The South Project (Inc) is a major international arts project that supports and promotes the experience and understanding of contemporary visual culture in the south for global audiences. Learn more about the South Project

Monday 20 October 2008

Yun Zhang at Immersion Therapy



Acclaimed Adelaide based calligrapher Yun Zhang brings his work to Melbourne for the first time with A Brush With Love at Immersion Therapy, marking his first solo exhibition on this scale.

Having first picked up his brush at the tender age of four, Zhang has more than two decades of experience. He has exhibited across South East Asia and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including three National Calligraphy titles in his native China.

A Brush With Love offers a fascinating opportunity to experience his calligraphy first hand, as he bridges the gap of a millennia, drawing out themes of love and longing from Tang Dynasty poetry and re-positioning them within a contemporary arts space for an Australian audience.

This is Zhang's first exhibition in Melbourne following exhibitions in Adelaide and throughout Asia.

Immersion Therapy is a curator run, non profit art space. The Immersion Therapy program is committed to its focus on contemporary art produced by Australian based and regional artists who are either directly or generally influenced by the increasingly prominent cultural motifs of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Exhibition Dates: 17 Oct > 9 Nov
A Brush With Love is showing at Immersion Therapy, 420 High Street, Northcote, from October 17 to November 9, 2008.

Gallery hours; Fridays 12 - 6pm,
Saturdays & Sundays 12 - 5pm.
Other times by appointment on 0401 183 875.

Monday 13 October 2008

Trax Presents: The Strand

Asia Week: Contemporary Expressions of Minority Groups in Indonesian Mass Media

Asia Week: Contemporary Expressions of Minority Groups in Indonesian Mass Media

When: 6:00 - 7:30pm Tuesday 21 October

Where: Yasuko Hiraoka Room, Sidney Myer Asia Centre

This public discussion focuses on the contemporary expressions of
minority groups, especially the Chinese Indonesians, in mass media.
This event is part of the Asia Week organized by the University of
Melbourne's Asia Institute in promotion of studies of Asian languages
and societies in the University of Melbourne particularly and in
Australia generally. The discussion begins with verbal presentations by:

Tintin Wulia (Artist and Researcher, RMIT)

The Name Game – or the years of living with no one to blame

Born and bred in a Chinese-Balinese family that survived 1965, the
discrepancies between the personal and the political have been
central to Tintin Wulia's practice as an artist. Recounting the past
ten years of her artistic research, in this lecture-performance she
will illustrate how she found the experiences which accompanied the
regime change of 1998 as complementary to the traumatic events and
mass killings of alleged communists in 1965. She will also show how
reflecting on 1965 can help re-contextualise the newly revived
'Chinese-Indonesian' identity within 'Indonesian' identity, by
looking at 1965 as a common ground shared by many 'Chinese' and 'non-
Chinese' Indonesians.

Tintin's work has been awarded, screened, exhibited, and collected
internationally, including in the International Film Festival
Rotterdam, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, New York Underground
Film Festival, SBS TV Australia, Istanbul Biennial, Yokohama
Triennial, Guangzhou Triennial, Jakarta Biennial, Van Abbemuseum,
Haus der Kulturen der Welt and London's Institute of Contemporary
Arts. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, Tintin Wulia's artistic
research is inspired by the geopolitical boundary and effects of its
renegotiations in the global and local, political and personal context.


Stanley Yosep Prasetyo (Commissioner of the National Commission of
Human Rights)

Is There Media for People of Chinese Descent in Indonesia?

(Address delivered in Indonesian – English translation available).

This discussion attempts to answer questions concerning media for
people of Chinese descent in Indonesia over the last decade of reform
or reformasi. What are the types of media that deal with the
segmentation of the Chinese Indonesians? Is the media for this ethnic
group of a high quality, and is it useful for political education of
this group? Or is it only meant to serve as an advertising tool in
the business world?

Stanley Prasetyo was born and raised in Malang, East Java. He studied
electrical engineering at Satya Wacana Christian University in
Salatiga, and Development Studies at Brawijaya University in Malang.
He has for years been actively involved in advocacy of human rights
especially the rights of minority groups in Indonesia. Amongst his
many important roles and activities in the field throughout the
years, from 2008 to 2013 he holds the responsibility of chair to the
strategic planning briefing committee for the national commision of
human rights. He is currently the national commissioner of human
rights, directly responsible for the sub-commission of education and
public awareness. He has published many written pieces including
'Media and May 1998 Riots' (2005), 'Racial Politics and Media
Publishing' (2003), 'Racial Politics and Efforts to Combat
It' (2002), and was editor of the Memoire of Oei Tjoe Tat (1995).

http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/events/asiaweek_minority_groups_expressions.html

Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE
2008 SIDNEY MYER PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS

Nominations are now open for the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards, with three awards to be
presented, with prize money totalling $125,000.

At the 2008 Awards, we celebrate 25 years of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards. From their
creation, these prestigious national awards continue to pay tribute to outstanding achievement in drama,
comedy, dance, music, opera, circus and puppetry.

The nominations for 2008 will be for the following Awards:

- Individual Award $40,000
- Group Award $70,000
- Facilitator’s Prize $15,000

“Sidney Myer was one of the greatest advocates for the arts, believing whole-heartedly that art should
be enjoyed and made accessible to everyone,” says Christine Edwards, CEO, Sidney Myer Fund.

“The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards celebrate the achievements of outstanding Australians who,
like Sidney Myer, have made a major contribution to the cultural lifeblood of this country, one that will be
felt for many years to come.”
The Awards are decided on a national basis and each nomination is considered by a Judging
Committee. While the Awards recognize past achievement, consideration is also given to the potential
of an individual or group to continue their contribution to Australian society through the performing arts
into the future.
The Awards were created in 1984 by the Sidney Myer Fund to mark the 50th anniversary of the passing
of Sidney Myer. Since then, the awards have honored some of Australia’s finest performers and most
respected members of the arts community. Geoffrey Rush, for example, won the individual award in
1993.

While they commemorate the life and cultural interests of Sidney Myer, the Awards are primarily
intended to enhance the status of the performing arts in Australia.

Nominations close on 31st October. Nomination forms can be found by visiting
www.myerfoundation.org.au or by phoning ph. 03 9207 3040 or Fax: 03 9207 3070, or by e-mailing
enquiries@myerfoundation.org.au.

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Fernando Palma Rodriguez at Heide Museum of Modern Art

Heide Museum of Modern Art had great pleasure in welcoming Fernando Palma Rodríguez - the Museum's first international artist-in-residence - for a three-month stay from March to May of this year. Inspired by this residency, he created an installation for the Kerry Gardner & Andrew Myer Project Gallery, Butterflown of love
click here for details , that is displayed at Heide until 26 October 2008. Redolent with personal and historic cultural meaning for Palma Rodríguez, this interactive work brings objects to life with a range of intriguing narratives.

Palma Rodríguez is a Nahua Mexican artist now living and working in the United Kingdom. He came to Heide under the Arts Council England and Stour Valley Arts Fellowship.

Palma Rodríguez’s predominantly sculptural practice demonstrates his keen interest in pre-Columbian art and the mythology of Mexico as well as his experience as an industrial engineer. His concern for the dilemmas currently faced by the environment has prompted works that seek to address both the teachings of bygone cultures and the impact of technology on the natural world. He is a founding member of Calpulli Tecalco ONG AC, Mexico City, an association committed to the preservation of the Nahuatl language and the environment in San Pedro Atocpan, Mexico City.

While at Heide, Fernando also participated in Heide’s Education & Public Programs, where he conducted a school holiday activity, Masked Warriors and featured in Artists in conversation where he spoke about his mixed media sculptures and the inspirations he drew from his time here in Australia. Fernando also participated in The South Project where he conducted workshops for South Kids .

Read the blog Palma Rodríguez wrote about his residency at Heide and visit to Australia. Click here to read the blog and make a comment .

Click here to listen to a podcast of Rachel Bongiorno interviewing Fernando Palma Rodríguez for SBS World View, Wednesday 30 July 2008.

Heide Museum of Modern Art
7 Templestowe Road
Bulleen Victoria 3105
T 9850 1500
E info@heide.com.au
www.heide.com.au

Tuesday 7 October 2008

One Day Sculpture Presents: Amy Howden-Chapman

Amy Howden-Chapman

(b. Wellington, New Zealand, 1984; lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand)
COMMISSIONED BY City Gallery Wellington
Marine Bells, collection Museum of Wellington. Photo: Amy Howden-Chapman

The Flood, My Chanting

Thursday 9 October 2008, commencing at 1PM*
A Performed sound circuit travelling from the lagoon by Jervois Quay, down lower Willis St, Featherston St, Waring-Taylor St towards the waterfront, Wellington

*if raining, the event will be postponed until Friday 10 October 2008 at 2.00 pm

A series of bells will be temporarily installed through central Wellington in a circuit curving from the waterfront though the central city and back to the sea. The line which the bells collectively delineate will correspond to the part of the central city most under threat from future flooding. By mapping the space of the city with sound, the project will consider the relationship of the built environment to Wellington’s natural topography.

A chain reaction of sound will be activated by the sound of one bell reaching the position of the next. This sound cue will be acted on by ringers running between the bell stations. As the circuit is repeated passers-by will hear the over-lapping and varying resonances of the bells. The duration of the sound circuit will be naturally determined, responding to the ringers moving through the streets, as well as to the necessary duration required for each of the bells to send the signal on.

The antique marine bells are on loan from the Museum of Wellington City & Sea’s collection. These decommissioned maritime bells are rich and imposing objects, inscribed with the names and dates of their vessel, their surfaces marked with the history of their original use. Customarily bells aboard ships were used for ceremonial purposes, the marking of time, and to communicate a ship’s presence to other vessels and warn of imminent danger.

The project also looks back to the out-dated tradition of ringing church bells in times of danger in order to raise alarm to inhabitants of surrounding parishes. Church bells have traditionally been a way in which sound maps distance, and thereby defines distinct communities. The project seeks to use sound, objects and performative action to ask what emotional reactions we should have to the warnings of today about the natural disasters predicted for the future.

Amy Howden-Chapman works in a range of media including performative collaborations. Her work considers social and emotional responses to our surroundings, particularly sites where urban settings meet natural and environmental phenomena. A dance is created between fable and fact, science and prophecy. Reaction is summoned, and an event becomes a chant.


Biography

Amy Howden-Chapman, Save the Whale/The Great Pacific Ocean Rubbish Patch Recreation, 2006, (photographic documentation of an event, work presented at a single channel video). Courtesy of the artist.

Amy Howden-Chapman is a Wellington-based artist and writer, born in 1984. She has a Masters degree in Creative Writing, Victoria University, (2005) and an Honours degree in Art History, Victoria University, (2006). Her work has appeared throughout New Zealand, as well as in Australia and America, including being in group exhibitions such as 'E.P.A.(Environmental Performance Actions)' Exit Art, New York (2008); 'Earth Matters' Auckland City Art Gallery (2008); 'The Water Show', The Physics Room Christchurch (2008): ' 'An Introduction to the Theory of Everything', Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington (2006); ' 'Old Habits Die Hard', Norwich Gallery, UK and Kunstnernes Hus, Olso, Norway (2005), organised by Sparwasser Gallery, Berlin, Germany, and 'ETA', Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington (2004). Solo projects include 'Wall Wall', Kiosk (organised by The Physics Room), Christchurch (2007) and 'The Story of Three Sentences', Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington (2004). She is part of performance group Raised By Wolves with artist Biddy Livesey, and recent projects include 'Popping the Tent ', an episode of New Artland, Television Spaceman (screened May 2008); 'I'm Breathless: Forced Fields' - Conical Gallery, (2007) 'Strange Parade & The Gift of Hills' (with accompanying publication 'After Leaving the Wilderness'), Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (2007); 'Mall wall talk task bask bark park', in 'Moment Making: After the Situation', ARTSPACE, Auckland (2007).