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ausculture newsletter October 2007

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Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal Newsletter - Monthly roundup
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October springs change, social wellbeing and the 'cutting edge' of innovation. Innovation in Australia's architecture will be recognised at the National Architecture Awards in Alice Springs on 25 October - celebrating the cutting edge in building design. The Awards will be followed by the conference 'Which Way?' (26-27 October), which explores the impact of appropriate housing on Indigenous health and wellbeing.

Quality and diversity of Indigenous artists is showcased by the '24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award' in Darwin (until 18 November). The winning entries - bronze cast, sculpture, painting, wood and linocut - show the diversity of media manifest in Indigenous creativity. Indigenous sacred knowledge is expressed in a groundbreaking DVD and website, Ceremony', which promotes the law and religion of the Yolngu people through films of the Djungguwan ceremony.

Changes and cutting-edge technologies are apparent with emerging screen practitioners at the SPAA Fringe in Sydney (26-27 October). Film, television and new media morph as new creative directions are set. Waves of change are seen in 'Creating Waves: The Italian Story', in Geraldton, Western Australia (until 31 October), which reveals the hard work and tenacity that Italian migrants brought to Australia in the 20th century.

The Australian Poetry Slam '07, in all capital cities (12 October - 30 November), brings the cutting edge of poetry to the stage in an eclectic mix of performances and fusion of styles - spoken word, poetry, hip-hop and stories. Springing change is the focus of Buzz Dance Theatre's production of 'Rabbit', inspired by the absurdity of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and designed to ignite creative energy in children and foster their social wellbeing (Sydney, Melbourne and Portland, 8 October - 7 November).

Groundbreaking work is evident in The Age Melbourne Fringe Festival (until 14 October), which features contemporary, innovative and trend-setting performances by independent artists. EcoShelta makes sustainable, environmentally sound homes - e.pods - which use low-impact aluminium cladding, plantation-grown Australian plywood and sheep's wool insulation. The shelters can be used singly as eco cabins or joined together to make eco shelta shacks. Environmental realities and ecological politic are seen in 'Wonderful World, in Adelaide (12 October - 7 December). Twelve renowned Australian painters express their views on the world's natural wonder, origins and dreaming with intellect, poetry and humour.

The first National Ride to Work Day, in locations across Australia (17 October), is an opportunity to discover cycling, improve health and wellbeing, and make the change to reduce carbon emissions in a mass sustainability initiative. A new website showcases the sustainability and cutting-edge innovation of Robin Boyd's Baker and Dower houses built between 1964 and 1968 in bushland near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. The 'curved flowing walls of sandstone blocks quarried on site and floor to ceiling windows encompass the small but sparkling space'. The Grounds Baker Library, added in 1979, contributes to the serene, peaceful, reflective space - referencing Grounds's design of the National Gallery of Victoria. Grounds also designed the 'dome' building for the Australian Academy of Science which pays tribute to Australia's Nobel Laureates (2007 winners to be announced 8-12 October). These buildings reference the contributions of Australia's modern architects to expression of a local identity - balancing innovation with local climate, the landscape and social realities, to create a sense of wellbeing.
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Check out our new and revised Australian Stories
Modern Australian residential architecture: http://culture.gov.au/articles/architecture/modernresidential/
Australia's Nobel Laureates and the Nobel Prize: http://culture.gov.au/articles/nobelprize/
Australian Indigenous tools and technology: http://culture.gov.au/articles/indigenous/technology/
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Portal news

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.
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Featured event

Which Way? - Directions in Indigenous Housing - Alice Springs
26-27 October

The conference will explore a range of Indigenous housing issues. Key issues will include appropriate housing design and construction, ongoing maintenance and upgrading of existing housing, the direct impact of housing on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, options of Indigenous home ownership, housing models from 'disposable' and flat-pack to one-off designs, and the relocation of communities to regional centres. Araluen Arts Centre.
www.architecture.com.au/i-cms?page=9657
www.nt.gov.au/nreta/arts/ascp/araluen/index.html
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Snippets from our regularly updated News pages
http://culture.gov.au/news/
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Announcements
http://culture.gov.au/news/announcements.htm

Report released - The social and demographic characteristics of cultural attendees
September

The report presents the results of analyses of people attending, and those not attending, selected cultural venues and events. The social survey results indicate that people with higher educational level and income are more likely to attend cultural events, while people who are not employed are more likely to go to the library. Other aspects that influence attendance include computer literacy, health, marital status and socio-economic status.
www.culturaldata.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/59082/Social_and_Demographic_Characteristics_of_Cultural_Attendees.pdf
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Design and architecture
http://culture.gov.au/news/design.htm

EcoShelta space pod
August

EcoShelta makes sustainable, prefabricated, modular dwelling units - e.pods - which can be used singly as eco cabins or joined together to make eco shelta shacks, simple dwellings or substantial environmentally sound homes. Materials, finishes and fabrication systems are selected carefully for minimal environmental impact. The marine-grade, structural aluminium alloy frame and cladding are lightweight, very strong and have a low environmental impact. The frame needs no finishing, painting or maintenance. The sub-frame and surfaces are plantation-grown Australian plywood and recycled timber elements with sheep's wool insulation, and use no paints, glues or toxic chemicals.
http://www.ecoshelta.com/
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Digital media and film
http://culture.gov.au/news/digitalmedia.htm

SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) Fringe - Sydney
26-27 October

SPAA Fringe is a motivational film, television and new media event that features speakers, workshops and screenings on producing, writing, directing, editing, animation and gaming. The Fringe aims to inspire the next generation of emerging screen practitioners. Speakers from Saatchi and Saatchi, Animal Logic and other organisations will talk about their recent projects. Workshops cover pitching and presenting, raising money and budgeting for features, and emerging media opportunities. Paddington Town Hall and Chauvel Cinema.
www.spaa.org.au/fringe_2007/index.cfm
www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Business/VenuesForHire/PaddingtonTownHall.asp
www.chauvelcinema.net.au/
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Festivals and conferences
http://culture.gov.au/news/festivalsandconferences.htm

The Age Melbourne Fringe Festival 2007 - Melbourne
26 September - 14 October

The Festival aims to bring the most contemporary, innovative and trend-setting work created and presented by independent artists to the broader Melbourne audience. The events feature comedy, music, performance, circus, cabaret, dance, visual arts and puppetry. Guests include Arj Barker, Dave Graney, Ngura Putitja - Bush Country and The Sneaker Trio. Various venues.
www.melbournefringe.com.au/season/2007/
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History and identity
http://culture.gov.au/news/museums.htm

Creating Waves: The Italian Story - Geraldton, Western Australia
27 September - 31 October

The Italian community is the largest and most prolonged wave of migrants to the Geraldton area. The exhibition retraces the history of Italian migration from the early 1900s, and tells the fascinating and sometimes difficult stories of numerous well-known families in the area. Many families had their male relatives interned during the Second World War and the exhibition examines the different kinds of separation experienced by families. Western Australian Museum - Geraldton.
www.museum.wa.gov.au/oursites/geraldton/whatson.asp
www.museum.wa.gov.au/oursites/geraldton/geraldton.asp
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Indigenous arts
http://culture.gov.au/news/indigenousarts.htm

24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award winners and exhibition - Darwin
10 August - 18 November

The Telstra Art Award, worth $40,000, was won for the first time by a Torres Strait Islander artist, Dennis Nona for 'Ubirikubiri', a bronze of a crocodile carrying a man on his back. The winner of the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award was Laurie Nilson, from western Queensland, for an installation of three emus made of moulded barbed wire. Angelina George won the General Painting prize for 'Near Ruined City', Margaret Rarru Garrawurra won the Bark Painting award and Alick Tipoti, won the Work on Paper award with a black-and-white linocut. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/exhibitions/natsiaa/index.html
www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/index.html
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Language and literature
http://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. The heats lead up to state finals in November, and finally to the grand final in Sydney on 7 December. Contestants are given a microphone, a live audience and just two minutes to impress the judges with spoken word, poetry, hip-hop, monologue and stories. State finals - various venues, Grand final - State Library of New South Wales.
http://australianpoetryslam07.org/
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/
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Performance
http://culture.gov.au/news/performance.htm

Buzz Dance Theatre and Riverside Theatres, RabbiT - Sydney
24-27 October

Inspired by the well-loved nonsense of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', 'RabbiT' is a dance/theatre production that takes children through the looking-glass to convey the journey of an 'Alice-wannabe' who turns up in a forest to audition for 'Wonderland'. Using everyday objects produced from an apparently haphazard collection of suitcases, the characters from this famous story come alive through a maze of contradiction, curiosity and plain nuttiness. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta.
www.buzzdance.com.au/productions/rabbit2007
www.riversideparramatta.com.au/
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Sport and recreation
http://culture.gov.au/news/sportandrecreation.htm

National Ride to Work Day - National
17 October

The first National Ride to Work Day is expected to attract over 60,000 participants and over 2,600 registered workplaces across Australia. Government and corporate organisations from around Australia have made the commitment to join this huge event. There will be more than 75 community breakfast events in cities and town centres. The main aims of the event are to reduce carbons and the cost of daily living, plus improve health.
www.bv.com.au/join-us/126/
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Visual arts and crafts
http://culture.gov.au/news/visualarts.htm

Wonderful World - Adelaide
12 October - 7 December

The exhibition features 12 renowned and accomplished Australian artists who conjure original places of the imagination. This particular 'world' is especially diverse: it is both a tangible, physical place of nature and cities, and also one of ecological politic, persisting human conflict and cultural change. It is a world of origins and dreaming. There is the spry life of the intellect, and the golden thread of poetry and humour. The exhibition acknowledges environmental realities, the human inner life and, inevitably, the inescapable dark side. Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art.
www.unisa.edu.au/samstagmuseum/exhibitions/current.asp
www.unisa.edu.au/samstagmuseum/
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Websites - new
http://culture.gov.au/news/websites.htm

Boyd Baker House
October

The Boyd Baker House was designed and built between 1964 and 1966, and is architect Robin Boyd's response to the bush landscape within which it resides. Its low pyramidal roof extends to cover an encircling verandah-cum-circulation space and rests on 12 stone cylinders, containing water tanks, tool sheds and a cubby hole. The spaces created by the curved walls provided for cars, a workshop and a play area, eliminating any visual detritus which might scar the rural landscape.
www.boydbakerhouse.com.au/
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