Frank van Straten

Who is Frank van Straten?

Frank Van Straten is a notable performing arts historian, author and former director of the Performing Arts Museum.

Van Straten was the first archivist of the Performing Arts Museum, at the Arts Centre, Melbourne, and its director from 1984 until 1993.

Between 1986 and 2001 Frank researched and presented ABC Local Radio’s Nostalgia segment, broadcast on Melbourne’s 774 and the ABC Victorian Regional Network.

In 2002 Van Straten acted as the Historical Consultant for Graeme Murphy’s ‘dance musical’ Tivoli, performed by the Sydney Dance Company, which premiered at the State Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne.

Van Straten has served on the Board of the National Theatre, Melbourne. He has also served on the judging panels of the Green Room Awards and Helpmann Awards. He is a patron of the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society, and a founding member and committee member of the Victoria Theatres Trust.

In recognition of his services to the performing arts in Australia Van Straten was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999.

In 2007 Van Straten was appointed Live Performance Australia’s Official Historian.