At the end of 2020 we had lots of interesting conversations with people about how to revamp existing short courses, workshops and programs, and we also started exploring some new interesting ideas.

And this year we have put together a formal ‘Expression of Interest’ page on our website.

On this page we invite you to register if you are interested in :

• Being part of a Men in the Shed program this year - we need more people to commit to this program for it to be viable - and we’re interested in exploring what is should look like … are men in the area interested in making things with tools, or would doing some social things together suit more people, or is gardening a good draw card, or perhaps sharing cooking and meals might be the thing that men are interested in doing together? Once we have a number of people registered we’ll start exploring what this program should look like on the ground.

• Lego Club. Cat ran Lego Club last year in the school holidays and as an after school activity. This year she could run it on either a Monday or a Wednesday. We invite you to contact her to register your interest.

• An Introduction to Collage course, either on a weeknight or on the weekend. Local artist Maria has approached us and is offering to run an affordable collage class. If this is something that tickles your fancy we have a registration process for this as well.

• Spoon carving with local artist Maylei Hunt. This is probably one for semester 2, as we will need to find some funding to buy the equipment, but we’re wondering how many people would be keen …

To find out more and register just click here.

Jen Neille has been teaching in our shed and building art in the garden spaces at Alphington Community Centre for a little while now.

So we thought you might like to know a little more about her!

I asked Jen how she came to be an artist and how she found her way here.

Jen said that she has never been a traditional girl. Instead she won prizes for her art and her efforts at sport. She loved science and still does today. She explained that when she was small her family went to church and because she hated to sit still, her mother brought things so she could draw and colour. From there she explored all her interests in art, including drawing and painting, and then branched out into sewing, fashion styling, landscaping (which was part of her family business), renovating houses and mosaicking (which she learnt at Traralgon Neighbourhood House - her intro to neighbourhood houses!).

Jen originally attended Traralgon Neighbourhood House with her children, but she ended up teaching there. And in doing so she discovered a passion for teaching women.

It was in 2010 when she was working in bushfire relief in the West Gippsland region that she met Laurie Collinsa metal sculptor who would become a friend and teacher to Jen. In 2015 Jen took Laurie up on his offer to show her how to use a welder and Jen went to Jindivick twice a week to learn and create with him. Here is a link to explore Laurie’s art.

It was a couple of years ago, when Jen was living in Kew, that she heard that there was a shed space opening in Alphington. And so she popped by and talked with Leanne during a community lunch - and from that conversation Jen ended up working with us. We have been so lucky to have Jen sculpt signs and make art as well as teach here at ACC.

She is now teaching our Women in the Shed program, that empowers women through practical projects involving timber, tiles and metal. The program is open to beginners on Monday and those with some knowledge of tools on Tuesdays.

And in 2021 we are also offering an additional class for women of all skill levels on Thursdays with Maylei (another creative out).

You can find out more about the program and enrol here.

The Alphingtones are a long-standing local choir. It is likely that you have seen them performing at events such as the Wetlands Festival. They bring cheer with their voices to many local occasions, including our annual Christmas Carols (which we sadly couldn’t run this year)!

If you have a penchant for singing and you are thinking that joining a choir could be your thing, why not contact Kate here.

The Alphingtones choir meets on a Thursday night at ACC at 8pm. Weekly sessions cost $12.

If your family is looking for some creative fun in the park during January, Darebin Council is offering Capoeira sessions for young children (0-4) and their parents/carers in our public parks in January.

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It was developed by African people in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century.

The sessions will be focused on simple music and physical movement for young children in a fun family atmosphere. The sessions are facilitated by a qualified Capoeira Instructor/Musician, Yusuke Akai and a Darebin Supported Playgroup Facilitator.

Groups will be small and capped at 15 people. Multiple sessions are available. The dates are Monday 11 and 18 January at Edwards Lake in Reservoir and Tuesday 12 and 19 at All Nations Park in Northcote.

This is a COVID-Safe activity with social distancing and face masks required by all people aged over 12 years in attendance. Pre-screening for COVID-19 symptoms will be required by telephone at the time of booking and at arrival at the session.

Please email early.years@darebin.vic.gov.au to find out exact locations and to book in.

Our Women in the Shed program has been very popular and in 2021 we are offering this program again on Monday for beginners, then on Tuesday and Thursday for those that have been along before or have some basic confidence … and would like to work in a tutored environment and pursue their own projects.

There are 18 spots in the program across the 3 days and 6 of these have Learn Local funding to enable us to offer a discounted rate for those in need. If you would like to access this funding you can contact us here. The full cost is $150 for 6 days (that’s only $25 a day). The discounted cost is $50 for the whole course.

This tutored program is all about building your skills and confidence using a range of hand and power tools in the shed. You’ll explore jigsaws and handsaws, electric sanders and hand planers as you make a chopping board, then move on to perhaps exploring tiling tools like tile cutters, along with tile cement, tile spacers, grout and sealer as you dive into mosaics, or perhaps you’d prefer to explore how to manipulate metal with heat? That’s an option too… And then there are electric drills, dremels, drop saws and more to explore! Sounds great hey?

You can book here.