Sunday Arts Magazine

An exhibition of artworks created by Indigenous artists in Victorian prisons during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic

Being away from all my family hurts. But when I paint the blue wren it makes me think about the future when we will all be back together. Dreaming about the day all our paths bring us back together on our Country.  Jaye, Gunai/kurnai (artist)

 

119 Indigenous artists confined to Victorian prisons during the global pandemic have painted a brighter future for themselves, their families, their communities, their Countries and the world as a whole forFuture Dreaming… visions of the future.  Presented by The Torch, the online exhibition will run from 29 October – 31 December 2020.

The artists, who are remanded across 14 Victorian correctional facilities, are participants in The Torch’s Indigenous Art in Prisons and Community program.  They have expressed their hopes and dreams on 30cm x 30cm artworks that will be available to view and purchase online via a scrolling mosaic gallery.  This exhibition gives voice to First Nations Australians who are isolated in prison during a global pandemic, mirroring the global communities wish to reconnect with loved ones and dream of a better future.

The 119 works span emerging artists such as Mark C, whose painting River Dreaming with Seven River Totems is his first artwork submitted to The Torch, through to seasoned artists Jaye (Coming Together) and Trevor (Hunting and Gathering).  100% of the sale of each artwork goes to the artist.

The Torch, which also presents the distinguished Confined exhibition annually, has faced a raft of challenges with delivering face to face support to Indigenous men and women incarcerated during the COVID -19 global pandemic.

“We have been very active supporting our participants during the pandemic. In response to restrictions accessing Victorian prisons during this time, we invited our in-prison artists to dream of a brighter future and bring that future to life.

MACHIAVELLI RE-IMAGINED

“The ends justifies the means”

In The Diplomat of Florence, the new novel by Anthony R Wildman, he tells the story

of the 16th century man who first expressed this idea – Niccolò Machiavelli.

In 1513, on a little farm just outside Florence, the washed-up former diplomat sat

down to write a kind of job application to the new Medici rulers of the city. In it, he

tried to distil all of the experience he had acquired in fifteen years of diplomatic

manoeuvring against the feared warlord Cesare Borgia.

Machiavelli’s letter eventually became one of the most famous books of political

philosophy ever published: The Prince. It was so shocking to his contemporaries that

the book was banned by the Church for its supposed immorality.

But how did this man, well read but otherwise undistinguished, come to produce

such a profoundly important work? The Diplomat of Florence tells how the young

Niccolò Machiavelli rose from obscurity to become his city’s leading diplomat, how

he fought a long duel against the ambitions of the Borgias, and how in the end he

fell from power.

Along the way, Niccolò has to deal with a military mutiny, try to influence the king of

France and his formidable advisers, and ward off political treats to his position at

home. Fortunately he has help, in the form of his friends Biagio, Agostino, and a

painter named Leonardo da Vinci.

Linden have a special treat instal for the 30th Anniversary in a Covid 19 world.  Listen to Melinda as she talks to David.

n the year of the impossible, Melbourne Fringe Festival will deliver a festival full of weird, wonderful, thought-provoking and boundary-pushing art. From 12-29 November, audiences can choose from 250 shows, all taking place either outdoors, digitally, in the home, via audio, behind glass or over the phone.

 

Many artists in this year’s Festival created their work in the most impossible, mid-pandemic circumstances, and the ingenuity and creativity of artists is in full swing. Big Day In sees Fringe music legend Ian Pidd create work inspired by the true story of his parent’s COVID-19 diagnosis while they were in an aged-care home. Recovering in isolation, Ian brought the music to them, playing outside their window. For Big Day In, a live band will play outside aged-care homes across Melbourne, also livestreamed online. Showing 24-29 November.

“Guru” Rohan talks to David.

It is Stephen A Russell’s turn for album of the week and what a great choice.

The festival runs 12 November – 5 April and features over 500 guests from across Australia and the world for 400 free events. November’s program is entirely online, but then December onwards, events will be both online and in many physical locations. 

 

Dynamic in approach and optimistic in spirit, the MPavilion 2020 program season responds to the challenges of a year beset by a pandemic with a more significant investment in artists, performers, and collaborators. The amplified new program—launching Thursday 12 November 2020 and running until Monday 5 April 2021. The season comprises over 400 free events—including talks, workshops, performances, kid-friendly activities, and community projects and installations.

Bringing together over 500 guests from across Australia and the world, MPavilion 2020 will feature special talks and events with esteemed international guests, such as:

* British design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn

* London’s Bompas & Parr

* Spanish architect and writer Andrés Jaque

 

* An expansive schedule of events and workshops will also be led by celebrated locals, including:

* Artist Atong Atem with Sabina McKenna,

* Soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham AO

* Dance studio Chunky Move,

* Photography festival PHOTO 2021

* RMIT University, and many more.

MProjects—a series of special creations and residencies commissioned exclusively for MPavilion, include performances by local musicians for MERGE and for Walsh Street Music (recorded at Robin Boyd’s iconic South Yarra home, in partnership with Robin Boyd Foundation), the First Nations Writers in Residence initiative, the M_Curatorsprogramming experience for emerging curators, the BLAKitecture series of talks and events on Indigenous architecture, MPavilion education guides for schools, upcycled staff uniforms by fashion designer Chelsea Hickman, physically-distanced stools for on-site events by interior designer and architect partners Holly Board and Peter Grove, an artistic / political / philosophical hair salon, and an inflatable work by globally celebrated leaders of sensory design experience, Bompas & Parr. Other highlights include collaborations with Bakehouse Studios, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Melbourne Music Week, and Open House Melbourne.

Sue Foley talks to David how the Melbourne Celtic Festival is going virtual.  

Charlotte talks to David about Near Normal at NIDA.  

Running live online for ONE DAY ONLY on Saturday the 7th of November 2020, the third annual Austen Con is a much-loved celebration and exploration of all things Jane Austen.

One of England’s most beloved novelists, Jane Austen was born in 1775 and wrote from a young age, initially to amuse her family. Her six major novels, of which Pride and Prejudice is probably the best known, are set amongst the British landed gentry and lauded worldwide for their wit, romance, and social commentary.

Completely online and interactive, this year ticket holders can partake in workshops from Bonnet-making and painting, to dancing and baking, with a wonderful array of local and international guest presenters and expert enthusiasts. They are also invited to join lively discussions and watch some of Melbourne’s finest arts companies bring Austen’s words to life.

Running concurrently across two Youtube stations on the day – Pemberley and Netherfield – the program includes:

Pemberley (click to link to online program)

Session 1: 9am – 10am

Choose Your Own Austen Adaptation: Join a panel of Austen-enthused creatives who will match her major novels with outlandish adaption pitches.

Session 2: 10:20am – 11:20am

Love and Friendship – Exploring Austen’s Literary Legacy: Join Lauren and Hannah from the podcast Bonnets at Dawn as they talk about the authors that inspired Jane Austen and how Austen influenced the work of other classic women writers including Elizabeth Gaskell and Anne Brontë.

Session 3: 11:40am – 12:40am

Austen’s Landscapes: Join Jo Russell-Clarke for an introduction to the landscapes of Austen’s writings. This includes a drawing session.

Session 4: 1pm – 2pm

Performing To Strangers – Reading neurodivergence in Pride and Prejudice: Join Hannah Aroniand James Matthews of A_tistic as they consider what it might mean to read both Mr Collins and Mr Darcy as autistic, and talk about their work creating a neurodivergent retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

Session 5: 2:20pm – 3:20pm

Austen-twisted Cabaret and Burlesque: Presented by Bradley Storer and colleagues, during this hour Melbourne performers bring their unique perspectives to themes in Austen’s work.

Session 5: 3:40pm – 5pm

Beginner Regency Dance Lesson: Brought to you by Jane Bullock, Regency dancing is the perfect socially distanced activity. Clear a space, grab your water bottle, and put on your flat, non-slip dancing shoes!

Netherfield (click to link to online program)

Session 1: 9am – 10am

Choose Your Own Austen Adaptation: Join a panel of Austen-enthused creatives who will match her major novels with outlandish adaption pitches.

Session 2: 10:20am – 11:20am

Oranges and Cloves: Kelly Lock runs a workshop with participants making traditional, edible Christmas decorations.

Session 3: 11:40am – 12:40am

English Paper Piecing: Kelly Lock joins us again with an introduction to an age-old quilting technique.

Session 4: 1pm – 2pm

Austen’s Bath Buns: Former MasterChef contestant Jess Jenkins takes us through techniques and a recipe for making the some of the buns that Jane Austen loved, adapting a period recipe for modern kitchens.

Session 5: 2:20pm – 3:20pm

Improvised Jane Austen with Melbourne’s Soothplayers: Come and experience a wonderful a...