culture.gov.au

Connecting you with Australian culture online

ausculture newsletter February 2007

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Welcome to Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal Newsletter
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Wine and festivities are the colour of the month for February. Australia's Chinese community celebrates the arrival of a new lunar year, the Year of the Pig, on 17 February with dragon and lantern festivals. Chinese New Year festivities feature the colour red, symbolising fire, to drive away bad luck. Red is also the colour of the pindan and gibber stone of the desert country that the Perth International Arts Festival is celebrating in 2007.

As part of the Perth Festival, Down the Track exhibits works by Balgo Hills artists of stories from the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. The artists use strong, bright colours inspired by the success of the Papunya painting movement. Red accents are to be seen in Proof: Contemporary Australian printmaking in Melbourne, offering fertile ground to contemporary artists for its variety of means of expression.

A 'good red' of course is a focus of the Australian wine industry.

The Great Tasmanian Bike Ride (10 - 18 February) brings the potential for wine and festivities together. Starting in the heart of the Launceston Festival, the route wends its way past vineyards along Tasmania's east coast and entices riders to get into a festive spirit. Staying 'out of the red' is a theme of the 20th anniversary of the Australian International Documentary Conference (23 - 26 February) in Adelaide, which will explore best practice models in factual filmmaking and marketplace opportunities.

No 'red faces' is the aim of the local young guns of improvisation at the Twisted Melon Impro Festival in Sydney, 27 February. The festival features fast-paced sketches and games as well as mixed-media performances and solo shows. This should not be confused with the fast-paced red ball which is the focus of Howzat!, a celebration of the history and humour of cricket in Western Australia.

An intergenerational language-based theatre arts project based in the red dirt country of Alice Springs, Ngapartji Ngapartji, relies on a six-month commitment to an online language course in Pitjantjatjara. The innate beauty of the plants and grasses in the red dirt country of Toomelah and Boggabilla, New South Wales, has been captured in the process of papermaking by Euraba Paper, an initiative of the Goomeroi women, who recently launched a new website. Suitability and sustainability for the red dirt is part of a new Australian designed and made modular kit room - the Transportable Space 1 (TS1). Prefabricated panels, which features louvres and a roofing system attached to an innovative steel frame.

The newly appointed Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis, SC, from Queensland, should appreciate the nature of the TS1 structure with its reference to classic Queensland architecture. Those features of corrugated roof iron, tall stumps, lattice work and roof ventilators created breezeways which effectively cooled the Queenslander house as well as protecting it against tropical downpours and cyclones. These features benefits are appreciated as much in the red dirt country as by festival directors and patrons.

Check out our Australian Stories:
Chinese New Year: http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/chinese/
Wine: http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/wine/
Festivals: http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au./articles/festivals/

Featured Site
Perth International Arts Festival - Perth
9 February - 4 March
http://www.perthfestival.com.au/

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Snippets from our regularly updated News pages for February 2007 http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/

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Announcements
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/announcements.htm

New appointment - Minister for the Arts and Sport
23 January

The position of Minister for the Arts and Sport will be filled by Senator George Brandis SC of Queensland, a new appointment to the ministerial team. Senator Brandis is a barrister and Senior Counsel and is a parliamentary representative on the Council of the National Library of Australia.
http://www.pm.gov.au/news/media_releases/media_Release2337.html

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

Transportable Space 1 (TS1)
The Transportable Space One (TS1) is a new Australian designed and made modular kit room. The innovative steel skeleton structure, made from Smorgon Steel's Light Steel Beam product range, is made up of 21 individual components that combine to form an extremely strong supporting structure. Prefabricated panels, louvres and roofing system are then attached to the main frame to form the final TS1 kit room.
http://www.ts1-project.com/
http://www.smorgonsteel.com.au/

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

Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) - Adelaide
23 - 26 February

In 2007, AIDC will explore what inspires us, how to use new tools and techniques and what are best practice models in factual filmmaking, as well as providing strong market place opportunities. AIDC's twenty-year anniversary in 2007 gives us the opportunity to look at the past and into the future of factual filmmaking. The program will focus on international co-production opportunities as well as the impact of new and emerging platforms on documentary production. Hilton Adelaide, Victoria Square.
http://2007.aidc.com.au/index.html
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/ADLHITW-Hilton-Adelaide-hotel/index.do

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

Perth International Arts Festival
9 February - 4 March

The Perth International Arts Festival is the oldest international arts festival in Australia and Western Australia's premier cultural event. It has developed a worldwide reputation for innovative development, presentation of new works and provision of quality arts. For over 50 years the Perth Festival has welcomed to Perth some of the world's greatest living artists and now connects with over 300,000 people each year. The theme of the 2007 Perth Festival is The Human Family with a focus on the desert regions of Western Australia.
http://www.perthfestival.com.au/

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

Howzat! - Perth

10 December 2006 - 18 March 2007

Howzat! reflects the willingness of Western Australians to play cricket anywhere at any time - in our back yards, at the beach, in the bush, at picnics and at school. Western Australians love their cricket - it's in our blood, it's part of the fabric of our society. It's the game that brings families together, pits nation against nation, state against state, and creates heated debate between the best of friends. Western Australian Museum.
http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/howzat/howzat.htm
http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/

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

Down the Track - Stories from the edge of the Great Sandy Desert - Perth
9 February - 25 March

This exhibition includes early works by Eubena Nampitjin, Wimmitji Tjapangarti, Susie Bootja Bootja Napangati and Ena Gimme Nungarrayi. Known for their use of strong, bright colours, the Balgo people were inspired by the success of the Papunya painting movement to start expressing their culture through modern mediums. Holmes à Court Gallery, East Perth.
http://www.holmesacourtgallery.com.au/index.cfm

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

Ngapartji Ngapartji Theatre Arts Project - Online Pitjantjatjara Language Course, Alice Springs and Perth
May 2006 - February 2007

Ngapartji Ngapartji is a long term inter-generational language-based theatre arts project based in Alice Springs in which the audience is encouraged to learn Pitjantjatjara online beforehand. The commitment to a six-month online language course in Pitjantjatjara takes about one hour per week. The success of the sell-out Melbourne season, presented as a work-in -progress, has meant that Ngapartji Ngapartji will have its world premiere as a full-scale production at Melbourne International Arts Festival in October 2006, followed by Perth in February 2007.
http://www.ngapartji.org/update_jan06.html

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

Twisted Melon Impro Festival - Sydney
27 February - 4 March

Twisted Melon Impro Festival features acts and performers from the Sydney improvisation scene and beyond. The festival line-up includes local legends, national and world champion improvisers, interstate and international guests, and local young guns of improvisation. Fast-paced sketches and games are set to satisfy even the most savvy comedy connoisseur. The festival also boasts several mixed-media performances and one-man/woman shows. Music lovers, too, are in for a treat, with Sydney 's first ever improvised musical, other short musical spots scattered throughout the festival, and a pre-show live band in the foyer every night. Newtown Theatre.
http://www.twistedmelon.com.au/
http://www.newtowntheatre.com.au/

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

2007 Great Tasmanian Bike Ride - Tasmania
10 - 18 February

The Great Tasmanian Bike Ride, organised by Bicycle Victoria, takes place down the east coast of Tasmania from Launceston to Hobart. Achievable daily distances put this ride within reach of first-timers, while those with more experience will have time for side trips to explore the many tracks and trails along the route. The 450 km-long journey provides opportunities to experience coastal and country landscapes.
http://www.bv.com.au/great-rides/20006/
http://www.bv.com.au/

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

Proof: Contemporary Australian printmaking - Melbourne
9 December 2006 - 1 April 2007

This exhibition samples recent printmaking practice, featuring a selection of contemporary works from the NGV's permanent collection of Australian prints. Some of the other works utilise printmaking techniques in conjunction with the specialised formats traditionally associated with the multiple image. Artists include Mike Parr, Lesley Duxbury and Milan Milojevic. National Gallery of Victoria.
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/proof/
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/

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

Euraba Paper Company - Aboriginal handmade papers

Euraba's cotton rag pulp artworks are unique in the Australian and International Art world. The papermaking process at the mill uses natural fibres, a continuation of a tradition linking the women to their ancient culture. Women of all ages from the community work together to turn 100% cotton fibre into paper as a means to provide and build a future for their youth. Euraba artists use different mediums on Euraba's handmade cotton rag Art Papers including acrylic, crayon and water paints. The range of paper products at Euraba include stationery sets, artist papers, art cards, paper packs and paper that is suitable for invitation and certificate use.
http://www.eurabapaper.com.au/index.php

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