News

Coming Together for Tomorrow. 

Footscray Community Arts needs your support to raise $70,000. 

The opening of the new Lango stage, a new outdoor community-led performance venue, means we are currently standing on the edge of something monumental for Melbourne’s west. This new venue will sit on re-Indigenised green space that is rooted in a connection to and honouring of Country.

As often happens with big transformations, we’ve encountered unexpected challenges along the way and now, we need your help to get us over the final hurdle – We have to raise $70,000 to complete the final touches of the outdoor performance space.

This means features like:

• Accessible pathways throughout the riverside lawns

• Native grasses, tree plantings, and rain gardens designed to care for Country and support biodiversity while preserving green space for community use

• A custom-designed fire bowl by Moorina Bonini, created in collaboration with neighbouring blacksmith forge, Waterside Metal Art, which will provide a dedicated space for First Nations storytelling and smoking ceremonies

These features will embed cultural practice at the heart of the precinct and Footscray Community Arts legacy for generations to come.

Why do Footscray Community Arts need to raise this money?

Let’s go back to the beginning: Did you know that before Footscray Community Arts was established in 1974, this site was an industrial and livestock hub?

Fast forward to early 2025, construction finally commenced on our long-awaited Precinct Revitalisation Project, but during the initial groundworks, we discovered that below the surface of the riverside lawn and our beloved amphitheatre, were materials from the site’s former life. These findings set us back significantly, both financially and with our construction timelines, due to the extreme costs to remove the newfound materials from the construction site.  

Now, we have to raise $70,000 to complete the final touches of the outdoor performance space, which will help us realise the full scope and vision for the re-Indigenised green space. This includes features like accessible pathways throughout the riverside lawns, native plantings to contribute to the re-Indigenisation of the green space, and a ceremonial fire bowl for First Nations community.

By donating, you won’t just be funding materials for the stage. You will be:  

• Creating a place where families can gather and celebrate, together.

• Building a much needed cultural landmark the West can be proud of for generations.

• Welcoming the communities we centre to fully experience art, culture, and community

• Opening the door for community groups and artists to share their voices on one platform, with state of the art equipment in a space that honours the land and sky in which we gather.

The new outdoor space is part of a transformation investment from the Victorian State Government and Maribyrnong City Council, which celebrates our 50-year legacy and provides a new, state of the art outdoor music venue for Melbourne’s West. The architecture and design of the stage reflects extensive consultation with Footscray Community Art’s Indigenous Advisory Group and our local communities, ensuring that accessibility and cultural perspectives, and connection to Country have been embedded throughout the space.

Designed by MGS Architects, with landscaping by Simone Bliss Landscape Architects, this space will be community-led for free or low-cost live music and community events, creatively ambitious performances, markets, and cultural ceremonies. Working alongside the architects is Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Wiradjuri artist, Moorina Bonini, who is integrating her artwork into the landscape and architectural design of the new outdoor stage, Lango.

This stage is about building a legacy that says Melbourne’s West deserves the best.

As a thank-you, donors to the following impact tiers can receive: 

Impact Tier 1: Donations over $250

• Recognition on Footscray Community Arts’ social media and website (opt-in).

Impact Tier 2: Donations over $600

• You will receive a Personalised Token Gift.

Impact Tier 3: Donations over $1500

• You will receive a special behind-the-scenes tour of the renovated outdoor performance space before its public launch, plus all previous rewards.

Impact Tier 4: Donations over $5000

• Your legacy donation will be permanently acknowledged on the new stage, with your name listed on the ‘Stage Supporters’ Plaque, plus all previous rewards.

We are so close to finishing construction but we need your help to get us over the finish line. Please donate today, knowing that you’re contributing to the living legacy of community and creativity at Footscray Community Arts.