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Excelling all expectations of success, THE FORT opened its heart to the public on Friday the 3rd of April to signal the beginning of a new era for the artists of Brisbane. It was the very first fundraising extravaganza for the community arts hub, with a night of live performances, art gallery display, organic BBQ, and a grand tour of the restoring of the amazing Bell Brothers Building. Over 400 supporters attended and there was a great mood of excitement; the people were unanimous in opinion of THE FORT’s high quality and potential.

The elegance of champagne officialdom started the evening in the chandelier-lit foyer for an invite-only V.I.P. party . THE FORT Co-directors Kelly Timmons and Peter Gorrie spoke on The Fort’s history and amazed the crowd with how much support has already been received from businesses and artists alike. David Hinchliffe gave some rousing words of welcome and declared modestly the much-anticipated centre open to the public. With the champagne flowing, string quartet playing from the mezzanine, and the (gorgeous) girls serving edibles, the night was gathering momentum for the huge open-invitation party.

[SinglePic not found]The beer was cheap, the spirits were high (but cheap too!) and everyone was celebrating the live performances from Mr Laneous & The Family Yah, The Kelly Gang, Samedi Sound System, Yuin Huzami, Rainman and art works by some of Brisbane’s best visual artists.  Elsewhere in the unfolding building, the chill space of the evergreen courtyard hosted Murray playing double bass, the haunting resonance drifting upwards through the trees.

Of all the striking features of the event, it was the feeling of a new beginning, of opportunity and inspiration that interwove the conversations of the supporters. The crowd mingled amidst the bass swelling, swilling around the stairs like a ghost train urge in an atmosphere of tangible artistic inspiration:  A fellow was pretending to speak French whilst gesticulating wildly about the carpark graffiti-art, a young artist was furiously interpreting the live performances on his sketch pad, two girls were busting out synchronised hiphop dancing, hand-made crosswords were distributed, some people chose to joyously stand in the rain, and the delicious three-tiered vegan birthday cake was eaten from hypercoloured-top downwards with spoons!   Although none of these pursuits were planned, they certainly made for an interesting and colourful night.

[SinglePic not found] THE FORT wishes to extend a warm thankyou to everyone involved in making the party an incredible success!    We have had great feedback from the event and would love to host more like it. With your continued support we can make this possible!

Thanks to the lovely Tash, winner of the two free tickets to The Fort launch competition, for her contributions to this article. Thanks also to Manny for the great sketches!! (check out Manny’s Myspace profile here).

Special thanks to The Fort’s sponsors for making this all possible – Renegade Empire; Coopers; Nutrient Water; Steffan Town Planning; 4zzZ, and all the the artists.

Click here to view the photo gallery

[Gallery not found] Tags: 4zzz, art, art gallery, artist, brisbane, canvas, creative, fortitude valley, graphic design, live art, Mechs, mr laneous $ the family yah, multimedia, News, organic bbq, Peter Gorrie, rainman live, Renegade Empire, Russel Fenn, Saikoe, samedi sound system, Skull Durgan, street art, The Fort Arts Hub, the kelly gang, yuin huzami