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ausculture newsletter August 2006

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Welcome to Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal Newsletter
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Australian anniversaries in August reflect on adversity. VP Day (15 August) marks the end of the World War II in the Pacific and follows Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Days (6 & 9 August). The 40th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan (17-20 August) remembers the actions of 180 ANZACs against a Viet Cong force, estimated at 2,500.

At the same time, it has been argued that this adversity has contributed to the development of a world class modernist movement in Australian arts and culture (see the 'Angry Penguin' Painters).

Related events this month are: Tasmania's 'Living Writers Week', Ray Crooke's 'Encounters with country', at the Mayne Centre, Brisbane and Charles Blackman's 'Alice in Wonderland' at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Adversity and ingenuity is celebrated in regional Australian with the opening of the new world class Shark Bay Interpretative Centre, Denham, Western Australia, the '40 Days Freedom Festival' at Kalkaringi, Northern Territory and a tour of 'Yanagai! Yanagai!' in regional Victoria before its extensive run in the UK.

Adversity and ingenuity will be debated in the context of 'Sydney Design 06', and the 'SALA Festival' which is showcasing leading video, sound and multimedia artists.

Check out cultural news and events at http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/

Check out our new Australian Stories at <http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au>
Darwin Bombing
Baby Boomers
Angry Penguin painters - Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker & Joy Hester

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News
Snippets from our regularly updated News pages for August 2006 http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/news/

Museums and Cultural Events

A Salute to Vietnam Veterans
17 - 20 August

A range of ceremonies and events will be held to mark the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan and the national observance of Vietnman Veteran's Day. This is an opportunity to learn more about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and to pay your respects to those who served and died.

http://www.awm.gov.au/salutevietnam/index.asp

Design

New Shark Bay Interpretive Centre - Western Australia

Located in the town of Denham, the site where Dirk Hartog landed in 1616, and situated in the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay, the new Centre showcases the region's history and natural heritage through interactive design. The project was a whole-of-government collaboration with design by Susan Freeman of Freeman Ryan Design and architect John Nichols of Woodhead International. The local materials and design acknowledge the harsh physical environment. There are three exhibition spaces representing natural values, cultural history and a geographical experience.

http://www.sharkbay.org/
http://www.sharkbayinterpretivecentre.com.au/default.asp?documentid=2
http://www.woodhead.com.au/portfolios/11/project/148/project.html

Sydney Design 06
5 - 20 August

Now in its 10th year, Sydney Design is one of the world's longest running design festivals. From exhibitions, events and awards, to international guest speakers, forums and debates, Sydney Design celebrates and showcases the design that surrounds us in all its forms. This year it has grown to over 50 exhibitions, events and talks in 24 venues.

http://www.sydneydesign.com.au/sd06/

Festivals and Conferences

40 Years Freedom Day Festival - Kalkaringi, via Katherine, Northern Territory
18 - 19 August

The communities of Kalkaringi and Daguragu invite you join them in this special commemoration and celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk Off. On 23 August 1966, Vincent Lingiari led a walk off of workers and their families from Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory . This action taken by Gurindji, Mudbura and Warlpiri families greatly assisted in the move to grant equal pay to Indigenous workers in the pastoral industry, return land to Gurindji ownership in 1976 and recognise Aboriginal land rights nationally.

http://freedomday.info/festival.html

Language and Literature

Tasmanian Living Writer's Week
11 - 20 August

The inaugural Tasmanian Living Writer's Week will hold over 90 events around the state. Some of Australia's best known authors, journalists, artists and historians will take part, including Robert Dessaix, Carmel Bird, Danielle Wood, Tim Lane, William McInnes, Pat Brassington, Henry Reynolds, Peter Timms and Martin Flanagan. Events range from readings to book signings to literary lunches and a Book Fair.

http://www.artsatwork.com.au/projects/living_writers/index.htm#about_TLWW

Visual Arts and Crafts

Encounters with the country: landscapes of Ray Crooke - National Touring Exhibition
May - November

This exhibition explores Ray Crooke's relationship with the Australian landscape. While Crooke is widely known for his paintings of island life in the Torres Strait and the islands of Fiji, this exhibition showcases his landscape paintings and studies of remote Australia. Touring to: Orange Regional Gallery, 30 June - 6 August; Queensland University Mayne Centre, Brisbane, 12 August - 1 October; Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, 13 October - 20 November. Catalogue available through S H Ervin Gallery.

http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/properties/gallery/exhibitions/encounters/default.asp

Charles Blackman, Alice in Wonderland - Melbourne
11 August - 15 October

Come on a journey into the imagination of Charles Blackman, one of Australia's most important living artists. Following an Australia-wide search, see major works from Blackman's Alice in Wonderland series united. Showing at the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria.

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/blackman/

Digital Media and Film

SALA Festival - Adelaide
4 - 20 August

South Australian new media artists will showcase their works, skills and practices to audiences as part of the South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival from Friday 4 August until Sunday 20 August 2006. The program includes SALA's Premier exhibition at Light Square Gallery, featuring works from 8 of South Australia's leading contemporary artists. Leading video, sound and multimedia artists from South Australia will set upon the city as part of the Moving Image Project to light up Adelaide with large video street projections, gallery exhibitions and shop front window installations.

http://www.salafestival.com/

Performance

Melbourne Worker's Theatre, Yanagai! Yanagai! - regional Victoria
22 August - 8 September

Yanagai! Yanagai! brings together a clan of storytellers to celebrate their survival as an Aboriginal nation in a captivating tale of power and generous vision. Described as an emphatic statement of the Yorta Yorta's existence and continued culture, linking a spiritual journey with the cold hard facts of native title battles in the present day. The show will tour regional Victoria before embarking on an international tour with an extensive run through the UK beginning 20 September.

http://www.melbourneworkerstheatre.com/