Sunday Arts Magazine

Roberto talks to the team about his play.

Resendiz is a symbolic-surreal gay artist from Mexico, he likes to experiment with bright colours juxtaposing confronting ideas, sad and happy subject mixed together with impossible things.

The Alebrijes are Mexican Artistry, brightly coloured folk sculptures of fantastical/mythical creatures that come from dreams and nightmares. Ulises realized the similarities with his drawings: “My ‘alebrijes’ are in a mutation, people and animals evolving, deforming or mixing. It is about creatures in metamorphosis, maybe because of the climate change, to survive, or perhaps just for fun, to scare.

Here We Are Amongst You is the newest spellbinding work created by Rawcus.

Embracing connection, belonging and being together, Here We Are Amongst You is choreographed by the 14 people with diverse bodies, minds and imaginations who make up the acclaimed Rawcus ensemble.

As the ensemble created this work over three years, they constantly questioned: what does the world need right now?

Here We Are Amongst You is a raw and exuberant gathering performed in the round.

Rawcus Artistic Director, Kate Sulan says the ensemble have devised a work of generosity and care, “No two people will share the same experience, but everyone will be part of the warmth and connection that underscores this work.”

Here We Are Amongst You will be Sulan’s swansong with Rawcus after founding the company 22 years ago.

“It’s been a privilege and joy to collaborate with the Rawcus ensemble over so many years. This work really captures the delight we find in creating work together.

“This is a warm, joyous and intoxicating new work that speaks about significant encounters. It’s like a meditation on intimacy and togetherness after the untethering and isolating experiences throughout the pandemic,” said Sulan.

Here We Are Amongst You will illuminate aspects that surround reverence, kindness, generosity, grace and care. It is about connection, acceptance and welcoming all our differences with grace.

The inaugural multi-dimensional public art Under the Surface, has come to life. Victoria’s newest public art experience follows the East Gippsland Rail Trail from Bairnsdale to Orbost. The project features compositions from local artists Alice Pepper and Patricia Pittman who are joined by visiting artists David “MEGGS” Hooke, LING and Minna Leunig all of which are inspired by the story of the Gunaikurnai community.

 

Through a cultural awareness program with the Gunaikurnai artist collective and community, the visiting artists developed learnings on artistic practices, storytelling,and an  understanding of land management and preservation on Country. Providingtheir visitors insight into cultural storytelling, whilst gaining confidence in upscaling their works for public viewing, the collaborative process resulted in four large scale works.

MIFF is celebrating a milestone 70 years in 2022 so the program is in for a bumper year featuring an expansive program of acclaimed international cinema, emerging talent, local cult icons, and a ready-made Australian classic set to premiere at the Opening Night gala event.

Rohan returns to talk about the Arts.

An ambitious new project aims to survey hundreds of people working in Australia’s arts organisations, to better understand why the sector’s stated goal of increasing audience diversity has so far seen limited success.

The project – led by researchers at Deakin University in collaboration with an industry advisory group – is one of the first large scale initiatives working across the Australia’s arts sector to investigate the challenge of audience diversity.

Professor Hilary Glow, from the Arts and Cultural Management Program at Deakin Business School, said every Australian visual and performing arts organisation funded by government was invited to participate – more than 1300 of them. 

“Arts activities in Australia receive a lot of public funding. But audiences for many arts activities continue to represent only a fraction of the public. Audiences are often white, middle-aged, urban, non-disabled and middle-class,” Professor Glow said.

When the current head of the Australia Council Adrian Collette was appointed CEO in 2019, he said that the Australian arts must reflect us, ‘not just some of us’. This idea that the arts should be for everyone, not just an elite, has been an issue of pressing concern for arts organisations across Australia and also for the governments and philanthropists that fund them. 

“All Australians should have access to arts activities they enjoy. Although people who work in the arts sector believe this, many organisations have had limited success in attracting diverse audiences. It seems to be a sticky problem,” Professor Glow said.

“For too long the focus has been on trying to ‘fix’ audiences, but organisational practice can tend to privilege some audiences over others.

“Our research shows that sustainably solving this issue requires holistic organisational change, not individual initiatives.”

The audience diversity project is supported by funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Ian Potter Foundation, with all state and territory arts agencies participating.

The project is guided by an industry advisory group, chaired by Indigenous playwright and artistic director Wesley Enoch AM. Mr Enoch said it was critical Australian arts reflected the community in all its diversity.

“The role of the arts to shape cultures is seriously compromised if there are groups who believe they can’t see themselves represented or can’t participate in meaningful ways,” he said.

“This research is about the future we are all striving to achieve where the clearly apparent cultural diversity of our nation is represented through the inclusive and cosmopolitan nature of our arts.”

Professor Glow said the team wanted to hear the views and experiences of people working across the industry at all levels.

“We’ve found arts organisations can be leaders, adaptors or avoiders of the change needed to engage new audiences,” she said.

“By working closely with industry on this project, we hope to help arts organisations identify the key barriers and supports to facilitate change that improves audience diversity.”

Findings from the survey will inform the development of toolkits and frameworks for action to provide practical resources that will help arts organisations make meaningful changes that expand their audience in a sustainable way.

“We understand there is a bit of survey fatigue, especially with a recent focus on the sector’s pandemic recovery, but this is the first time the sector has had the opportunity to have a conversation about this important topic,” Professor Glow said.

“Increasing audience diversity would have huge benefits for the arts sector, as well as the community. It would enable arts organisations to deliver value to more people, improve financial sustainability by increasing box office income, and support the telling of new and distinctive stories that better represent Australian diversity.

A call to action on climate change – Naarm band Public Holiday release debut single ‘The Bush’

The Bush is the first single from Public Holiday’s debut self-titled EP. Written in the wake of the

devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, The Bush reflects lead singer Tasha Lloyd’s first-hand

experience of evacuating East-Gippsland during that summer.

Opening with the wail of harmonica and jangly guitars, The Bush starts with a slow simmering riff

that evokes visions of dry Australian summers. As soon as this riff begins, it gives way to a bass break

that builds into a wall of percussion, keys and driving twelve-string guitar.

This instrumentation creates a base for the narrative of the song as told through Tasha Lloyd’s lyrics.

Touching on Australian politics and issues as far reaching as First Nations agency, and Scott

Morrison’s incompetence, Tasha’s story telling is reminiscent of past artists like Joni Mitchell, Nick

Drake and Grace Slick. Personal, political and deeply complex, Tasha creates lyrics that reflect

Australian society – creating a story that feels both universal and intimate.

Above all, The Bush offers a critique of the Morrison government and political leaders during these

devastating environmental events. Utilising the emergency broadcasts and interviews with locals

during the bushfires, the song’s message is inspired by Australian bands like Midnight Oil and

Goanna. This song stands as a reminder of the devastation that inaction on climate change will cause

– ‘this is the biggest fight we’ve ever had for our babies, our animals, our land’.

Public Holiday Bio

Public Holiday formed in 2020 between Melbourne lockdowns. The six piece consists of

vocalist/guitarist Tasha Lloyd, guitarists Simon Wood and Harry Boyd-Gerny, bassist Alice Duncan,

keyboardist Colin Andrews and Drummer Jonathan Munro.

Public Holiday will release their debut EP in July this year. The four track EP explores themes of

climate change, Australian politics, queerness and identity.

Passing Strange

Book and Lyrics by Stew

Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald

Created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen

By Arrangement with Music Theatre International

(Australasia) on behalf of Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

24 June to 10 July, 2022

Meat Market Stables – 2 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne

Following on from the acclaimed first production in their 2022 Season, And She Would Stand Like This, Antipodes

Theatre Company now bring Melbourne audiences another electric Australian premiere; Passing Strange.

An autobiographical rock musical from singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew, Passing Strange is the tale

of a young African American’s artistic journey of self-discovery. Transporting audiences from Black middle-class

America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond, this powerful production hailed as “One of the most exciting new mu-

sicals in years” by Time Out New York is a dynamic and poignant journey of personal and artistic authenticity.

Nominated for seven Tony Awards and winning for Best Book, Passing Strange isn’t just the story of a young bo-

hemian charting a course through sex, drugs and rock and roll – it’s a compelling and pertinent comment on be-

longing and identity, complete with inspiring lyrics and the heady intensity of youth.

Othello, while speaking of wooing his wife Desdemona, says, “She gave me for my pains a world of sighs / She

swore, in faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing strange.” With a title that has its roots in Shakespeare’s Othello – a

play in which a black man navigates a white world – Passing Strange is not your standard “musical theatre” fare.

“This is such a unique and beautifully constructed piece, one that is truly unlike anything else,” explains Antipodes

Artistic Director Brandon Pape.

“I originally saw it on Broadway and was blown away by its potency. The songs contain some of the most witty,

poetic, and profound lyrics I’ve ever encountered. Each person who sees it will likely walk away with a different

moment or character or song that resonates with them. We’re transforming the space at Meat Market Stables

into our very own rock concert experience. The band will be on stage, and several songs will attempt to blow the

roof off. It’s going to be a blast.”

“It truly is a genre-breaking piece of theatre in a league of its own,” adds Director Dean Drieberg, currently Resi-

dent Director of Hamilton Australia. A multiple Green Room Award-nominee, Drieberg has worked on over 20

national tours playing at over 50 venues around Australia and New Zealand. He has directed productions of Sun-

day In The Park With George, Bare and Memphis the Musical, and is an exciting addition to the production.

The Australian Chamber Choir have our ‘Top Dozen Choral Classics’ concerts coming up in the middle of the year for which we are asking members of the public to vote for their favourite choral pieces for inclusion within the concert program. I thought that this could be a good opportunity to promote the concert series and artistic endeavours of the ensemble, as well as speak more generally about the greatest classical works for voice over the centuries.

ACMI, in an Australian exclusive, will present a major exhibition of more than 70

works from the national collection of renowned British art institution, Tate.

Light: Works from Tate’s Collection will premiere 16 June – 13 November

2022 as part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces

series. Curated by Tate, UK and drawing from its prestigious collection, Light

features over 70 works spanning 200 years of art history including painting,

photography, sculpture, drawing, kinetic art, installation and the moving image.

The theme of light has been refracted through the lens of art in countless ways:

from the sublime to the intimate, from the spiritual to the scientific. Light

celebrates groundbreaking moments as artists from the past 200 years have

captured or harnessed light in their work – from Joseph Mallord William Turner

and Claude Monet to James Turrell and Tacita Dean. All are connected by their

fascination with the qualities of light as both material and subject.

The challenge of capturing this phenomenon has spurred artists across time to

develop innovative techniques and inspired moving image makers, who use light

and shadow as the building blocks of their craft. French artist, filmmaker and writer

Jean Cocteau said: “Cinema is the form of modern writing whose ink is light.”

Presented alongside ACMI’s award winning permanent exhibition The Story of the

Moving Image, which places the 19th Century arrival of the moving image within a

continuum spanning thousands of years of storytelling, this major touring exhibition

from Tate explores how light has inspired artists, uniquely placing film in a broader

art historical context.