culture.gov.au

Connecting you with Australian culture online

ausculture newsletter September 2007

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Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal Newsletter - Monthly roundup
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September blossoms with the celebration of Wattle Day, declared officially in 1988 and traditionally associated with planting wattle (acacias) and other suitable local native species. At this time of the year in 1878, the bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang made a hide-out at the head of the King River in the Wombat Ranges, Victoria. It was here that 'they could find retreats, over hundreds of miles of impenetrable mountains amongst which they had been brought up all their lives, and where they knew every road, gully and hiding place'. (Superintendent Francis Hare.)

'Between a Rock', in Bendigo, Victoria (until 23 September), influenced by Australian films, uses a video installation to explore the history of fear through the lost child in the Australian bush. Sculptures of ferns made from tyres and the iconic Hanging Rock set the scene for this work which associates film history, folklore and Indigenous spirituality.

'Culture Trackers', Darwin (until 8 September), showcases the results of a two-week artists' camp in Western Arnhem Land. Artists sought inspiration from explorative trips in the bush, which presented unique landscapes and cultures to be captured on canvas. The Alice Desert Festival, Alice Springs (14-23 September), has its own take on bush culture, featuring a bush foods cooking competition and bush bands.

'Fragile Beauty', in Sydney (11-30 September), fuses Chinese traditions of flower and bird paintings with Western paper collages. The images are replete with Chinese symbolism of the natural world - birds, insects and fish depict good fortune. 'Walking by Apple Tree Creek', in Brisbane (until 15 September), is a play about Del and Stan, two grey nomads on an Australian adventure. Adventures also abound in the Great Australian Bushwalk on 9 September. Many and varied landscapes are open to intrepid walkers to celebrate Australia's natural areas and conservation.

At home in the bush is the EcoShelta space pod, a sustainable, architect-designed, modular, prefabricated dwelling system. Incorporating a lightweight aluminium frame, plywood and recycled timber, and sheep's wool insulation, this housing uses the latest science and technology and has a low environmental impact.

National Indigenous Television is a new television service by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, which will 'beam in the bush' to inform, entertain and educate, preserve Indigenous languages and tell stories. 'Launceston: City of Science', in Hobart (until 14 October), presents the innovative professionals and amateurs who made scientific discoveries in geology, botany, zoology and applied sciences, and put Launceston on the scientific map.

In the bush capital, the 2007 Canberra Readers and Writers Festival (21-23 September) focuses on the richness of language and people telling stories through books. A report on arts and culture statistics shows that Western Australians, the sandgropers, where bush and sea are separated by sand dunes, nevertheless have a high level of engagement with cultural and arts sectors. About 88 per cent of Western Australians, or 1.4 million people, attend cultural events and venues each year.
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Check out our new and revised Australian Stories
The Australian bush: http://culture.gov.au/articles/bush/
Early Australian bushrangers: http://culture.gov.au/articles/bushrangers/
Australian flora: http://culture.gov.au/articles/flora/
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Portal news

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We would like to hear what you think about ausculture newsletter. Please email your comments to editor@culture.gov.au.
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Featured event

Ocean to Outback - Australian Landscape Paintings 1850-1950 - Tamworth, New South Wales
4 August - 22 September

The exhibition documents landscape painting from the colonial 1850s to the immediate period following World War II. Over this century, landscape painting was the 'great' subject of Australian art, a theme that reflected the changing nature of a nation's identity. Landscape subjects also became popular with the general public as Australians began to visit their own museums and galleries to see images of their country. Featured painters include Arthur Boyd, Grace Cossington Smith, Russell Drysdale, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Streeton and Albert Tucker. Tamworth Regional Gallery.
http://nga.gov.au/OceanToOutback/
http://www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=9283&cid=25261&id=46369
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Snippets from our regularly updated News pages
http://culture.gov.au/news/
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Announcements
http://culture.gov.au/news/announcements.htm

Western Australian Arts Monitor Report
15 August

A large number of Western Australians believe that the arts help the community better understand Australia and have an important role in making us look at our own way of life, a report by Patterson Research has found. The figures also found that 96 per cent of Western Australians agree that it is important for school children to have access to learn music, painting, writing and drama as part of their education. A separate report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that Western Australians' attendance at cultural events is increasing in record numbers, with 88 per cent visiting an arts venue each year.
http://www.dca.wa.gov.au/
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Design and architecture
http://culture.gov.au/news/design.htm

EcoShelta space pod
August

EcoShelta space pods are sustainable, architect-designed, modular, prefabricated dwelling systems, designed to be erected in a single day. Materials, finishes and fabrication systems are selected carefully for minimal environmental impact. The marine-grade, structural aluminium alloy frame and cladding are lightweight, very strong and have a low environmental impact. The frame needs no finishing, painting or maintenance. The sub-frame and surfaces are plantation-grown Australian plywood and recycled timber elements with sheep's wool insulation, and use no paints, glues or toxic chemicals.
http://www.ecoshelta.com/
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Digital media and film
http://culture.gov.au/news/digitalmedia.htm

Brendan Lee, Between a Rock - Bendigo, Victoria
18 August - 23 September

'Between a Rock' is the continuation of Lee's series of installations looking at Australian film history, filmic locations and our portrayal of cultural identity. Incorporating newly-created video footage projected amongst a forest of car tyres, Lee examines the relationship between place, film and history. Focusing on key moments from Puberty Blues, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Muriel's Wedding and Somersault, the installation Between a Rock explores the history of fear through the lost child in the Australian bush and the resurgence of debate on national identity. Bendigo Art Gallery.
http://www.bendigoartgallery.com.au/Page/Page.asp?Page_Id=98&h=0
http://www.bendigoartgallery.com.au/
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Festivals and conferences
http://culture.gov.au/news/festivalsandconferences.htm

Alice Desert Festival - Alice Springs, Northern Territory
14-23 September

The Festival features a feast of comedy, cabaret, food, dance, film, literature, music, theatre, arts exhibitions and workshops. Popular events include the Imparja DESERTSong with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Cinema in the River and the Wearable Arts performance. There will be an exhibition by DesertMOB, the Wild Bush Foods cooking competition and the Bush Bands Bash. Various locations.
http://www.alicedesertfestival.com.au/
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History and identity
http://culture.gov.au/news/museums.htm

Launceston: City of Science - Hobart
Until 14 October

The exhibition 'Launceston: City of Science' will present stories of the innovative professionals and amateurs who strove to develop our scientific knowledge and who continue to achieve scientific discoveries. Launceston's citizens have often been at the cutting edge of scientific research, working in the pure science of classification and experimentation and the very necessary commercial applications developed out of this research. Today, Launceston's scientists continue to work across a variety of disciplines including astronomy, geology, botany, zoology and a range of applied sciences, past and present. Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/whatsonroy.html#cityofscience
http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/
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Indigenous arts
http://culture.gov.au/news/indigenousarts.htm

Culture Trackers - Darwin
3 August - 8 September

24HR Art devised an artist camp in collaboration with Injalak Arts and Crafts near Gunbalanya in Western Arnhem Land. The two-week camp included five interstate artists and followed in the long tradition of explorative field trips by artists seeking inspiration from the unique landscapes and cultures of the Northern Territory. The late Colin Jack-Hinton, the inaugural Director of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, was a driving force in today's legacy of artist camps in the NT. 24HR Art maintains this tradition of intercultural exchange between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists of Australia. 24HRArt.
http://www.24hrart.org.au/
http://www.injalak.com/
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Language and literature
http://culture.gov.au/news/languageandliterature.htm

Icy Worlds, Cool Words: 2007 Canberra Readers and Writers Festival - Canberra
21-23 September

The Festival will feature over 40 international and Australian authors, and will be held alongside the Lifeline BookFair. Highlights include appearances by the 2007 NSW Premier's Award winning authors Ursula Dubosarsky and Gideon Haigh as well as Canadian mystery writers Louise Penny and David Gibbins. Opening night will feature a keynote address by ABC foreign correspondent Leigh Sales and performance poetry by Canadian Baba Brinkman. There will be a Schools Day, panel sessions, literary lunches, workshops, book signings, book launches, exhibitions, great conversations and award announcements. Exhibition Park.
http://www.actwriters.org.au/Festivals/festivals.htm
http://www.epic.act.gov.au/
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Performance
http://culture.gov.au/news/performance.htm

Ian Brown, Walking By Apple Tree Creek - Brisbane
30 August - 15 September

The play features Del and Stan, two grey nomads in their Winnebago, as their ultimate Australian adventure draws to an unexpected end. On the road they've faced the Big Pumpkin in Beaudesert, the Big Prawn in Ballina, the Big Chicken in Moonbi, the Big Snake in Ayr, the Big Beer Bottle and Big Shell in Tewantin, the Big Pineapples in Gympie and Nambour. Not to mention the Big Bull in Rockhampton and the Big Avocado at Tropical Fruit World in Tweed Heads. Now they must face the big things in their own lives. Roundhouse Theatre, Kelvin Grove.
http://www.laboite.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=90
http://www.roundhousetheatre.com.au/
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Sport and recreation
http://culture.gov.au/news/sportandrecreation.htm

Great Australian Bushwalk - National
9 September

This annual community event offers 120 free guided bushwalks in locations around Australia - a chance to try bushwalking with Australia's leading community bushwalking organisations. The event is organised to promote bushwalking and healthy outdoor recreation, celebrate Australia's natural areas, and highlight the bushwalking and conservation programs of the participating organisations. Various locations.
http://www.greataustralianbushwalk.org.au/
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Visual arts and crafts
http://culture.gov.au/news/visualarts.htm

Chris Chun, Fragile Beauty - Sydney
11-30 September

'Fragile Beauty' features works on paper that fuse Chinese traditions of flower and bird paintings with contemporary Western paper collages. The works comprise layers of coloured washes and a combination of stamped, hand-made patterns to create ethereal, atmospheric effects. On the surface these works are calm, beautiful and delicate. But behind the superficial lies the Chinese symbolism of the natural world where the birds, insects and fish depict happiness and good fortune. Washhouse Gallery, Rozelle.
http://www.washhousegallery.com.au/
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Websites - new
http://culture.gov.au/news/websites.htm

National Indigenous Television (NITV)
July

National Indigenous Television (NITV) is a new 24-hour television service established by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. With the very best of Australian content in the programs, NITV will 'beam in the bush' to inform, entertain and educate, preserve Indigenous languages, tell stories and showcase the rich diversity of Indigenous cultures and creative talent from all over Australia.
http://nitv.org.au/
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