culture.gov.au

Connecting you with Australian culture online

ausculture newsletter November 2006

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Welcome to Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal Newsletter
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The Australian fighting spirit is an appropriate topic for November. Remembrance Day (11 November) occurs on Armistice Day which marked the end of World War I (1918) and commemorates all those Australians 'who died or otherwise suffered in Australia's cause in wars and war-like conflicts'. The Aussie 'diggers' were so named after gold diggers, due to the trench-digging aspect of the war and their fighting spirit, expressed in the Eureka Stockade rebellion on the outskirts of Ballarat, 1854.

Ned Kelly's fighting spirit and his 'last stand' are the most enduring features of one of this country's most popular folk heroes who died on 11 November 1880. A new digital print of The Story of the Kelly Gang, 1906 (the world's first full length feature film) will be released in Canberra on Boxing Day 2006 (the anniversary of the original release). 'Raw Nerve' is an apt description of this fighting spirit and is the title of Popcorn Taxi's short film festival for emerging film makers, in Melbourne.

One of the legacies of the Eureka Stockade was the Eureka Flag which introduced stars to a flag. 'A few rising stars' can be seen in Luminaries of the Desert and Heather Umbagai, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, Western Australia. Another artistic luminary, John Mawurndjul (winner of the Clemenger Prize for contemporary art), and his brothers, the late Jimmy Njiminjuma and James Iyuna, showcase their changing art styles from 1979 to 2006, at the Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra.

Expressions of country and 'tracking country' are also a key part of the 2006 Australian Dance Awards, Sydney (19 November) where the Northern Territory dance company Tracks has been short listed. Other nominees include Buzz Dance Theatre. Costume design for Australian performance is part of the QUT graduate show Stitched Together, Brisbane, 24-5 November. Australian authors are also being 'tracked' this month with the Young Australians' Best Book Award (YABBA) Award Ceremony being held on 15 November, Melbourne.

Fighting spirit and contemplation of country are requisite for the Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin walk in south Western Australia, 18 - 26 November. Obversely, this sense of country, in its abundance, is celebrated down the road with The Margaret River Wine Region Festival. Divergent aspects of living in country and looking at country are shared in an interactive exhibition, From Pixel to Print, Perth Centre for Photography. A crow's fly away is Escape!, detailing the fighting spirit of the Irish Fenian prisoners who made the greatest prison break in Australian history in 1876.

Check out our Australian Stories:
Remembrance Day: http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./articles/remembrance/
Ned Kelly: http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./articles/nedkelly/
Eureka Stockade: http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./articles/eurekastockade/

Featured Site
Pixel to Print
http://www.frompixeltoprint.com/

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Snippets from our regularly updated News pages for November 2006 http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/

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Design and Architecture
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/design.htm

Stitched Together - Brisbane
Fashion talk 10 November, show 22 - 24 November

Stitched Together presents the collective talents of QUT's emerging fashion designers and stylists in a three-night runway event. Alongside the graduate collections, the runway show will feature a selection of work from first and second year students, including the Macbeth Collection - designs from the recent showcase production. Venue: QUT creative industries precinct, Kelvin Grove.
http://www.ciprecinct.qut.edu.au/whatshappening/#

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Digital Media and Film
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/digitalmedia.htm

Open Channel and Popcorn Taxi, Raw Nerve Shorts - Melbourne
15 November

Popcorn Taxi's short film festival showcases a series of short films to emerge from the Raw Nerve Shorts program, funded by the Australian Film Commission. Raw Nerve Shorts are The Oldest Obligation (Alice Daly), The Longest Journey (Nicki Johnson), Wishful Thinking (Natalie Faulkner), The Visitor (Paul Andersen and Miranda Edmonds) and Twenty-Five Cents (Anthony Noack). Venue: Greater Union Cinema, Melbourne.
http://www.popcorntaxi.com.au/index.asp
http://openchannel.org.au/e_rawnerve.html

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Festivals and Conferences
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/festivalsandconferences.htm

Margaret River Wine Region Festival - Western Australia
16 - 19 November

The Margaret River Wine Region Festival offers more than 50 wine and food events over four days. Food, wine, art and entertainment are combined at world-renowned vineyards, restaurants, galleries and producers' venues. Events include jazz, blues, and classic concerts or food and wine matched dining, cooking demonstrations, chocolate-making demonstrations, family fun events, wine-tasting tours and much more.
http://www.mrwinefest.org.au/home.php

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History and Identity
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/museums.htm

Escape! Fremantle to Freedom - Fremantle, Western Australia
22 September - 3 December
Escape! Fremantle to Freedom is an exhibition on the greatest prison break in Australian history. It showcases the story of the Irish Fenian convicts and their bold escape from Fremantle Prison to America in 1876. The exhibition contains some 130 original items and is over 200 square metres in size. Interactive touchscreens and displays developed for children bring the past to life in a stimulating and dynamic way. Venue: Fremantle Prison, The Terrace, Fremantle.
http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/gallery/gallery.cfm

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Indigenous Arts
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./news/indigenousarts.htm

Mumeka to Milmilngkan: Innovation in Kurulk Bark Painting - Canberra
2 November - 15 December
This exhibition features bark paintings produced by Kuninjku artists from western Arnhem Land who are members of, or have close associations with, one clan, Kurulk. The exhibition traces how this art by three brothers - John Mawurndjul, the late Jimmy Njiminjuma and James Iyuna - changed in the period 1979-2006 as they shifted to reside at different outstations and engaged differently with the western art market. Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University.
http://info.anu.edu.au/mac/Drill_Hall_Gallery/_pdf/DHGProgram2006_72dpi.pdf

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Language and Literature
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/languageandliterature.htm

Young Australians' Best Book Award (YABBA) Award Ceremony
15 November
The YABBA short list is compiled as a result of suggestions sent in by students. This nomination process occurs in Term 1 in schools and libraries. Nominees for Picture Story Books include Alison Lester, Pamela Allen, Mem Fox and Pamela Lofts, and Jackie French. In the Fiction for Younger Readers section, authors include Anna Fienberg and Kim Gamble and the Older Readers section has nominees Morris Gleitzman, Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, and Felice Arena.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~yabba/

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Performance
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/performance.htm

2006 Australian Dance Awards - Sydney
19 November
Northern Territory dance company Tracks has been short listed for 2006 Australian Dance Awards for Awards for Services to Dance. Other nominees include Buzz Dance Theatre for Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education. The Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, will be presented at the 10th anniversary gala award ceremony. Sydney Opera House.

http://www.tracksdance.com.au/
http://www.ausdance.org.au/outside/whatson/2006_Dance_Awards.html
http://www.buzzdance.com.au/

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Sport and Recreation
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./news/sportandrecreation.htm

Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin 7 day walk - Western Australia
18 - 26 November
Destined to become one of the great walks of the world, the Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin walk traverses cliff top hiking, deserted beaches and karri tree forests. Each walk is guided by Pam Riordan of Inspiration Outdoors who has hiked this track many times.
http://www.inspirationoutdoors.com.au/cape2caped1.htm

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Visual Arts and Crafts
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/visualarts.htm

From Pixel to Print - Perth
29 November - 6 December
From Pixel to Print sees six Perth photographers present their images in an interactive exhibition, challenging viewers and visitors to make the experience of viewing photographs one of active interaction instead of passive reception. The images encompass street photography, portraiture, landscapes and abstracts - divergent subjects unified by a shared interactive exhibition space. Perth Centre for Photography, Brisbane Street, Perth.
http://www.pcp.org.au/

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Websites - new
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./news/websites.htm

New Indigenous tourism portal
This web portal is designed to help Indigenous tourism operators, as well as the mainstream industry, learn more about the Indigenous tourism sector and build partnerships. Its development has been led by Indigenous Tourism Australia as a central information gateway for the Indigenous Tourism sector.
http://www.indigenoustourism.australia.com/

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