Last year we made a little rhyming series of animated pictures (GIFS) with some funding from the Community Bank on Queens Parade … and then put them together with a voice over … and turned them into a poster that loads of locals collected from ACC on their daily neighbourhood walk.

It seems timely to pull them out again.

Here are the GIFS.

Here is the poster (we trust it is still gracing many a fridge or toilet door around the neighbourhood).

And here is the animation with voice overs if you’d like to watch it (it is pretty cute!).

This week was Education Week and we were thrilled to get a grant from the Victorian Department of Education to run a couple of podcasting workshops here at ACC to help mark the occasion. Alphington Primary School embraced this opportunity, and on Wednesday sent 12 grade 6 students along to have a crack at using our new equipment under the guidance of local podcaster and author Tony Wilson.

It was a super fun day and the students walked away having made two podcasts each. We’re looking forward to the next group coming on Friday (fingers and toes crossed).

After COVID, and a year of not running the ever popular Alphington Open Studios weekend in the last week of November, the artists involved are keen to get going again this year (scheduled for 28-28 November for anyone who likes to diarise such things), but are also rethinking the event somewhat and contemplating new possibilities… and as such they are seeking new artists to join in.

So, if you are:

• a local practising artist (2D or 3D artist or photographer) with a studio in Alphington and would like to have your address on the map,

• a practising artist who lives nearby in surrounding suburbs who would be interested to joining in, or

• a local emerging artist keen to join in a group exhibition over the weekend,

please email us here. And someone from ACC or an artist already participating in the Alphington Open Studios weekend will be in touch. Be brave. How exciting!

Fred Colla was one of the artists exhibiting at ACC as part of the Alphington Open Studios weekend in 2019

If you have always wanted to ride into the sunset, or ride to the shops or ride to work, and never learnt how, now you can book into this workshop at Jika Jika Community Centre (our friends in Westgarth) to build up skills and confidence over 3 sessions. The cost $130/$60. What a great idea! Just call them on 9482 5100 to find out more and book in.

One of the nicest things about the programs run at a neighbourhood house is that they typically emerge from the local community.

We love helping people in the neighbourhood incubate their workshop idea, share their hobby or even share their professional talent with their neighbours, and it’s rewarding to think that our house has helped many people kick off their small business.

Currently Matthew is running regular guitar lessons and Manu recently ran the Chai Tea Workshop, the first of many cultural cooking experiences she hopes to share. Louisa is sharing her talents through the Art in the Shed classes and even the sewing machine workshops run by Gordon this term were a recommendation from another local, Louise, who told us how great he was.

And, now is the time of the year we ask you to put your thinking caps on, as we embark on program planning for second semester.

If you have a workshop or short course you’d like to run yourself for the community please email or call us on 9499 7227 and talk to Leanne. If you have any recommendations for a great workshop or activity you’ve been part of elsewhere and can send us the contact details for who ran it please also let us know. Or any other ideas of things we should do … we’re fans of new ideas here at ACC!

We’ll be working on the program early June, with a plan to have our brochure out and ready for letterboxing by the time school holidays roll around.

We’re looking forward to your input.