Recently I had the privilege of an intimate tour of Curious Affection, Patricia Piccinini’s new show that opened on Friday 23rd at GOMA, lead by the artist herself. It felt like our small group of rag-tag journalists and media types were transformed into pilgrims being lead by a Sage on a spiritual journey through which could only…
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A city’s cultural ecology is a complex beast made up of layers of interwoven factors that influence and feed each other. These layers respond and support different phases of the most crucial factor in the creative ecology “the artist’s” life, work and career. Generally to start with, artists do a Degree and emerge from their…
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I have a new art crush. The more I hear about him the more I want to know. Renowned American earthwork artist Robert Smithson died way too young in 1973, but in that short 35 years he managed to secure himself a position as one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. Robert…
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As an aspirational concept, Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. The Placemaking process capitalises on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, and results in the creation of authentic, vibrant and resilient places that are valued by their communities and admired by visitors. In practice, councils…
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80% of Indigenous souvenirs sold in this country are fake! Adding insult to this injury, much of this product is being manufactured overseas as part of a very damaging unregulated industry going on in Australia around the Fake Art trade of Indigenous art. Through the hard work of advocates like Nancy Bamaga, managing director of…
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Brisbane, you are killing me this time of year! Last week I had BIGSOUND and interviews with artists, I moderated two panels for Brisbane Writers Festival, I launched Access Arts brilliant festival Undercover Artist Festival and then the Brisbane Festival kicked off as well! My pick of the Brisbane festival so far is Laser Beak Man presented…
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I attended the opening night of OperaQ’s regional tour of Night with Opera Queensland from Sunpac Theatre Sunnybank on Friday night and was totally enthralled by the passion, talent, power and beauty of the work. Presenting Opera in this non-conventional form like a cabaret, a chocolate box of hits from Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto and Don…
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Start booking your tickets to Brisbane theatre folk, it’s going to be a stellar year for treading the boards in the Northern state! Launching the Queensland Theatre’s 2018 program earlier this week, Sam Strong presented an exciting, bright, fresh season that celebrates diversity and Australian stories. Contained in their programme for the new year are four world premieres,…
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As a well armed far-right movement in America raises its ugly head in Charlottesville, leaving one oppositional protester murdered, Pauline Hanson turns up to Parliament in a Burqa. As her terribly offensive action is passionately berated by George Brandis, of all people, fourteen people are murdered in Barcelona, mowed down by a car in one…
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This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a Q & A with Tex Perkins at the Byron Bay Writers Festival about his new book Tex. The famous line from the John Ford film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance “If you are going to print the facts about the man or print the fiction,…
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The new production of Blackrock, a play written by Nick Enright some 20 years ago, opened at La Boite Theatre in Brisbane last night. Its opening coincided with the acquittal of four men found not guilty of the gang rape of a fifteen year old girl in the Blue Mountains; it’s clear this horrifying narrative is as…
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If only all world rulers had the same approach to legacy building as the Chiefs from the Wadagadum tribe on Mabuiag Island, who in their role as leaders bring a different creative expansion to their culture through art and story telling. When Jimi Bani’s father Dimple was the chief of Wadagadum tribe he was a singer, dancer…
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It’s worthwhile taking Brisbane Festival Artistic Director David Berthold’s advice on how to attack this year’s just announced stellar line up of art and entertainment, “It’s a feast not a snack, don’t just taste one little tit-bit dive in and sample the whole range, use both hands and take risks!” Brisbane Festival launched on Tuesday morning over coffees and pastries,…
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The design of seven new Brisbane River ferry terminals by Aurecon and Cox Architecture, has won the Australian Good Design of the Year Award. I met with Brendan Gaffney architect from Cox Architecture at the Holman St Ferry Terminal Brisbane to talk about his award winning design. The ferry terminal is a combination of world first…
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The emergence of participatory art with a desire to move viewers out of the role of passive observers into the role of co-creators has been evolving for decades in contemporary art and theatre practice and theory. In the 70’s, artist and activist Joseph Beuys created the term “Social Sculpture” to illustrate his idea of art’s…
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The Visual Arts grows in many bubbles, effervescently forming little universes around a gallery, the artists they represent, the work that is curated there, the investment by the buyer, the academic and critical analysis of the work, the art lover and the people who go there for the free champagne. All these players are greatly…
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Last Friday, the Marvel Creating the Cinematic Universe exhibition opened at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and what a visual, popular cultural feast it is, with over 500 objects including the costumes, props, sets and characters all spectacularly animating the voluminous rooms of GOMA. Art and God-like archetypes have been an intrinsic part of…
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Yirramboi First Nations Festival kicked off in Melbourne on the 5th of May for 10 days bringing with it a city wide ‘blakout’ of more than 60 events, including dance, music, visual art, film and discussions in laneways, art spaces and public places. As part of the program the “The National Indigenous Dance Forum” was…
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POPSART is a new series here at Arts on the AU, which comes care of Brisbane arts journalist Bec Mac. She’ll give us, in her own words: “a weekly video interview with an artist or curator (across any kind of art form) at their opening night, a sneak preview or event and hopefully will give a quick capture…
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