Arts

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.

With the Alice Springs Beanie Festival coming up at the end of the month, a craftsperson visited Tennant Creek to hold felting workshops to allow Territorians who do not live in Alice Springs to make beanies to enter in the Festival ... Paterson St Hub was open ... for the public to come along and learn felting skills and give making a beanie a go.

Murrami woman Dorothy Roddy is June’s Artist of the Month ... Documenting the history of the Riverina Welfare Farm for Boys and the POW Camp 15 eras between 1928 and 1947 at what is now Yanco Agricultural Institute, the exhibition features 12 oil paintings which should appeal to art lovers as well as history buffs.

A pitch-perfect rural romance from the bestselling author of Magpie's Bend. Diana McIntyre and her four boys have had a tough eighteen months but with the love and support of her family, she believes their lives are finally back on track. Diana's dream of starting a flower farm has been the perfect diversion, with an elderly dahlia expert showing her the ropes. She won't have to do this alone.

Reclaim the Void: weaving country whole is a collaboration between Vivienne Robertson and the Leonora-based Ngalia Heritage Research Council (Aboriginal Corporation) ... Vivienne ... asked: "What is your deepest pain?" One of the Aunties replied: ”Those gaping mining holes left all over our country”.

What do you look for in a tourist attraction? An exciting new project is in the planning phase that will tell a story of a community, showcase our history and add the local region to the insanely popular silo art trail. Plans are afoot to turn the Barham water tower into a 20m high billboard that will attract tourists for an overnight stop to experience everything our towns have to offer.

The Cowboys didn’t get the result they wanted but Margaret Mara was still proud of their performance in jerseys she designed.

The property known as Kurrumbede  was originally part of the Burburgate run, a vast pastoral holding in the 1800s. In 1905, this estate was subdivided into 58 blocks and sold at auction. Two of these blocks were purchased by prominent doctor and politician, Sir Charles Mackellar, Dorothea’s father, who completed building the homestead on the eastern side of the Namoi River in 1908.

Broome artist Sobrane Simcock, is well known for her brightly coloured, joy-filled paintings and her well-stocked gallery is filled with her eye-catching work.   Her artwork also appears in large-scale murals adorning hundreds of walls, watertanks and streetscapes around Australia. But there’s one colourful talent Sobrane usually keeps to herself.   Sobrane is a synesthete; one of those rare people with the perceptual phenomenon known as synesthesia.

Four years ago, a local group was established to offer support, social interaction, and plenty of fun, laughter and friendship, to Clarence Valley residents living with dementia ... it expanded to include locals affected by memory impairment, and senior citizens with limited opportunities to socialise. Together, they sing, they dance, and they enjoy being in each other’s company.

One of the Carter De Freitas crime series by Steve Rogers, this is set in Western Australian goldfields, where farmers and miners are at loggerheads, emotions run high and motives are many. A search prompted by high gold prices, for a gold stash buried 50 years ago, uncovers several bodies. Who killed them and why?