Arts

Alice Springs Beanie Festival Screenshot: Alice Springs Beanie Festival Related story: The art of beanie crafting comes to Tennant Creek

Clare Jager. This year’s Realise The Possible celebrates the connection between filmmakers, films and audiences and the lure of documentary storytelling with a diverse line-up of eight outstanding documentaries, stimulating panel discussions and parties.

Ford Street in Ganmain will be transformed into a collection of art galleries over three days between June 24 to 26. The inaugural Ganmain Art Festival on Ford event has been organised by Myfanwy Collette and her stepdaughter Rosemary Ashton.

Tickets for the iconic Woodford Folk Festival go on sale Wednesday 22 June at 12 midday ... Woodford Folk Festival is known for its diverse programme which includes music, circus, cabaret, comedy, talks, workshops, ceremonies, yoga, dance, street theatre, installations and a dedicated children’s festival. With over 2,000 performers, Woodford Folk Festival is the largest gathering of artists and musicians in Australia.

Emma Pritchard. The local man lovingly referred to as “Swainy”, recently won the John P Toomey Song Writing Award at the Dusty Boots Music Festival in Narromine for Guitar Pick’n Man, an original song which tells the true story of his marriage break down, love of beer, especially Tooheys, and his passion for country music.

“The Spirit of the Bush competition attracts photos from every corner of the country and reflects every part of life on the land. It’s mesmerizing to see the highs and lows of farm life reflected in action shots, sweeping horizons and moments of quiet reflection” : John Warlters, Rural Aid CEO.

The world’s most remote music festival – the Birdsville Big Red Bash – is set to return in just over two weeks (July 5-7), drawing more than 9,000 festivalgoers to the remote red sands of Queensland’s Simpson Desert for an epic line-up of outback entertainment and live Australian music acts including Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Kasey Chambers, Kate Ceberano, Shannon Noll and many more.

The City partnered with the Kwinana Social Club and the Medina Residents Group to celebrate the life of one of Kwinana’s historic figures, Margaret Feilman, with a unique artwork designed specifically for the area and installed on the external wall at the Club on Pace Road, Medina. At sixteen, Margaret became the state’s first female architectural cadet.

Gothic and romantic aesthetics and ideas have been a longstanding influence on how I think and work. I often think of my sculptures as giving form to spirits, whether ghosts from ‘the other side’ or denizens of a parallel world or, less literally, from the world of the psychological unconscious that ‘haunts’ reality: Kirsten Bishop.

Serena Kirby. Festival of Voice organisers report good attendance for the start of this year’s extended program, traditionally held over three days of the WA Week weekend. This year’s program is spread across the month’s four weekends.

The official opening of the Empire Air Training Scheme Memorial at Wagga's RAAF Base took place at Wagga last week, conjuring up many memories for towns like Narrandera which were part of this scheme. Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack helped to officially open the memorial project.

Clarence Valley Council's Resilient Clarence project proudly sponsored the Festival of Small Halls at the Wooloweyah Hall on the 26 May and the Dundurrabin Community Centre on the 27 May as part of the Woodfordia Inc Resilience Tour 2022. Using storytelling and music to connect people, the Resilience Tour is travelling to small halls in bushfire impacted communities.

Coen artist Naomi Hobson has given four local youths an unforgettable experience by taking them to the launch of her Adolescent Wonderland exhibition in Sydney. It’s the third installation of the much hyped exhibition, which first launched in 2019 and features photographs of Coen youths around the community.

In true outback spirit, an iconic Alice Springs arts hub has bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a huge jump in visitor numbers and an impressive calendar of events.

Celebrating inspirational women of the adventure world, Adventure Reels returns to Margaret River with their annual sell out event, the Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour 2022. Showcasing a unique selection of films produced by independent filmmakers from around the globe, the two and a half hour program offers something for all ages and genders.

If it wasn’t for COVID, the new young star of the classical guitar, Clancy McLeod, would not be playing in Australia. Clancy had been carving out his career in the UK, a long way from his parents’ home in Maldon. But unable to keep touring in Europe, he returned to Maldon and put in a lot of COVID enforced practice hours. The practice paid off with prize wins in the prestigious Adelaide International Guitar Competition and the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Great Romantics Competition.

The Northern Rivers Conservatorium Executive Director Anita Bellman is thrilled to announce that there will be free tickets for all flood-affected members of our community to attend the Northern Rivers Conservatorium (NRC) 2022 Visiting Artist program, made possible with the support of its friends at Musica Viva and Southern Cross University.

The next LTC production in late June/ early July comprises two short plays, both comedic. Lockdown in Little Grimley is a 40-minute play about an amateur theatre group contemplating what to perform after opening up after Covid lockdown. Second, Alan Grimaldi and the 183 is a 25-minute play about a man who finds himself unexpectedly dead and awaiting entry to heaven.

A fascinating concept – reviewing the historical background to an array of possibly tall and maybe true tales from Australia’s past ... The author has gone to a lot of trouble to combine excellent research and footnotes with an enjoyable set of short stories able to be read easily. We are introduced to some beguiling tales from Australia's past, some of which may be familiar to us whereas others may be new discoveries.

David Vernon’s latest book, A Good Yarn, provides a fascinating insight into how popular myths are made and can wield influence not just at the time of their invention, but for years, even generations to come. A Good Yarn shines a spotlight onto seven historical events that have grown into Australian legends.

On the night of Thursday June 2, Quilpie Shire lit the way for Outback Queensland by staging special Platinum Jubilee celebrations for HRH Queen Elizabeth II at the spectacular Baldy Top lookout. The red earth of the renowned tourist destination turned purple as special purple coloured lights and fireworks were lit, along with several huge bonfires.   More than 250 locals and tourists alike gathered to pay respect to the Queen for her Jubilee.