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From giant yabbies to Roy and HG
It's not everyday in regional Australia that the circus comes to town, or a giant yabby is carved from red gum using only a chainsaw, or we discover what Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson have been up to in the off season.
The Year 2000 will see these projects and 100 more come to life through the Commonwealth Government's Cultural Grants program.
The Cultural Grants program incorporates Playing Australia, Visions Australia and Festivals Australia. Over $4 million has been made available so that Australians living in rural, regional and remote areas can experience the diversity of cultural activities often taken for granted in Australian cities.
The successful applicants for the latest funding round were announced by the Federal Minister for the Arts, Peter McGauran on 1 October at Country Arts SA in Port Adelaide.
'Through these programs communities in regional and rural Australia have increased access to various forms of cultural activity-whether it's part of an audience, a performance or getting nline,' Mr McGauran said at the launch.
Events to be seen around Australia include:
Playing Australia
The Australian Presenters Group - a consortium of presenters offering a coordinated national program of major theatre. Four productions by The Bell Shakespeare Company, Sydney Theatre Company and the Ensemble Theatre Company will tour to 51 different venues nationally, presenting 224 performances throughout 2000.
Musica Viva Australia, will be touring B'tutta an exciting contemporary percussion group which performs a range of styles from traditional African music to contemporary Australian art music. B'tutta will perform in Karratha, Port Hedland, Broome, Kununurra, Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton with a repertoire accessible to audiences of all ages.
Visions of Australia
In Alice Springs, NT, the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council have received a grant to develop an exhibition entitled Weaving Along The Way - The Weaving Road. The exhibition will include approximately 30 - 40 fibre works, mainly contemporary woven baskets and sculptures, from remote Aboriginal communities in the central and western desert regions.
From WA, an exhibition entitled Duyfken: Discovering Australia's First Ship will a accompany the replica on an Australian tour. The Duyfken is an authentic 24m long replica of the Dutch vessel which made the first historically recorded voyage to Australia, reaching Cape York Peninsula in 1606.
The National Archives of Australia (ACT) will tour the exhibition Caught in the rear view mirror. Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson were invited to select images from the National Archives' collection of Australian News and Information Bureau photographs, providing humorous new captions for the images.
Festivals Australia
In Busselton, WA the Busselton Beach Festival will be held in January 2000 and will feature the Lunar Circus. The troupe will present a circus skills performance and workshop program, blending traditional circus skills with new and innovative performance art.
The Hobart Fringe Festival Inc in Hobart will present Two Sticks Cultural Celebration at the Hobart Fringe Festival in February 2000. Two Sticks is a collaboration between young people, people with disabilities and members from migrant groups in the planning, development and performance of a street parade and opening event for the festival. Participants will be involved in circus activities, dance, music and theatre performances.
And the Moulamein Festival Committee have received a grant for a project entitled Redgum Yabby at the Celebrate Moulamein festival in April 2000. A chainsaw artist will be invited to sculpt a yabby out of locally grown red gum. The yabby will then be positioned in the park on a base of bricks and decorative ceramic tiles - individually designed and made by Moulamein school children.
The Year 2000 is shaping up to be a cultural feast - forget the millennium bug and get the travel bug - there will be lots to see and do in every corner of Australia.
Further details about grant recipients and where performances and exhibitions are taking place can be found on the Department's website www.dcita.gov.au
The next grant rounds will be closing for Visions of Australia on 4 February 2000 and for both Playing Australia and Festivals Australia on 15 February 2000.
Contact:
Elizabeth Tupper, Playing Australia and Festivals Australia 02 6277 1455
Tony Martin, Visions of Australia 02 6277 1629
or email playing.australia@dcita.gov.au, festivals.australia@dcita.gov.au or visions.australia@dcita.gov.au