MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
Kyneton Art Group
AND
Kyneton and District Town Square Co-Op Ltd.
Non-Binding Memorandum Of Understanding
Between:
Kyneton Art Group
23 Yaldwyn St (PO Box 857) Kyneton, 3444
and
Kyneton and District Town Square Co-Op: (G0003604A) 62 Bald Hill Road, Kyneton. 3444 (K&DTSC)
In this agreement creates the background for a partnership between the two organisations. As a local community group and an organisational member of the Co-Op Kyneton Art Group supports the campaign to save the old Baynton Street Primary School for community control and responsibility.
The Parties to this Agreement
Kyneton Art Group
Kyneton Art Group (KAG) is a longstanding, local, not-for-profit group which was established in 1975, and which currently meets every Tuesday between 10am and 4pm in the Council owned Red Brick Hall in Kyneton.
The primary aim of the group is to provide fellowship and a studio space, with the opportunity for artistic creativity. Its objectives are to increase social connection, to contribute to the cultural vibrancy of the area, and to provide a safe and inclusive area in which to create, with a focus on innovation, working together and respect. In this we feel that we have a lot to offer the Kyneton Co-op and we believe that we share the same objectives.
Kyneton Art Group is a very proactive group, holding regular workshops, staging a yearly exhibition in September, hanging works in local business premises, and also encouraging members to enter local and interstate exhibitions. The group is a friendly, inclusive one and is always welcoming.
Members work in a variety of mediums and styles, with their artistic experience varying from beginners to professional artists. The member base is currently made up predominantly of retirees and semi-retirees, as well as the neurodiverse, but the group hopes to expand this to include a much broader cross section of the community if KAG is given access to the Old Primary School Library. KAG has a good reputation with the NDIS as an inclusive group which caters for the needs of its clients.
KAG is now in its 50th year of unbroken service, and was the first group asked to be part of the inaugural staging of the Kyneton Daffodil Festival. The group continues to run a highly successful art show each year in the Kyneton Mechanics Institute., which draws in vast numbers of visitors from both the local community as well as from Melbourne and interstate.
The group also holds a yearly exhibition each year in the Kyneton RSL for Armistice Day, supports the annual Kyneton Agricultural Show, and has exhibited and represented the Kyneton Community at the annual Melbourne Flower and Garden Show.
Having access to a space in the Old Primary School would essentially mean that KAG was being thrown a “life line” The council has indicated that the rent for the Red Brick Hall, KAGs current meeting venue, will be raised to at least 7 times its current level in the coming years. This means that, without access to the Old Primary School Library, the, group will likely fold within two years, and cease to exist.
Having the Old Library as our base would enable us to expand as a group, allowing us to attract a more diverse and inclusive membership. Currently we are restricted to meeting one day per week during work hours, which restricts our membership base to predominantly retirees and those who are semi-retired. Having the ability to use the facilities after working hours would enable us to provide evening and weekend classes with professional artists, which would in turn increase our membership. This would also ensure a more diverse membership, with stay-at-home mothers and those in the workforce for example, having access to the group. With this in mind we would be keen to have access to the space for two consecutive week days and perhaps a Saturday, but remain entirely flexible. We believe that having such a busy, creative and dynamic group within the Old Primary School would contribute to its vibrancy and ultimate success
Having the Old Library as our base would also potentially give us a place to hang paintings on a semi-permanent rotational basis both within the space and perhaps throughout other areas of the Old Primary School if required. Currently the members of KAG are not permitted to hang any paintings in the rooms which we hire in the Red Brick Hall. The group has its own professionally designed hanging system independent of the walls of the venue.
The Old Library would also offer the group a wonderful space with excellent natural light for its members, who need this for the creation of their artwork. The Red Brick Hall has very little natural light which makes it difficult to paint, particularly in winter.
The Old Primary School would be a more central space for KAG than the Red Brick Hall, enabling the group to become more visible in the community, with much more passing foot traffic. This would give the group an opportunity to have viable open days, which would in turn translate to a greater and more diverse membership base
The members of KAG are keen to help the Kyneton Co-op to create a vibrant art and craft precinct within the Old Primary School. The KAG Committee would be happy to apply for grants to obtain new tables, chairs and easels for the use of both its members and other groups within the community. There is no room for the group to expand in this manner within the RED Brick Hall but the use of the Old Library would enable this to happen
Kyneton and District Town Square Co-Op (K&DTSC)
The purpose of the Co-Op as outlined in the constitution is that the organisation “will promote strong community, based on values of broad engagement and mutuality, by creating a publicly-owned Town Square in the heart of Kyneton for the public benefit of Kyneton and district residents”.
The vision of the Co-Op is to:
- Provide affordable, or freely available, indoor and outdoor space for a broad range of community groups and community activities.
- Maintenance and protection of heritage values. A place of collective belonging and connection. Open, accessible, and flexible public space. Shared community responsibility based on control of the precinct by a democratic organisation.
- Support for community driven and socially worthwhile initiatives. Strongly engaged community across all age groups to promote broad inclusion.
- Commercial use of the precinct by the Co-Op to create cash flow for the nurturing, and the promotion, of public good and benefit
- Aim to meet everyone’s needs without harming the living world or the prosperity of future generations