Artist Information |
...AT A STRETCH |
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hillsceneLIVE #12
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This years theme,"...AT A STRETCH", invites us into the tension between effort and transformation. To stretch is to lean beyond comfort, to reach into the unknown, to test the boundaries of what is possible. It is a practice of resilience, risk, and reinvention in movement, in thought, in art.
We are asking artists to explore what it means to strain, expand, and grow under pressure. To occupy the spaces between structure and collapse, presence and absence, form and flux. Whether you're reaching across disciplines, across community, or into the deepest parts of your own practice, we invite you to follow that tension and see what emerges when you meet the stretch.
hillsceneLIVE 2026 is a site for thresholds. A platform for process. A festival that lives in the space between stability and the unknown. We welcome work that trembles, resists, questions, and unfolds.
Let this theme guide you, pull you, and provoke you.
Roderick Price
Festival Director, hillsceneLIVE 2026
We are asking artists to explore what it means to strain, expand, and grow under pressure. To occupy the spaces between structure and collapse, presence and absence, form and flux. Whether you're reaching across disciplines, across community, or into the deepest parts of your own practice, we invite you to follow that tension and see what emerges when you meet the stretch.
hillsceneLIVE 2026 is a site for thresholds. A platform for process. A festival that lives in the space between stability and the unknown. We welcome work that trembles, resists, questions, and unfolds.
Let this theme guide you, pull you, and provoke you.
Roderick Price
Festival Director, hillsceneLIVE 2026
ARTIST INFORMATION
Rejuvinate your creative practice with hsL
Go somewhere different
Delve into that unhinged idea
Pin down the elusive creative vision you have been nutting over
And do it all with the support of a creative team that aren’t afraid of risk taking art.
The hsL team will support artists and groups of artists to create a new performance work to be presented as part of the 2026 hsL: ...AT A STRETCH.
Working in partnership with Yarra Ranges Council and Burrinja Cultural Centre, the hsL program is structured to be a comprehensive and nurturing platform to take an idea / challenge / creative work and develop it into a live performance outcome. Integral to our process is a commitment to supporting a connection between the work and the artist, enriching the creative practice of all artists involved. During the program you will be engaged in 4 monthly participation events held in the rich landscape of the Dandenong Ranges, and online, providing you with the space to take bold risks into your explorations.
Go somewhere different
Delve into that unhinged idea
Pin down the elusive creative vision you have been nutting over
And do it all with the support of a creative team that aren’t afraid of risk taking art.
The hsL team will support artists and groups of artists to create a new performance work to be presented as part of the 2026 hsL: ...AT A STRETCH.
Working in partnership with Yarra Ranges Council and Burrinja Cultural Centre, the hsL program is structured to be a comprehensive and nurturing platform to take an idea / challenge / creative work and develop it into a live performance outcome. Integral to our process is a commitment to supporting a connection between the work and the artist, enriching the creative practice of all artists involved. During the program you will be engaged in 4 monthly participation events held in the rich landscape of the Dandenong Ranges, and online, providing you with the space to take bold risks into your explorations.
How to apply
Complete an expression of interest form via our online portal. Feel free to contact hsL Festival Director, Roderick Price, with any queries via the hsL email [email protected].
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST OPEN 8 DECEMBER 2025
Complete an expression of interest form via our online portal. Feel free to contact hsL Festival Director, Roderick Price, with any queries via the hsL email [email protected].
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST OPEN 8 DECEMBER 2025
This application does NOT require a completed and ready to show piece of work… so please provide whatever details you have, and then provide supporting material to demonstrate your idea as best as possible. hsL supports ALL types of performance art, the only stipulation is that the work has some form of live-ness to it.
Ins and Outs for Artists
What artists can expect from hillsceneLIVE:
- Free access to our 4 development / social gathering events
- Venue(s) for performance outcomes
- Inclusion in the 2026 hsL revel in August
- Development support from the hsL Creative Leadership team
- Technical production requirements (within reason)
- A Production Manager to support your work
- Online Marketing and promotion through extensive hillsceneLIVE and Burrinja Cultural Centre channels
- Exposure to a supportive and generous audience
- Print marketing through flyers, posters and revel programs
- Access to creative development resources including one-on-one support, studio time and more
- Video and photo documentation of the performance outcome
- A $250 stipend
What is expected of artists:
- Attendance to the monthly development events (live and online)
- Delivery of work/idea at the festival (Saturday 29 August, 2026 )
- Marketing support through artist social media networks
- Supplying hsL with promotional photography and marketing copy
IMPORTANT DATES:
- EOIs close February 8, 2026
- Creative development #1 at Burrinja Cultural Centre, Upwey
- Creative development #2 (online)
- Creative development #3 (online) Show and Tell
- Creative development #4 onsite at revel venue
- hsL Revel Saturday 29th August
FAQs
What is the venue for hsL?
Every year hsL take over an unused/under utilised venue within the Dandenong Ranges. The venue is chosen AFTER the artists have been selected to participate in the program to ensure the right venue is chosen for each cohort. In the past we have presented in shopfronts, office buildings, gardens and more. We believe strongly in the value of seeing these buildings in a new light, at the same time we gain so much from the site as well with the opportunity to engage in site responsive artforms.
What artforms are supported by hsL?
This is an easy question to answer… all of them! The only requirement of hsL is that the work contains an element of live performance. This can be through live performance from the artist, live interaction for the audience. We also prefer to support work that is RISKY, BOLD, NEW work.
What artforms are supported by hsL?
This is an easy question to answer… all of them! The only requirement of hsL is that the work contains an element of live performance. This can be through live performance from the artist, live interaction for the audience. We also prefer to support work that is RISKY, BOLD, NEW work.
What do you mean by risky bold new work?
hsL is the program that supports the work that rarely gets support from other avenues. We encourage EOIs from creatives that are exploring the unconventional, whether that be the themes or aesthetics of the work or the practice of the artist. We have presented folk singing scientists, live bug collections, durational live art installations, kinetic sculptures, site responsive dance works, noise performances, silks performances in trees, curated walks about death, puppet shows about feminism and so much more. There’s no idea we won’t consider as long as you share with us why the work needs to be made. We also encourage creatives that want to explore a new medium to apply, we’ve had dancers perform monologues, musicians create live installations and a number of collaborations that you don’t often see.
Do I have to live in the Dandenong Ranges?
We strongly encourage artists that live/work/play in the Dandenong Ranges to complete an EOI for the as we strongly believe in supporting our local creative community, however, artists from anywhere can apply. It is our preference that you aim to attend all the creative development sessions, including the in person ones, however, your inability to attend these sessions will not affect your opportunity to be a part of the program.
I am an emerging artist, will I be accepted?
Our ethos at hsL is to program a mixture of mid-career and emerging artists into the program. This program is designed to support creatives at all levels to present bold new work.
My idea is not fully realised, should I complete an EOI?
Absolutely! We have 4 months of creative development with the support of the hsL creative team, including your own producer, a production manager, marketing support, design support and more. If you are not sure, please get in touch and have a chat with us.
