Fall of The Roman Umpire Charms Local Communities

Arts North West’s new initiative POCKET PRODUCTIONS launched in the New England North West in March and was a huge success!

Small communities in Emerald Hill, Walcha, Breeza, Warialda, Barraba, Bundarra, Deepwater and Ben Lomond were delighted to host the one man show The Fall of the Roman Umpire, directed & performed by Dennis Coard.

This autobiographical show was charming, cheeky, fascinating and very very funny. 

For many of these New England North West communities, it is the first time theatre has been performed in their wonderful halls.  True country hospitality was on show with organisers offering suppers, nibbles and drinks making the event a great night out.

These beautiful halls are at the heart of their communities, and provide a much needed place for people to get together.  In some cases, it is not the first time that Arts North West has visited with an arts project – in 2016 Breeza, Bundarra, Deepwater and Ben Lomond played host to the eco-dyeing textile workshops Creativitea.

The overwhelming feedback from the communities is “what’s next?!  We want more!”   Pocket Productions aims to offer affordable and professional theatre and musical productions to suit smaller community venues  based on the successful Arts North West ON TOUR model to established performing arts venues across the region.
 
For more information about Pocket Productions contact Nicci at Arts North West touring@artsnw.com.au

What, Why, Wow! Project Planning Workshops

Arts North West is offering a full day program of advice, networking and professional development for anyone interested in creating an arts-based event. The day will have a focus on eco-arts but has been designed to cater for anyone with an arts project or event idea including artists, council managers, volunteer organisations and community groups.  It could be in any art form for example theatre, film, visuals arts, music, festivals etc.
 
After running a successful series of these workshops in 2016, Landcare New England North West approached Arts North West to run a series of eco-arts based workshops in Uralla, Walcha, Deepwater, Bingara and Bundarra as arts have proven to be a very successful way to explore and address environmental issues and build and strengthen regional communities.
 
The day is a great opportunity to network and find synergies with others that you might not have known about – sometimes it means a new collaboration, or just a different way of looking at a problem. It is also a great opportunity to see what projects are happening around our region. In 2016, participants in our project planning workshops had ideas from stargazing to stand-up comedy – and many of these ideas became concrete with the assistance of our project planning guides.

You can be at the very beginning with just a germ of an idea that we can explore, or you might have things more concrete… this workshop caters for both.

$50 FULL DAY PROGRAM
(inc all sessions, hand outs, lunch & refreshments)
9:30am-12pm The Project Brief
12-1pm The Project Budget
2-3:30pm The Project Plan

Uralla 11 May
Walcha 12 May
Deepwater 25 May
Bingara 6 June
Bundarra 7 June

Book in online www.artsnw.com.au/#/whatwhywow/

Classrooms get CHARGED!

Arts North West has been successful in securing $15,600 from Australian Government’s funding for CHARGED!  Exploring the Story of the Battle of Beersheba, part of the Australian Government’s national Anzac Centenary commemorations.

This week the Arts North West team have taken over the classroom at Kentucky Public School to launch the first workshop of a series of CHARGED! workshops being delivered to small communities across the New England North West.

The charge of the 4th and 12th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of 31 October 1917 is remembered as the last great cavalry charge. This strategic victory has great significance to our region as many of the units and soldiers were drawn from the New England.

Arts North West Executive Director Caroline Downer was there to join in the fun. “Some very keen kids at Kentucky Public School have been learning all about the story of the battle of Beersheba which happened 100 years ago. They have made ID tags, created their own poster for the Light Horse, heard about men who were there. They have even made their worn hard tack biscuits. A big thank you to the committed teachers at these smaller schools for allowing us to come into their classrooms and takeover”

For more information about the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund and a full list of recipients visit www.arts.gov.au/anzac. For more information on the Battle of Beersheba project, contact the Arts North office@artsnw.com.au

Job Opportunity Moree

Do you love children, art and have a creative approach to teaching? Are you looking for a rewarding role with flexible hours and lots of fun? Are you Moree Plains Gallery’s next Education Officer?!

Moree Plains Gallery is seeking a part-time Education Officer to fill a two year contract. Experience in Education and delivery of creative programs essential. For an information pack please call Vivien Clyne on (02) 6757 3320. Applications close 14 April 2017.

Click here to download Information for Applicants

Youth Scholarship to ARTLANDS Dubbo Awarded to Wee Waa Local

Arts North West is very pleased to announce 19 year old, Georgia Gordon from Wee Waa, a young visual art student now studying at Southern Cross University received the Arts North West ARTLANDS Dubbo scholarship.

Arts North West is excited to offer this youth scholarship valued at $1,500 to attend the ARTLANDS Dubbo Regional Arts Australia National Conference and Festival in Dubbo from 27-30 October 2016.

“This is a huge opportunity to enrich my arts practice and as a university Visual Arts student” said Ms Gordon.  Arts North West Executive Director is delighted to be able to support youth in our region. “This is a fantastic opportunity for a young person from our region to learn more about regional arts, to be inspired by creative ideas, and to network with key artists and artworkers from around Australia”, said Ms Downer. 

ARTLANDS is Part Conference, Part Festival, All Arts with four jam-packed days of activity, conversation, discussion, debate and inspiration from across Australia and overseas.  For more information about ARTLANDS visit www.artlands.com.au

SUCCESS! $166,913 for two projects promoting unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and arts in the New England Electorate

$166,913 for two projects promoting unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and arts in the New England Electorate

The Coalition Government is providing more than $22 million to support the maintenance of Indigenous languages and showcase Indigenous arts and culture through the Indigenous Languages and Arts program.

This funding will support a range of activities including large scale contemporary works in dance, music and theatre and traditional Indigenous arts practices and projects.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce said two organisations in the New England Electorate will share in more than $250,000 of funding through the Federal Government’s Indigenous Languages and Arts program.

“I am pleased to announce that 2 Rivers Pty Ltd has received $121,700 and Arts North West $145,213 for the respective projects, Looking Through Windows and Rivers to Ridges.

The project Looking Through Windows is a multimedia exhibition created by Lorina Barker, a student at the University of New England.  It explores the removal, dispossession and ‘protection’ of Aboriginal people in NSW and will be exhibited at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) in late 2017, then at the Diggers on the Darling in March 2018 and the Campbelltown Art Centre in May?June 2018.

The Rivers to Ridges project aims to provide opportunities for Aboriginal artists to translate and share stories at workshops that will be presented in a multimedia format over two years. In the year 2016?17 it will receive $69,897 and in 2017?18 the funding amount is $75,316.

“These projects will contribute to a vibrant and diverse Indigenous cultural landscape where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are empowered to maintain, celebrate and promote their arts and languages,” Mr Joyce said.

The Minister for the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield said the Coalition Government will provide $22.8 million to showcase Indigenous cultural and artistic expression and support the maintenance of Indigenous languages.

“The Indigenous Languages and Arts program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to keep their cultural identity strong by funding arts and languages organisations and projects,” Minister Fifield said.

Twenty-one Indigenous arts and languages organisations will receive almost $15 million over five years to support the revival and maintenance of Indigenous languages and the delivery of arts projects.

A further 63 Indigenous languages and arts projects will receive almost $8 million for projects to be undertaken over the next two years.

The Indigenous Languages and Arts program helps to maintain and encourage participation in Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures by providing support for projects and organisations for language and arts projects.

More information about the program is available at www.arts.gov.au

Arts North West ON TOUR is excited to launch Pocket Productions

This is a new initiative by Arts North West to offer small communities in our region a
networked approach to find and fit hand-selected affordable theatre or musical
productions to tour to the smaller regional venues without a dedicated performing arts
venue. These productions will fit into venues like a community or school hall, school of art
building or an undercover showground area. Pocket Productions would be based on the
successful Arts North West ON TOUR model.
Arts North West ON TOUR now in its fifth year is an established network of community,
LGA, and privately managed venues/presenters (between 8-10 in the New England North
West region). Each network member pays an annual service fee for specialised tour
management. This includes the negotiation of a minimum of 2 negotiated professional
performing arts tours per year; itinerary programming; administration; marketing and
audience development, and the coordination of regional network meetings. More
information can be found at http://www.artsnw.com.au/anw-on-tour
Projects Officer, Nicci Parry-Jones explains, “We have been getting such good feedback
about audience satisfaction from the high quality performing arts touring our regional
theatres got us thinking that it would be wonderful if the smaller and sometimes more
remote communities had the same opportunity.”
For a nominal annual fee, the Pocket Productions package will include: sourcing and
managing the tour itinerary of one suitable touring production, assistance to each venue
to ensure the production is well promoted, liaison between the production company and
venue staff, advice on presentation, ticketing and promotion.