Ausculture Newsletter - Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal

culture.gov.au | November 2007

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November marks the durability of several significant Australian iconic events. It is 130 years since the first Tuesday in November was declared a public holiday in 1877 when a crowd of 150,000 flocked to Flemington - as much for the frocks as for a flutter on the Melbourne Cup. The popularity of Australian race meets was spawned by Governor Macquarie's patronage of the first meet in 1810 - which was declared a means for all classes of people to meet and mix. The ethos of political representation for all classes of people (men at least) was laid down when a meeting of 10,000 miners or 'diggers' formed the Ballarat Reform League on 11 November 1854, precipitating the Eureka Stockade a few weeks later. Read full introduction... New and revised Australian Stories Remembrance Day Melbourne Cup Australian indie music Featured event Portable Worlds 1-27 November Port Augusta, South Australia	Quick links Home News feed News Design & architecture Digital media & film Festivals & conferences History & identity Indigenous arts Language & literature Performance Resources & funding Sport & recreation Visual arts Websites - new
Featured website Bridezilla is a five-piece indie rock band from Sydney which formed in 2005 and is fronted by Holiday Carmen-Sparks. More... ^ Go to top
Portal news Welcome to the first ozculture newsletter designed for browsers. It has a new format and a new name, and we hope it is more user-friendly by summarising the news and providing links to more information. Your comments on the new format are welcome. Does it work for you? Are there any changes that could improve it? Please email us at editor@culture.gov.au. We also have renamed the ‘Announcements’ news page to ‘Resources and funding’ to better reflect the information available. The Culture and Recreation Portal’s Caretaker Period Policy (http://www.culture.gov.au/caretaker/) is now in operation. Please note that the Culture and Recreation Portal is not responsible for the opinions expressed on websites or documents accessible through its search facility. Remember to subscribe to our new RSS new feed at http://culture.gov.au/news/ for all the latest weekly updates on news and events - and pass the word on to others about how the Portal can promote arts, sport and culture news and events. ^ Go to top
News snippets Design and architecture culture.gov.au/news/design.htm Katie Pye, Clothes for Modern Lovers - Melbourne 26 May 2007 - 13 January 2008 Clothes for Modern Lovers charts Pye’s work from the late 1970s through to 1990. More... ^ Go to top
Digital media and film culture.gov.au/news/digitalmedia.htm iCinema Digital Media Seminar Series - Sydney 21 November This series investigates what it means to be living in the world, how the digital media are being deployed and used to embody and imagine new ways of living, and what are the limits of this new imaginary world. More... ^ Go to top
Festivals and conferences culture.gov.au/news/festivalsandconferences.htm Beechworth Celtic Festival - Beechworth, Victoria 9-11 November This event will celebrate Beechworth’s Celtic past, present and future. The Festival offers a wide-ranging Celtic experience to delight young and old. More... ^ Go to top
History and identity culture.gov.au/news/historyandidentity.htm Scarred and Strengthened: Australians in the Great Depression - Canberra 17 May - 25 November Discover the remarkable Australian spirit in this exhibition and how, as a nation, Australia overcame the turmoil of one of the most significant events in Australian history. More... ^ Go to top
Indigenous arts culture.gov.au/news/indigenousarts.htm Culture Warriors - National Indigenous Art Triennial - Canberra 13 October 2007 - 10 February 2008 Presenting the work of 30 artists from each state and territory, the Triennial demonstrates the range of contemporary Indigenous art practice. More... ^ Go to top
Language and literature culture.gov.au/news/languageandliterature.htm Australian Poetry Slam '07 - National State finals (12 October - 30 November), Grand final (7 December) The Poetry Slam showcases the art of performance poetry, and all poets, hip-hop artists and wordsmiths are encouraged to perform at a series of regional heats. More... ^ Go to top
Performance culture.gov.au/news/performance.htm Mark Isaacs Resurgence Band tour - National 25 October - 25 November Contemporary jazz quintet Resurgence, led by Mark Isaacs, has been funded for a 13-concert tour to reach new audiences and assist the promotion of the group’s new CD. More... ^ Go to top
Resources and funding culture.gov.au/news/resourcesandfunding.htm ArtLab 2008 funding October, entries by 14 December Submissions are invited for funding grants by ArtLab, which aims to foster experimentation and collaboration between artists from multiple disciplines to explore new artistic practice. More... ^ Go to top
Sport and recreation culture.gov.au/news/sportandrecreation.htm Tasmania Classic - Devonport, Tasmania 8-13 November The Tasmania Classic is a six day/five night lifestyle touring rally for interesting people who enjoy fascinating old cars. More... ^ Go to top
Visual arts and crafts culture.gov.au/news/visualarts.htm 2007 Arc Biennial, To Be Confirmed - Brisbane 6 October - 10 December This exhibition showcases 50 artists across the fields of fashion, jewellery, furniture and interior design, visual art and craft, with a focus on Queensland-based practitioners. More... ^ Go to top
Websites - new culture.gov.au/news/websites.htm Bridezilla November Bridezilla is a five-piece indie rock band from Sydney which formed in 2005 and is fronted by Holiday Carmen-Sparks. More... ^ Go to top
From the editor... November marks the durability of several significant Australian iconic events. It is 130 years since the first Tuesday in November was declared a public holiday in 1877 when a crowd of 150,000 flocked to Flemington - as much for the frocks as for a flutter on the Melbourne Cup. The popularity of Australian race meets was spawned by Governor Macquarie's patronage of the first meet in 1810 - which was declared a means for all classes of people to meet and mix. The ethos of political representation for all classes of people (men at least) was laid down when a meeting of 10,000 miners or 'diggers' formed the Ballarat Reform League on 11 November 1854, precipitating the Eureka Stockade a few weeks later. The characteristics of courage and resilience adopted by the ANZACS, calling themselves 'diggers', are recalled with the observation of Remembrance Day, 11 November, first held in 1919, to remember those who died, especially soldiers with 'no known grave'. This year marks the commemoration of 90 years since the battle of Passchendaele which saw 300,000 Allied casualties at the Third Battle of Ypres and more than 100,000 men who died with no known graves. The spirit of battlers during a testing period is expressed in Scarred and Strengthened: Australians in the Great Depression' in Canberra (until 25 November) with stories of courage, resilience and humour coming to the fore. In line with the strength of Irish diggers inside the Eureka Stockade, a celebration of Scottish and Irish roots, mayhem and myth is seen in the 'Beechworth Celtic Festival', in Beechworth, Victoria (9-11 November). 'Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial', in Canberra (until 10 February 2008), is a dynamic, stimulating survey of contemporary Indigenous art practice including painting on bark, installation and photo media. The 'Arc Art, Design and Craft Biennial', in Brisbane (until 2 December), appropriately for November, seeks connections between people, places and perspectives. Risk-taking, innovation and radical approaches, relevant to punters, fashion aficionados and diggers alike, are encouraged in the 2008 ArtLab program funding for media arts - applications are now available. Fashion punters will agree that Katie Pye is one of Australia's durable fashion icons with her 'Clothes for Modern Lovers' exhibition showing in Melbourne (until January 2008). Concomitant qualities of durability and flexibility being promoted this month are directly relevant to the use of zinc as a building construction material, espoused by VM Zinc. Flexibility is the modus operandi for contemporary jazz quintet Resurgence - led by Mark Isaacs performing a national 13-concert tour. Jazz is one of the musical forms which has influenced indie music. Popularity, courage and humour are the pre-requisites for Poetry Slam, which showcases the art of performance poetry in a series of state finals throughout November before the grand final on 7 December, Sydney. The iCinema Digital Media Seminar Series explores issues of relevance in how the digital media is being deployed and used to embody and imagine new ways of living, and what are the limits of this new imaginary world - testing notions of durability. ^ Go to top
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