Less than a week after launching its 2019 program, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is looking for a helping hand - with the iconic festival's CEO on a desperate hunt for warehouse space.
Following the storms that battered Sydney late last month, the workshop Mardi Gras had previously secured to produce its main parade floats, set designs and costumes has been left so damaged that it is, according to a statement, "no longer fit for occupancy".
“Unfortunately Mardi Gras has found itself in the dire situation of needing a warehouse urgently," Mardi Gras Arts CEO Terese Casu said this morning.
"This has serious consequences for Mardi Gras and the community from a production point of view as we normally begin moving into our warehouse space to start production in November.”
She added: “We have reached out to our stakeholders, viewed dozens of warehouses wanting to charge expensive corporate rents and have been working with a number of supportive funding bodies who are doing their best to help. But the clock is ticking and we feel we have to cast the net wider in the hope that there might be somebody out there who knows of a space that we might be able to rent to use for the 2019 Festival."
There are a number of requirements for the ideal space, Casu continued, making the search challenging.
“We need a minimum of 2,000, but ideally 5,000 square metres of space, clearance of 4.5 metres or higher, truck access and also to be close enough to the CBD so we’re able to transport the floats on Parade day,” she said.
Casu has been working to confirm a permanent home for Mardi Gras since being appointed CEO in 2017.
“It is crucial that Mardi Gras has a permanent home for its workshop and to re-establish community access. To be going from space to space each year just isn’t feasible in the long term and has seen Mardi Gras unable to find a suitable space that safely and sustainably provides community access," Casu said.
"The Board and I have been working on finding a permanent solution. It’s time to ensure longevity for Mardi Gras and we would love to hear from anyone that might have a space available for 2019 and beyond."
Any organisations or individuals that may have or know of an available space that could work as a potential workshop for the 2019 Festival are urged to contact the festival at reception@mardigrasarts.org.au or 02 9383 0900.
