging children and families in arts experiences that connect to nature and natural environments.

11 January, FREE, no bookings required.