Ozculture Newsletter - Australia's Culture and Recreation Portal

culture.gov.au | December 2008

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December - Art of the land December reflects on the 'true rude life' of Christmas season celebrations and retreats. Heading to good camping and eating grounds for time with kith and kin - returning to permanent water holes for the heat of summer - is part of the Australian character. Emerging artists have historically sought to capture an 'Australian' style in their art, responding to universal themes as well as the unique landscape. Artists of the 'Heidelberg School', camped at Box Hill and the Mentone beaches, championed the open air tradition. It is argued that there is a vital consciousness in the art, consequent to confronting the 'sheer majesterial vastness of the land' - whether writ large or in the minute, across a range of media. This is given context in reflecting upon the mapping of the country by early colonial surveyors, attempting to cross the Great Divide: through the sandstone labyrinth of the Blue Mountains and the mighty rainforests of the gorge country, searching for green pastures. The answers were in the walking tracks along the ridge lines, learning to see the lie of the land with different eyes, and stepping out with Indigenous guides. New and revised Australian Stories In addition to our main article, Christmas season celebrations in Australia, please also see our new and revised Australian Stories: Art of the land in Western Australia Heidelberg School Crossing the Great Dividing Range - surveying an ancient land	Quick links Home News feed Australian Stories News Design & architecture Digital media & film Festivals & conferences History & identity Indigenous arts Language & literature Performance Resources & funding Sport & recreation Visual arts Websites - new Monthly call-out Re-Picture Australia Make a mark on history by mashing up archival photographs.
Featured event The late landscape paintings of Horace Trenerry - Sydney 29 November 2008 - 15 March 2009 South Australian painter Horace Trenerry was born in 1899 in Adelaide, where he was based for his entire career. His vision as a painter was remarkably adventurous, living a gypsy existence tracking isolated roads and fields of the coastal plain south of Adelaide, and dedicated to the pure cause of painting oblivious to fame and commercial success. More...
Featured website Tribal Warrior Association - Sydney Learn the stories of the Eora, Cadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal people aboard the gaff-rigged ketch Tribal Warrior, operated by the Tribal Warrior Association. Built in the Torres Strait as a pearling lugger more than 100 years ago, the ketch is used to train Aboriginal people to attain their commercial maritime certificate and other qualifications.
News snippets Design and architecture culture.gov.au/news/design.htm Sydney Architecture Walks - Sydney December 2008 The Sydney Architecture Walks (SAW) explore ideas through architecture. Each route is driven by certain themes and ideas and attempts to decode the city whilst stimulating new ways of thinking about and seeing Sydney. More...
Digital media and film culture.gov.au/news/digitalmedia.htm Baz Luhrmann's Australia - national December 2008 Australia is set in northern Australia before the Second World War, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stockman (Hugh Jackman) in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drives 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces firsthand. More...
Festivals and conferences culture.gov.au/news/festivalsandconferences.htm Woodford Folk Festival - Woodford, Queensland 27 December 2008 - 1 January 2009 The Woodford Folk Festival is an event of international standing. Held over six days and six nights it presents more than 2000 performers and 400 events with concerts, dances, workshops, forums, street theatre, writers' panels, film festival, comedy sessions, acoustic jams, social dialogue and debate, a children's festival, art and craft workshops and late night cabarets. More...
History and identity culture.gov.au/news/historyandidentity.htm Behind the Lines: The Year's Best Cartoons 2008 - Canberra 2 December 2008 - 1 February 2009 Behind the Lines: The Year's Best Cartoons 2008 brings together the best cartoons and illustrations collected by the National Museum of Australia in 2008. Political cartoons are a unique medium wherein humorous content often underscores a political message, and they can provide a unique insight into the year in politics. More...
Indigenous arts and culture culture.gov.au/news/indigenousarts.htm Yuendumu Emerging Artists - Adelaide, South Australia 5 November - 16 December 2008 Better World Arts presents works by emerging artists from the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Association, and launches their outreach programs for the Adelaide Anangu community. More...
Language and literature culture.gov.au/news/languageandliterature.htm Summer Reading Club 2009 – national 1 December 2008 - 15 February 2009 The Summer Reading Club program encourages young people of all ages in reading, writing, sharing books and other fun and engaging literature based activites over the summer period. More...
Performance culture.gov.au/news/performance.htm Diesel, Days like these tour - national 18 October - 21 December 2008 To coincide with the release of the brand new album Days Like These, guitarist Diesel is set to embark on a comprehensive album tour with his band. The 2-hour non-stop set will be unlike anything Diesel and his band have done before. Various locations. More...
Resources and funding culture.gov.au/news/resourcesandfunding.htm Collaborative Culture Projects Showcase The Collections Council Collaborative Projects Showcase promotes projects run collaboratively by collecting organisations in Australia such as archives, galleries, historical societies, Indigenous keeping places, libraries and museums. More...
Sport and recreation culture.gov.au/news/sportandrecreation.htm Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Hobart 26 December 2008 - 1 January 2009 The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008 will be conducted on the waters of Sydney Harbour, the Tasman Sea, Storm Bay and the Derwent River. Over the past 63 years, the Rolex Sydney to Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport. More...
Visual arts and crafts culture.gov.au/news/visualarts.htm On the Heysen Trail - Sydney 14 November - 21 December 2008 Artists embarked on an adventure in May 2008 to capture their impressions of the spectacular landscape of the famous 'Heysen Trail', a 1,200 kilometre walking trail, in South Australia for the exhibition On The Heysen Trail. More...
Websites - new culture.gov.au/news/websites.htm Sydney Sidetracks Sydney Sidetracks links historic video, audio and pictures to their locations online. More...
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