Arts North West extends a massive congratulation to the 2017 Country Art Support Program recipients from the New England North West region. As you can see from the list below, this year’s recipients are excitingly diverse in both medium and subject and we look forward to seeing these projects roll out throughout the year.
CASP is an annual small grants program administered by Regional Arts NSW (RANSW) on behalf of Create NSW with the main objectives of supporting a creative and vibrant NSW arts and cultural sector, engagement with diverse audiences and communities and the building of a resilient NSW arts and cultural sector and cultural activities.
Enliven: the beginning of a street art explosion Armidale Regional Council
Council is working hard to revitalise its CBD and central mall. A concrete building owned by council is a perfect blank canvas to showcase street art. Council will employ a street artist in summer to create a vibrant mural that will eventually become part of a street art walking tour.
Marsupials and Birds Sculpture Techniques Barraba Potters and Craft Guild Inc.
Maggie Brockie, well known potter/sculpture, will tutor a 3 day workshop in Barraba early in 2018 focusing on 'Marsupials and Birds - Sculpture Techniques' to enhance the skills of regular potters and introduce new potters to sculpting in clay. The workshop will include support for new potters and hand building techniques
Arts Gunnedah Visual Arts Workshops Arts Gunnedah Inc
To hold visual art workshops, encouraging local artists of all ages, from Gunnedah & surrounding areas. These workshops will assist beginners & experienced artists from all backgrounds, in Printmaking, Oil, Acrylic Painting, and Life Drawing. This program run by professional artists, and will be held at the Creative Arts Centre, Gunnedah.
Walcha Sculpture Symposium Walcha Tourism C/- Walcha Council
4 Artist Demonstration Workshops are a component of a wider sculpture symposium to be held in Walcha in April 2018. Our professional artists will engage with the community, promote and demonstrate their work, collaborate and network as part of a sculpture event for, Walcha's Open Air Gallery.
Cool Choir Christine Davis
Cool Choir is a series of four community choir workshops to be held in Deepwater February/ March 2018. The choir will be facilitated by professional choir conductor Cathy Welsford, who will also conduct four separate training sessions to upskill a local person to take over as choir leader after the workshops
An Orchestral Celebration Armidale Youth Orchestra
The Armidale Youth Orchestra turns 50 in 2018 - and it is celebrating by commissioning a work by local composer Paul Marshall to be performed at a special celebratory concert in Armidale in August 2018 by current members and alumni of the orchestra.
For more information please contact the individual organisation.
Continuing to Connect Creative Communities in the New Year
Arts North West will embark on another busy and creative year in 2018 with a suite of projects and programs ready to be rolled out in the New England North West.
Country Art Escapes, a Regional Arts Trail managed by Arts North West will see a refresh early this year with a complete rebrand including a new website. The rebrand will happen in time for two open days that are scheduled for Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Armidale and Uralla later in the year.
Arts North West’s highly successful professional development workshops will start rolling out across the region in March. Glen Innes, Armidale, Tamworth and surrounding communities will have the opportunity to learn helpful tips for arts projects, event planning and useful hints for how to write arts grant.
Arts North West will be working with the Ben Lomond community starting in March to deliver a series of creative workshops. This project aims to provide a catalyst for community members to meet on a regular basis and engage in the therapeutic benefits of art-making. This project was made possible through funding received by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.
Pocket Productions, established last year as an Arts North West initiative to deliver high quality productions to smaller communities and villages, will welcome the Bloodwood Quartet who will play their way throughout the network during April. The Arts North West ON TOUR Network will be hosting a suite of performers and performances in 2018, the first being the Australian Tour of The London Klezmer Quartet in February and March.
Rivers to Ridges and the Stories In Between project will enter into its second year after a highly successful first year. The project will continue to gather and document the stories of Elders, artists and the Aboriginal history of the New England North West in multimedia format. After 3 years, The Making Old Markings New project will finish in May with an exhibition at Armidale Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, the works are the result of Aboriginal artists connecting with traditional markings from the New England North West region. 2018 will see the launch of a new project with Yaama Ganu in Moree. Our Plains - Our Hills - Our Home will showcase the excellence of Aboriginal arts created by the Kamilaroi people. Arts North West is also looking forward to working with the UNE Oorala Aboriginal Centre in 2018.
The Stuff of Tales project will also enter its second year in 2018. The project is a strategic partnership to develop and promote access in, and engagement to, small museums in the New England North West and will focus on creative writing for High School students and volunteers at the museums in 2018.
London Klezmer Quartet Australian Tour Heading Our Way in 2018
The Arts North West ON TOUR Network will be kicking off 2018 in style as they welcome London Klezmer Quartet to tour the New England North West region.
The London Klezmer Quartet is a dynamic group of performers whose deep understanding of klezmer, the celebratory and soulful music of Eastern European Jews, is reflected in exuberant, passionate and accomplished performances that captivate audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Dance, sing, laugh and cry as the London Klezmer Quartet takes you on a musical odyssey from Eastern Europe to Australia via the Balkans, Thailand, Turkey, the US and London. The group plays old and new traditional music on fiddle, clarinet, accordion and double bass, and presents songs of love, life, food and drink. "The real deal, to these ears." (Doug Spencer, ABC Rn). “Dynamic and authentic” (Time Out, London).
Venues and dates:
Bendemeer Hall
Wed 21 Feb
Tamworth Capitol Theatre
Thu 22 Feb
The Playhouse Hotel Barraba
Fri 23 Feb
Gunnedah Conservatorium Gunnedah
Sat 24 Feb
Crossing Theatre Narrabri
Sun 25 Feb
Royal Theatre Quirindi
Wed 28 Feb
Chapel Theatre, Glen Innes
Thu 1 Mar
Sir Henry Parkes School of Arts Tenterfield
Fri 2 Mar
Our Plains, Our Hills, Our Home Exhibition Opportunity
Our Plains, Our Hills, Our Home is a professional exhibition to be held in May at Yaama Ganu, Moree. The exhibition will be curated by Arts North West Aboriginal Arts Officer, Lorrayne Riggs and will showcase excellence in Aboriginal art by Kamilaroi people and focus on the special connection Aboriginal people have to Country.
“This is an opportunity to showcase excellence in Aboriginal arts from our Kamilaroi region, often, people forget that we have some phenomenal Aboriginal artists with a connection to our region who have a lot to offer as professional artist, or have the potential to be professional artists.” Said Ms Riggs.
“Relating this exhibition back to Country shows our connectedness through our stories, our rivers and our sky. We want people to know that regional NSW has a strong market of Aboriginal artists that should be valued as it is in other areas across the country.”
The exhibition, which will have a festival atmosphere, will open on 11th May 2018 and will tap into the Moree on a Plate market.
Our Plains, Our Hills, Our Home is a selling exhibition through consignment.
As this is an exhibition of excellence, detail needs to be shown to the quality of the works including the materials used, for example, paintings should be on Belgian linen with high quality paints. Works can be provided un-stretched and Yaama Ganu will stretch ready for hanging.
This is a mixed media exhibition with mediums to include, but not limited, to multi-media, textiles, paintings, carving and weaving.
If you know of a Kamilaroi artist that should be considered for this exhibition please contact Lorrayne Riggs on 0467 668 977 or email Lorrayne@2rivers.com.au