The Australian Centre for the Moving Image will operate Bendigo's future Creative Industries Hub, the state government will announce on Friday.
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ACMI already runs a museum dedicated to screen culture in Melbourne's Federation Square, the ACMI X co-working space for the creative industries, and industry development programs.
The new development comes more than three years after the state government first announced the hub as part of its Creative State strategy, and three months after the Bendigo-based CoCreate Group pulled out as operator of the hub.
Under the new arrangement, Bendigo-based creatives will have access to a hotdesk at ACMI X in Southbank and those in Melbourne will be able to use the space in Bendigo, which will be in the Morley Johnson building in Mitchell Street.
ACMI's director of public, education and industry programs Dr Sophie Lieberman said the organisation was excited to extend its work with creative professionals and organisations sharing knowledge and expertise into the region.
Dr Lieberman said it was to be the first time ACMI would take its accelerator and co-working program to a regional area.
ACMI would establish a local advisory group to work with stakeholders, she said, to ensure what it implemented was aimed at meeting local needs and developing local creative capacity.
The hub's co-working space will include up to 32 desks, and will also host events and programs.
What these programs were, Dr Lieberman said, would be refined through the co-design process with local stakeholders.
ACMI will run the hub until October 2021 and collaborate with the advisory group to develop a local team to take over operation.
"This partnership brings together ACMI's industry-leading experience with local expertise to create a hub that will address the unique needs of Bendigo's creative community and boost local creative businesses and opportunities," Creative Industries Minister Martin Foley said.
Under the contract, ACMI must engage local contractors to manage marketing and publicity.
Bendigo architecture firm e+ architecture has been tasked with creating a design for the hub, which is expected to open early next year.
The development of the hub has not progressed quickly since the first announcement in April 2016.
An information session was held in June 2017 but it was not until July last year that the CoCreate Group was announced as the operator and the Morley Johnson building as the location.
CoCreate Group director Kir Larwill earlier this year said withdrawing from the hub project was an "immensely hard decision" to make as the organisation believed in the hub and its ability to support creative entrepreneurship in the region.
The ground floor of the Morley Johnson building has remained unoccupied for more than two and a half years, since the Morley's Emporium retail and hospitality enterprise closed upon Radius Disability Services entering administration in October 2016.
Until the hub comes into operation, the Emerge Cultural Hub - part of Multicultural Arts Victoria - will use the site for skills development workshops and a retail space for participants.
ACMI is now recruiting for a co-ordinator for the hub, with applications to close on July 24.
Dr Lieberman said ACMI was looking for someone with enthusiasm for the creative industries, who understood start-ups and was a passionate networker and communicator.
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