Arts

The NSW Government will pursue establishing a Regional Job Precinct in line with the announcement of a brand new film studio at Pacific Bay Resort in Coffs Harbour, the NSW Deputy Premier, the NSW Treasurer and the Member for Coffs Harbour announced today ... “The proposal, which also includes a boutique hotel, a state-of-the-art film school, an indigenous art gallery and an Olympic and film memorabilia museum, would provide an exciting new industry for the region,” said Deputy Premier John Barilaro.

Visitors at the Le Harvre Natural History Museum in France will get to witness artwork from Erub (Darnley) Island in the Torres Strait after last week’s exhibition opening. Erub artists were pleased to once again work with curator Geraldine Le Roux on an ambitious ghost net project.

Winterwords is a week full of talking, listening, watching and doing, which aims to foster the celebration of words in all their forms and functions, and includes workshops, performances, exhibitions, discussions, interactive sessions, and displays, of visual and performing arts, literature, poetry, storytelling, games, and music.

Over 12,000 event attendees celebrated the return of the nine-day Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster held in Kununurra, Western Australia ... New events added to the program this year included Art in the Park featuring 40 local artists, Storytelling Night around a fire by Miriwoong elder David Newry, and the free family-friendly event, Party in the Park to close the festival ... The nation’s most remote party was headlined by one of Australia’s most successful female artists, Jessica Mauboy, who last performed at the Muster as an up-and-coming 16 year old in 2006.

Founding member of the pioneering Warumpi Band Neil Murray is performing in Tennant Creek tonight as part of his Keep Rolling On national tour. Named after his latest single, Keep Rolling On, which he says is a celebration of the continuance of First Nations people and their culture in Australia. You can catch Murray at the Memo Club tonight for the free performance.

Wakool Burraboi Public School students will write and star in a new play being shown at Wakool and Barham this month, as part of the ACRE21 festival. Local communities are invited to see the show for free. Theatre maker, Angela Frost, has worked with the Wakool school’s 12 students this term to write a play called Heading to Yallapenya ... “A little girl gets lost in a place like Wakool, she visits a farm, goes to a big community event called ‘The Classic’, and everyone helps her get on her way.”

The Territory is becoming a big player in Australia’s screen and film industry, with the announcement of another large production Barrumbi Kids to be filmed in Beswick and the production expecting to inject $2.8m into the economy.

Ticketed events for this month’s Cooktown Expo are close to selling out, but there is still plenty of accommodation available for those wanting to take advantage of 10 days and nights of free events from this Friday ... Cooktown’s Reconciliation Rocks precinct where Australia’s first recorded act of reconciliation took place in 1770 between James Cook and a Waymburr Warra Elder will be officially opened on Friday.

After a year without live theatre, the Pelican Playhouse is proud to present their first production of 2021, Stories in the Dark, a moving celebration of the power of stories to sustain us during difficult times. From acclaimed Australian playwright, Debra Oswald comes the story of Tomas, a terrified young boy who finds himself alone in a war-torn city.

Since its establishment in 2008, Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre has been a cultural hub in Ali Curung, providing a safe environment for community members to keep and share their traditions and cultural heritage. It is a place where men and women from Warlpiri, Kaytetye, Allyawarr and Warumungu language groups can learn about each other, cooperate, and build a framework to live together harmoniously.

Tutor Siri Omberg was in town this week building up the hype for the Alice Springs Festival and brought the warmth to Tennant Creek by holding beanie-making workshops at the Paterson Street Hub to encourage more entries into the festival.

The final Get Set in the Basin celebrations were held over the weekend. The concerts, funded through Lloyd’s Walk for Water, the Australian Horizon Foundation and BEEFitUP Australia, had toured four rural communities for a night of music and comedy. Headlining the shows were Aria Award winning lead singer of TAXIRIDE, Jason Singh, along with musician, Huc Richards and comedian, Flemmo.

Musicians, visual artists, and school students will take centre stage at this Saturday’s Somerset Art Beat Festival in Toogoolawah. The celebration will showcase all things art and culture, with market stalls, live music, dance performances, workshops, food and more.

Geoff Helisma. When Keeley Pritchett’s phone rang he didn’t recognize the number, but he took the call … a call that steered his life a little wide of the mark while riding towards a bullseye. Just over two years ago, the Lower Clarence man was an apprentice motorcycle mechanic learning his trade in Sydney. Following that unexpected phone call, Pritchett ended up touring Tasmania with five other bikers and starring in the film Wide of the Mark.

The community of Newhaven will soon be the custodians of a significant sculpture, created by renowned Australian artist, Geoffrey Bartlett ... “My proposal for the sculpture draws a connection between the past and present of the Newhaven precinct, through the poetic interpretation of the local maritime history,” Mr Bartlett said.

'Paintings you probably haven’t seen' is a brilliant and surprising new touring exhibition from Ken Done, one of Australia’s best-known artists and 'Pen, Print, Paint & Pixel' an exhibition from Stephen Michael King, the award-winning author and illustrator whose career has spanned over thirty years.

Residents will be able to view the works from some of Australia’s top astrophotographers when a travelling exhibition will be based at Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library this June and July. Presented by the Central West Astronomical Society, the Museum of Applied Arts and Science and the CSIRO, the 2020 David Malin Awards Winning Sky Photos Exhibition features the top entries from this renowned astrophotography exhibition.

Designed to support local councils and their communities in delivering live music micro-festivals, the Live and Local Strategic Initiative will bring together musicians from across the Toowoomba Region for a series of workshops and performances from May until the end of 2021.

Troy Cassar-Daley says he’ll have “a whole lot of fun” when he tours remote Cape York communities early next month. The country music star was booked to perform at the Cooktown Expo and has been able to add shows at Aurukun, Coen, Mapoon and Pormpuraaw while in the Far North. He’ll perform with The Black Image Band, made up of the Harrigan brothers from Wujal Wujal.

As Stage Two of the Chinatown Revitalisation Project progresses, the Broome community will start to see the installation of several public artworks to enliven the streets of our town. The Shire of Broome has worked closely with community representatives and local Broome artists to integrate over a dozen artworks into the historic Chinatown precinct, inspired by the rich heritage and culture of Broome.

We are turning our museum over to you. Bribie - your stories, our stories is a place to share, learn and laugh about all that we know and love about this place.