Bundjalung artist, Albert 'Digby' Moran, has led a series of painting workshops with local school students as part of his exhibition Bundjalung Dreaming at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina. Read more
A new Bathurst program, Smashed Arts, aims to circumvent the negative choices of young people by providing inspiration and opportunity to express themselves as well as entertainment options that don’t include drinking. Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre’s (BMEC) Local Stages Program secured a $495,000 grant from the Federal Department of Health and Ageing for the two-year Smashed Arts program. The program began during the July school holidays with free workshops for young people in dance, circus, beat boxing and film making. Building on BMEC’s existing Aboriginal Performing Arts Program, these first workshops targeted young Aboriginal people through three days of activity at the centre. Read the full article from the Western Advocate here. Read more
Philanthropy Australia has announced the appointment of a new CEO, Louise Walsh, following the resignation of Dr Deborah Seifert. Walsh brings extensive corporate, government, not for profit and philanthropic leadership and planning experience to the role. Read more
Former head of Queensland Office of Climate Change, Greg Withers, will take up a role at Arts NSW from September 3. Withers, who is married to former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, joins the arts body as director of strategy and government relations. Read more
Regional Arts NSW congratulates Arts on Tour NSW (AOT) for receiving the Drover Award for Tour of the Year for the third year in a row. Riverside Productions and AOT collected the esteemed Award for Rainbow’s End at last week’s national award ceremony. Read more
This year, Sydney Theatre Company’s Theatre in Communities program took playwright Jo Turner and director Susanna Dowling to Armidale in North West NSW, where they worked with five local schools and community members to create a new contemporary Australian play. At the core of the program were multiple artist residencies and mentoring for young people across the theatremaking process. The final production will be created and performed by STC artists in collaboration with locals involved as cast members in the final performance ensemble, costume designers, production managers, set constructers and lighting and sound technicians. The opening night of the play will be at the Hoskins Centre at The Armidale School on Tuesday, October 9. Click here for more information. Click here for more information. Read more
The Parliament of New South Wales Aboriginal Art Prize 2012 recognises the achievements of NSW Aboriginal artists. Regional Arts NSW would like to congratulate the following artists from regional NSW announced as finalists:
Albert ‘Digby’ Moran – Ballina
Aunty Joy Duncan – Bogabilla
Aunty May Hinch – Bogabilla
Christine Dumas – Bogabilla
Eddy Harris – Wilcannia
Glen Duffield – Shoalhaven
Lola Binge – Bogabilla
Mark ‘Punakirri’ Willers – Shoalhaven
Warwick Keen – Tamworth
Opening and Announcement of Winner: 17 October, Parliament House
Exhibition: 4 October – 25 October, Parliament House
More information on the Parliament of New South Wales Aboriginal Art Prize 2012 is available here. Read more
On August 14, Minister for Disability Services Andrew Constance congratulated Accessible Arts for receiving the Excellence in Regional Innovation Award at the NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards. The new awards program was presented at Parliament House with over 130 representatives from the NSW disability sector and recognises individuals and organisations doing things differently and thinking outside the box to achieve results for people with disability, their families and carers. The Accessible Arts North Coast three-year project won funding from the NSW Government Community Services, Dept of Family and Community Services and is the first of its kind in regional NSW, bringing innovative approaches to improving access to the arts for people with disability in the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast region of NSW. Find out more about the award and the project on the Accessible Arts website. Read more
A new Culture and Heritage Trail designed to attract more visitors to the north coast of NSW was launched in Sydney on Thursday August 23. The first in a series of special interest trails along the iconic tourist drive, The Legendary Pacific Coast, highlights key locations from the Central Coast to Northern Rivers, incorporating everything from performance spaces to regional galleries, historic sites and art studios. Arts Mid North Coast Executive Officer Rod Howard spoke at the launch: “Arts Mid North Coast is delighted to have been engaged to deliver the Trail content from Terrigal to the Tweed, and we believe it will be of great benefit to our communities.“ For more information on the trail, visit the Legendary Pacific Coast website. Read more
Part of Tulgeen Disability Services located in South East Arts, Art in the Garage provides supported art making for 29 artists with disability. Read more
This August saw Arts Northern Rivers recruit two new staff members. Visual artist, musician and composer Anthony Walker has been appointed to the role of Indigenous Arts Development Officer. Read more
Applications for the 2013 round of the Regional Arts Fund (RAF) are now open. The RAF supports arts and cultural activities in regional NSW that are sustainable, have long term cultural, economic and social benefits, develop partnerships and cultural networks and provide skills development opportunities. Read more
