The Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 -2005 Newsletter

"THE TWEED"

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 -2005 Newsletter.

The newsletter, which is distributed to approximately 600 people throughout our region, aims to provide a progress report and update on the milestones we have reached in the two-year program of cultural activities.

If you wish to be included on our database for direct mail-out or would rather receive this newsletter ~via email, contact Pamela Veness on (02) 6670 2440 or email

pveness@tweed.nsw.gov.au

Please visit our website at http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/cityofthearts/index.htm for background information, previous newsletters, up-coming events (go to Downloads) or online Photo Gallery and Sponsors Gallery.

Congratulations to Maitland City Council who will become the State’s 6th City of the Arts in July this year. We wish them all the best for their two-year program. Although Maitland will officially be the state’s City of the Arts, Tweed will always retain the title of the State’s Fifth City of the Arts and our cultural program will continue to run throughout the year and into 2006.

★★★★★ Progress Report September 2004 - March 2005 ★★★★★

City of the Arts Space - An update from Council’s Cultural Development Officer, Lesley Buckley.

The City of the Arts Space was a hub of creative activity during the final part of the year and below is a list of the events that were held since our last newsletter in September 2004.

01, Exhibitions: TAFE Diploma of Visual Arts students exhibition; Tweed River Festival Photographic Exhibition; Coolamon Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Exhibition; Northern Rivers Community Colleges Exhibition; Tweed Valley Respite’s Uninhibited Exhibition

02, Workshops/forums/celebrations: Fun with Drums with Ross Welch & Katya Skorik; School Holiday Art - making your mark in mixed media with Barbara Suttie; Lantern Making Workshops with Jyllie Jackson and her Light’n’Up Productions team; Indigenous Oral History Writing Workshops presented by Colleen Hattersley; Access Arts Forum presented by Ross Barber of Access Arts Qld, DisAbility Arts Cameo Performances; Inascape’s Message in a Bottle and Ginibi Dance Troupe Rehearsals; Regional Museum Memorandum of Understanding celebration and historical societies mini exhibition; Big hART En~compass program; Caring For Metals and Machinery workshop with Graham Clegg from the Powerhouse Museum.

In September 2004 Council resolved that the Proudfoot Building would continue to be used as a shared multi-purpose facility to (a) assist in sustaining the outcomes of the City of the Arts Program post July 2005 and (b) a focus and exhibition space for the Tweed Shire Museums.

This presents a fantastic opportunity to maximise the outcomes and legacies of the past two years and to strengthen the cultural links with the new regional museum.

Over the remaining months of the City of the Arts program and throughout 2006 the City of the Arts Space will continue to provide an accessible workshop and exhibition venue with a particular focus on Arts and Cultural Industry development, in concert and collaboration with Museum development.

★★★ 1 - Museum Development For the past two years the shire’s three historical societies (Murwillumbah Historical Society, Tweed Heads Historical Society and Uki and South Arm Historical Society), have worked collaboratively with Museum Consultant and Adviser, Kylie Winkworth, to analyse and understand their combined collections and to agree on new strategic goals for museum redevelopment over the next three to five years.

The Tweed River Regional Museum Strategic Plan, unanimously endorsed by Council last year, provides for the sustainable development of the three historical societies at Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah and Uki. The plan forges a unique partnership between Council and the societies, creating a single new Regional Museum to improve services to the people of the Tweed Shire.

The exemplary outcome of this project is due to three key factors: (1) The NSW Ministry for the Arts and The Museums & Galleries Foundation of NSW who have supported this project via a number of grants since 2003. (2) The dedication and expertise of the many museum volunteers who actively participated in all aspects of this project. All members of the three societies are to be commended for their immeasurable contribution. (3) Council’s Museum Adviser, Kylie Winkworth, whose knowledge and capacity and willingness to share that knowledge played a crucial role in the outstanding results that have transpired.

Kylie, in collaboration with the three societies, has provided Council with a strategic plan that will seed the growth of a professionally managed and resourced Regional Museum. It was recently announced that Tweed River Art Gallery Director, Gary Corbett, will manage the next phase of this important project, and a professional Museum coordinator will be employed by Council in the near future.

Plans are currently underway for the Museum’s first joint exhibition, which has been designed to support the recently completed Community Based Heritage Study. The exhibition, Treasures of the Tweed (working title only) will have broad public appeal and will open at the City of the Arts Space in November 2005. Watch this space, Gallery Newsletters and local media for dates and details.

★★★ Message from Museum Adviser - Kylie Winworth ★★★

The results of this project have exceeded expectations and built consensus and enthusiasm for museum development among the volunteers and Council. We will see new investment in the collections and a new unified Regional Museum that will better serve the communities and visitors to the Tweed Shire, while developing and conserving the area’s significant heritage collections for the future.

The volunteers made an enormous contribution to the museum plan. Hundreds of hours of volunteer time went into meetings, collection research and drafting various papers. In addition to regular strategic planning meetings, the volunteers have worked to document the history and provenance of the most significant items in their collections, creating dozens of object files for their most significant items. This work is continuing in 2005. Developing better-documented collections is a time consuming but essential foundation for new exhibitions in the proposed Regional Museum. This will help to ensure the new museum is content driven, and not just a capital works project.

★★★ Message from Bill Bainbridge, Tweed River Historical Society - Representing the three Societies ★★★

The project has provided the opportunity to reinforce the longstanding collaborative working practices of the three historical societies. The achievements would not have been possible without the personal skills, enthusiasm and patience of the Shires Museums consultant Ms. Kylie Winkworth.

The positive outcomes for the three historical societies have been:

01 - establishing themes for the Regional Museum and components

02 - developing a strategic Plan

03 - negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with Tweed Shire Council

04 - ratifying a new common constitution for the three historical societies

05 - completing a comprehensive stock-take for the museums

06 - developing common digital management systems for artefact, photographic and historical Document Collection

07 - developing standardised Object Files

08 - working with the consultant to raise professional expertise of the volunteers

See the nline Photo Gallery http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/cityofthearts/index.htm for the Memorandum of Understanding Launch event

★★★ Cultural exchange at The City of the Arts Space ★★★

Following the highly successful Chinese - Australian art exhibition produced as part of the Science Art Festival in 2004, The City of the Arts Space will host a second cultural exchange in early August.

Korean Artist, Chan Han Kim has been invited to exhibit a selection of acrylics, oils and watercolours from his winter series ‘Dragonfly Moon’. Chan Han, who lives in Ulsan, South Korea, is a distinguished artist and is currently exhibiting in Osaka, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

The exhibition will be launched on Friday evening 5 August and will run until Friday 19 August. A workshop series will also take place at Tweed River Art Gallery as part of the Gallery’s 2005 Public Programs. The workshops will be advertised shortly.

Watch this space, Gallery newsletters and local media for further details. See What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary for further information or contact Lesley Buckley on (02) 6670 2734 or lesleyb@tweed.nsw.gov.au

★★ 3 - Industrious Arts at The City of the Arts Space ★★

The City of the Arts Space is soon to host a second season of its Industrious Arts professional development program. Building on last year’s skills development workshops Industrious Arts is designed to assist local artists and emerging arts-based businesses to professionalise. The program will comprise two key areas of focus, (1) face-to-face mentoring and (2) industry specific case studies, guest speakers and workshops in business planning, marketing, management and operations.

The program will be lead by Cate Cormack. Cate has twenty years experience in business development, marketing and planning and has authored business development and marketing training programs for NSW Department of Training, NEISS, TAFE, Tourism NSW and adult education centres across Australia.

Discussions are currently taking place to finalise the program structure and to secure further partnerships and mentors. The project will be launched and advertised in early April. Watch this space, Tweed Link and local media for further details.

If you would like to register your initial interest in taking part in this training program please contact Lesley Buckley on (02) 6670 2734 or lesleyb@tweed.nsw.gov.au

★★★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 Shaping a Distinctive Environment Program (SADE) ★★★★★

The SADE program was initiated to implement Council’s first Place Making and Public Art Policy and was launched in February 2004. The launch took the form of a two-day interactive forum that brought together for the first time in the Tweed regionally based practicing artists, Local Government representatives, developers, environmental planners and design professionals.

Following the forum artists from across the region attended a two-day workshop on Interpreting and Responding to Expressions of Interest and Project Briefs presented by public art professionals Nicole Voevodin-Cash and Elisabeth Woods. The workshops were scheduled to coincide with the announcement of two public art opportunities, namely, the Village Timber Art Trail and Enterprise. Both projects are now underway.

★★ 1 - Village Timber Art Trail ★★

In July 2004 Expressions of Interest were advertised, and a Public Briefing Session was held to announce the City of the Arts Village Timber Art Trail public art project. Developed to link the villages of Chillingham, Mooball, Burringbar, Stokers Siding, Tyalgum, Tumbulgum and Uki to a broader tourism trail, the project aims to create a series of artworks in each of the villages, using timber as the thematic link.

A panel comprising Council staff, public art professionals and representatives of each of the villages met late last year to select the initial conceptual designs put forward by ten artists from across the Tweed. Congratulations to the following artists who were chosen to design and create artworks and signage for our hinterland communities and villages:

01 - Tony Armstrong

02 - Phil Connor & Susan Rose

03 - Bill Marshall

04 - Kim Nelson

Each of the artists has recently provided Council with their final and detailed design concepts, which will be assessed by the Public Art Advisory Committee later this month. The artworks will be completed and installed by the end of the year and will be included on a public art tourism trail designed to connect many of our shires cultural assets. Watch this space, Tweed Link and local media for further updates.

★★ 2 - Enterprise ★★

The Enterprise Public Art project is an initiative of Piers Property Group in collaboration with Tweed Shire Council and the City of the Arts SADE program. Expressions of interest were advertised regionally in August 2004 calling for artists to put forward initial concepts for a site-specific work in the new industrial service centre at Tweed Heads South.

The following five artists have been invited to continue to the next stage of the project, and are currently being funded to provide in-depth and detailed proposals and design statements.

Congratulations and well done to the following artists who were chosen by the panel for the originality of their initial concepts as well as experience in art in the public domain:

01 - Mal Leckie

02 - Duke Albada

03 - Steve Davies and Catherine Lane

04 - Katherin McMiles

The final four designs will be assessed by a selection panel and the winner will be announced in late May. Prior to the announcement all four designs will be exhibited for public display at the Tweed City Shopping Centre. Watch this space and local media for further updates.

★★ 1 - Groundwork - The whys of Public Arts and its contributions to Placemaking

The Local Government and Shires Association are offering training in Public Art to all Councils in NSW. As part of the City of the Arts SADE program, Tweed Shire Council has offered to host a training session in July that will be available to all Councils throughout the region. The presenters - Janet Cohen, Director of Groundwork in the Port Macquarie area and Pamille Berg, Director of Pamille Berg Consulting Pty. Ltd in Canberra, both have extensive experience in place making and public art planning.

The workshop program will focus on key issues facing local government. Through illustrated presentations, Janet and Pamille will explore the diverse roles, philosophy, benefits and Council responsibilities inherent in commissioned public art. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity for Council planners and cultural/arts workers.

Although the Groundwork training workshop is for local government workers only, we will soon be advertising a program for artists and aspiring public art professionals that will complement and extend the LG training session.

Watch this space and local media for further updates and see What’s Coming Up and Dates for the Diary for LG Workshop dates.

★★ SADE Project Partners: NSW Ministry for the Arts; Tweed Shire Council; Griffith University; Piers Property Group; Tweed Economic Development Corporation; Tweed & Coolangatta Tourism Inc; Combined Tweed Museums and the Village Communities of: Chillingham, Mooball, Burringbar, Tyalgum, Tumbulgum, Stokers Siding and Uki

★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 Celebrating the Tweed Audience Development Project ★★★

Celebrating the Tweed has been the focus of a strategic program to develop and reinforce tourism through festival and events promotion in the Tweed. In 2003, Council received funding from the Department of Transport and Regional Services Regional Assistance Program and the Department of State and Regional Development Developing Regional Resources Program to engage a Festival and Events Liaison Officer, Barbara Allen. Strategic Planning was undertaken during the year and in December 2004 Tweed Shire Council resolved to fund the position to consolidate the progress of the previous twelve months.

★ An update from Festival and Events Liaison Officer, Barbara Allen ★

The Strategic Plan for Tweed Shire Festivals and Events has been completed. It comprises a Marketing Plan, an Operations Manual and a Financial Plan. The document will be reviewed at the coming Management Taskforce Committee meeting.

The Strategic Plan represents twelve months of consultation, research and analysis, giving a practical and straightforward guide to future tourism marketing, regional development and professional skills development to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Tweed Shire Festival and Events.

Through the whole process, which has included a workshop presentation on festivals to Tweed Shire Council on 25 August 2004, the Tweed Shire Festivals and Events have gained valuable recognition for their contribution to the quality of life within the Tweed Shire. The festivals are all community based with large numbers of volunteers involved.

The events research undertaken in 2004 as part of the City of the Arts Audience Development Project conducted by the Centre for Regional Tourism Research, Southern Cross University has provided objective analysis of nine of the major festivals in the Tweed. The Event Reports are invaluable for the future development of these festivals and are already proving useful to festival organisers as professional support documentation for grant applications, acquittals and sponsorship packages. A final cross festival report giving a Shire-wide perspective is due this month. This will complete a very satisfactory research project and we commend the team from SCU on an excellent job.

The final section of the Strategic Plan involved formulating a Financial Plan, which was undertaken in the final quarter of 2004. Each of the major festivals is looking at ways to increase their certainty in financial planning - this involves for most developing rollover capital from one festival to the next and creating trading opportunities within the current festival structure. Tweed Shire Council has reviewed its funding of festivals policy and reporting requirements. Additional clauses have been added to the guidelines to ensure

timely financial reporting after the festivals. Tweed Shire Council allocates $35,000 per annum for festivals and events involving the local community. In December Council decided to continue funding the position of the Festival and Events Liaison Officer to further the aims of the City of the Arts project and ensure implementation of the strategic plan.

The Tweed River Festival held in November 2004 encompassed a broad range of activities coordinated by Tweed Shire Council’s Water Catchment Officer, Jane Lofthouse and undertaken by different parts of the community focusing on the Tweed River and its social and environmental significance.

The Tweed Shire City of the Arts program made a major contribution to the River Festival’s main event day on 21 November at Jack Evans Boat Harbour. The program highlighted the talents of local indigenous artists and special guest, the sensational Australian Aboriginal entertainer, Jimmy Little. Please see update from Lesley Mye, Project Manager of the City of the Arts ATSI program on page 7.

The City of the Arts Program also contributed to a community-based performance created by Inascape with innovative choreography, music and costumes made from recycled bottles. This work was specially commissioned for the festival and introduced a contemporary arts experience. Special children’s activities and local youth performers featured during the day, with the highlight at the end of the festival of the fabulous lantern parade and the spectacular fireworks. Through a popular workshop series leading up to the festival there was community involvement in the lantern parade and an opportunity to increase participation by people with a disability.

Several of the Tweed Festivals applied for the first time to the NSW Tourism Regional Flagship Funding. Kingscliff Art, Food and All That Jazz was successful and receives $10,000 this year towards it’s tourism marketing. Tweed Tourism is currently under review and it is hoped that festivals and events will be favourably considered in future planning for promotion of the Shire to high yield visitors. The Marketing Plan involves working closely with the Tweed Tourism organisation to maximise the opportunities for cooperative marketing.

Arts Northern Rivers have convened a meeting of representatives of arts and cultural festivals in the region with the intention of having further occasional meetings to discuss shared areas of interest. The appointment of Event Officers in neighbouring local councils is a new opportunity to network professionally and start to build the opportunities for working together regionally. Arts Northern Rivers is working on a Calendar of Events for the region. Everyone is welcome to submit their event details to them, please contact Cath Fogarty on artsnorthernrivers@tpg.com.au

The Tweed Shire has a range of special events on each month. For information on these please check our website at www.tweedcoolangatta.com.au To add any Tweed Shire events please email details to jenny@tweedcoolangatta.com.au

New contact details for Barbara Allen, Festival and Events Liaison Officer, Tweed Shire Council,

P.O. Box 816, Murwillumbah NSW 2484

Telephone 02 6670 2735 or ballen@tweed.nsw.gov.au

★ Celebrating the Tweed Project Partners: Department of State and Regional Development; Department of Transport and Regional Services; NSW Ministry for the Arts; Tweed Shire Council; Tweed & Coolangatta Tourism Inc; Tweed Economic Development Corporation, Southern Cross Univeristy and Shire-wide Festival & Event Organisations.

★★★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 Home Grown Filmworks - An update from Project Coordinator, Anne Chesher ★★★★★

After intensive workshops in screen writing, directing, camera technique and editing, the Homegrown Filmworks Finalists have been putting their newfound knowledge to the test through hands-on experience opportunities provided by this project. All teams have been out around the region shooting their film and interviewing local residents.

Now, nerves are mounting in anticipation as all Homegrown Filmworks writer/directors are working to a film hand-over date of 1 April 2005.

Saturday 28 May has been set for the Community Screening. It will be an outdoor family event in the gardens of the Tweed Shire City Of The Arts Space.

To support the co-ordination of this event, a ‘Work Experience’ position will be granted to Sarah Hamilton (from Duranbah) who is keen for an opportunity to practice her Event Management Skill after completing her diploma at Kingscliff TAFE in 2004. Sarah will be working closely with Project Manager Anne Chesher.

At this stage of the process, all writer/directors are turning back to their mentors for guidance as they learn to sustain their stories through the many facets of visual storytelling. They are also working with film soundscape technicians to develop sound effects and a music score.

Most projects have completed their rough edit and pick-up day shots. Each is working closely with their editors crafting the final film. The Homegrown Filmworks Committee will come together for a special viewing of the rough-cut draft films on March 16.

A ‘Behind-The-Scenes’ Film of the Homegrown Filmworks projects is being directed by Magali McDuffie of Pandion Pictures. Magali has been following project crews to shoot them in action - from the triumphs of the magical shot to disasters such as three vehicles being bogged simultaneously at Letitia Spit in 36-degree heat. Individual project progress:

★ Our Boat (Maureen Logan): Maureen has completed her pick-up shots. She also re-shot some of the ‘play’ scenes with the children taking advantage of the warmer weather. Paul Tait and Jeni Kendall of Gaia Films are guiding Maureen through the editing process.

★ Hooked (Cheryl McMaster): Cheryl has been working hard with Belinda Chayko (ABC Television) to sustain her story line. With advice from Comedy Writer Maggie Groff, Cheryl has shot her interviews of Tweed’s fishing folk. Cheryl is now working with editor Magali McDuffie (Pandion Pictures).

★ Us Deadly Mob (Samia Goudie): Samia has shot her final indigenous surfing scenes in the last weeks and is now sifting through hours of footage to create her documentary montage about James Mercy and his family. Through this project, Samia has applied to the Australian Film Commission for an Indigenous Unit Internship Grant. Both Samia and her mentor Jenni Kendall of Gaia Films are successfully recipients of this grant which enables emerging Indigenous Australian filmmakers to work with and learn from more experienced practitioners.

★ Waiting For 106 (Alison Flynn): Alison’s film about Gilbert Bennion, Tweed’s most elderly resident is completed. Alison was able to attend Gilly’s 106 birthday celebration. She was also interviewed by ABC Coast FM Radio about her film of Gilly’s outlook on life.

★ The Sikh Dress (May O’Connell): May’s film fell into jeopardy when the ‘dress’ travelled back to India as a gift for a cousin. Yet with a new dress, a voice-over recording and interview scheduled May is at the final stages of her film.

★ Real Gold (Blake Osborne): Blake’s leading actress flew from Canberra for a few intensive days of rehearsal and filming. With most scenes being shot on the streets of Tweed Heads, Blake’s comedy about a meter maid is shaping up very well. He is about to begin editing and post with TAFE Film Sound Editing teacher Rohan Langford.

For further information project contact Anne Chesher, Project Manager on 0418 289632 and see What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary for Screening details.

★ Homegrown Filmworks Project Partners: NSW Ministry for the Arts; Tweed Shire Council; Griffith University; North Coast Institute of TAFE; Screenworks; Tweed Valley Arts Council; Pandion Pictures and the Regent Cinema, Murwillumbah.

★★★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Program - update from Project Manager, Lesley Mye ★★★★★

Tweed River Festival held in November was a brilliant celebration of the proud history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions and culture and many thanks to those that helped us to produce a fantastic indigenous program to complement the annual lineup of events. The following is a summary of the 2004 festival highlights:

★ 2 - Community Stories: Congratulations to Maureen Logan and Bakoi Bolton. The Aunties mesmerised kids from our local schools with their stories during the River Festival week. The program was so successful that Aunty Maureen and Aunty Bakoi have been invited to perform at the Shire’s libraries during Library Week 2005. See Dates for the Diary for details.

★ 3 - Coolamon Exhibition: Congratulations to Jenny Jones and Mary Lee Connery who worked together to curate the Coolamon exhibition at the City of the Arts Space in November last year. The exhibition was a stunning display of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander artwork and artifacts from across the Country. Thank you to all of those in the community who loaned precious artifacts for the display.

4 - Tweed River Festival Main event at Jack Evans Boat Harbour: The program was a smorgasbord of indigenous talent and included an exciting variety of artists:

 01- Tracey McKenzie, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer NSW Education Department, MC’D the event.

 02- A Fire and Water Ceremony by the Bundjalung Boys, and welcome to Country by Aunty Kath Lena and Aunty Bakoi Bolton.

 03- Some of our finest regional indigenous dancers, singers and musicians also appeared, from the tiny Pearly Shells to the powerful Kokerek Dancers, Ginibi Dance Troupe, Grayson Phillips and the awesome sound of Nathan Manton on the didgeridoo.

 04- The fabulous James Henry played a set of contemporary songs before the headline performance of his grandfather, the brilliant Jimmy Little.

The following is a summary of what’s coming up in the next couple of months:

★★★ 1, Descendance - A performance not-to-be missed ★★★

Tweed Shire City of the Arts Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Arts project, in collaboration with KU Promotions, proudly presents a visually stunning and mesmerising performance by award winning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre DESCENDANCE.

Descendance is considered one of Australia’s leading cultural international exports and recently represented Australia at the “G’Day LA” Promotion for Australia Week in Los Angeles in January 2005.

The highlight of the tour was performing with Delta Goodrum and Steve Irwin at one of Hollywood’s hottest tickets, The Black Tie Tribute dinner for Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson and Geoffrey Rush.

Descendance was born from the Ngaru (Naroo) Aboriginal Dance Company, Sydney’s first professional independent traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Troup established in 1993, and has been one of the longest running professional performing Aboriginal dance troupes in Australia.

The Troupe will perform at Murwillumbah Cultural and Civic Centre on Saturday 19th March

See Dates for the Diary for further information or contact Ku Promotions on (02) 6684 7921

★★★ 2, Oral History Workshop Program with Colleen Hattersley ★★★

Colleen Hattersley will continue the oral history & writing workshop program and the next session in the series will be held on 23 March at the City of the Arts Space. Colleen, who is an interviewer and transcriber for the National Library of Australia’s oral history project Bringing Them Home, has been working with a core group for the past twelve months teaching interview and transcribing techniques. The workshops will now focus on producing an end result for the oral history and community stories. See Dates for the Diary.

★★★ 3, Artists of Cabbage Tree Island - The City of the Arts Space ★★★

The City of the Arts Space will host an exhibition of artworks from the artists of Cabbage Tree Island in June. Exhibition Curator, Janice Levy said, “The Artists of Cabbage Tree Island come from an unbroken line, they are all from the same family and it seems they are all gifted artists no matter what the medium.

The Exhibition will give you a glimpse of life on Cabbage Tree Island, a small gum leaf shaped island in the middle of the Richmond River that was founded more than a hundred years back and has lots of yarns just waiting to be told. The People of the Reeds (tribal name) will delight your eyes and hearts.

The Bunjum Arts & Crafts group on the Island has been going for more than 13 years and the Women have worked with many of the talented textile teachers from around the Northern Rivers Area over those years and have mastered many textile mediums, including batik, silkscreen, textile dyeing and painting. One or more of these mediums are usually blended to make unique pieces that become textile art.

The Exhibition will also showcase the Painters from the Island. The Painters have been working under the guidance of Digby Moran, a well-traveled Bundjalung man. Digby comes from Cabbage Tree Island and has recently been exhibiting in Germany. The Painters tell the stories told to them by their elders and paint the memories of Island life. Each of the artists has developed their own style and expression.

The 2004 A.C.E Indigenous Art Award went to Fay Anderson from the Island. Aunty Fay is already hard at work for this exhibition. We hope you can take the time out to come down to the City of the Arts Space and see for yourself”.

See Dates for the Diary for exhibition schedule and for further information, contact Exhibition curator, Janice Levy on (02) 6622 1903 or janice_levy@mullum.com.au

For further information on the City of the Arts ATSI program contact, Project Manager, Lesley Mye on 0428739550 and see What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary.

★ ATSI Arts Project Partners: NSW Ministry for the Arts; Tweed Shire Council; Tweed Clubs via the Community Development Support Expenditure (CDSE Scheme); Northern Rivers Writers Centre and the Tweed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community.

★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 DisAbility Arts Project - An update from Project Coordinator, Anne-Marie Lysiak ★★★

The Tweed Shire City of the Arts DisAbility Arts Project has been progressing well since our last newsletter. In short, we have been continuing to run workshops in various artforms; we have been liasing with service providers (including ACE and TAFE) to advocate for access for all in the arts in our region; we continue to provide professional development opportunities to teachers and artists working with people with disabilities; and we have some new programs in the pipeline. A recent appraisal showed that 158 people have been involved in the project over the past year.

The project team wishes to thank Bill McKennariey for his valuable contribution to the committee in the past year. Bill had to resign from the committee, and we wish him well. We also welcome Jenny Mair, Martin King, and Jackie Tyler as new committee members.

★★★ Current Workshops ★★★

01 - The Sitting Dancing group meets fortnightly on Thursday mornings at the City of the Arts Space, Murwillumbah, and welcomes new members. If interested please contact Project Manager, Anne-Marie on 6672 4770.

02 - The Writers Group, which started up last year, is continuing in a new format - ‘Stretch your Mind’ - which adds brainteasers, puzzles and other fun exercises to the creative writing format.

03 - Drumming has been continuing at Coolangatta Special School, and Murwillumbah High School, with the Murwillumbah group “Where’s your whistle gone?” planning a performance soon for Harmony Day at Knox Park, Murwillumbah at 1.30pm on 20 March 2005.

04 - Drumming has also started up at On Track, on Mondays 10.30am to 11.30am. Again, anyone interested in participating please contact Project Manager, Anne-Marie on 6672 4770.

Last November saw 13 people participate in a Lantern Making workshop at the City of the Arts Space, and the Fire & Water Lantern Parade, which was part of the River Festival Celebrations at Jack Evans Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads.

The drummers, writers and sitting dancers all came together in December during a Cameo Performance morning at the City of the Arts Space. Attended by 40 people, the event was a great success, with all participants sharing their talents, and enjoying a lovely morning tea. An official presentation was also made at this time to Greg Dupen, a recent graduate of Kingscliff TAFE’s Graphic Design Course, who designed a magnificent logo for our project.

The Tweed Valley Respite Service’s art group held a very successful exhibition at the City of the Arts Space in December - ‘Uninhibited’. Approximately 150 people attended the opening. All works on display were of a very high standard and ranged from painting and ceramics to mixed media - and the exhibition was almost a complete sell out. The success of the exhibition was a credit both to the artists involved, to the group’s teacher Katherine Clelland, and to the organisation, which holds a great belief in the value of art and creativity for people with disabilities. If anyone is interested in joining the group, or in finding out further information please contact Lisa at the Tweed Valley Respite Service on 07 5524 8099.

In conjunction with this exhibition, the DisAbility Arts Project hosted a presentation by Ross Barber, Executive Director of Access Arts Qld and holder of the Centenary of Federation Medal for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Ross gave a fascinating talk on his organisation’s work in a number of very successful community arts projects undertaken both in Queensland, and overseas. He was truly an inspirational speaker who has worked with people with many different types of disabilities, in many different arts media, and formats. The presentation was a great success and inspired many of our local artworkers with new ideas.

The DisAbility Arts Project is also now planning two new projects:

★★ 1. Visual Arts Program - This program offers an opportunity for visual artists in the region, who have a disability, to participate, gain new skills, and build their network. It offers professional development to participating artists. Interested participants should be artists who are currently pursuing a visual art practice of their own, in any medium, at a high level - from somewhere between serious amateur to professional. All participants will have the opportunity to create an exhibition at the City of the Arts Space later in the year.

★★ 2. Performing Arts Program (Integrated) - The DisAbility Arts Project is looking for people interested in participating in a performing art program with our group. The program is open to all people, with and without disabilities, who are interested in being advocates for raising awareness of issues to do with disability and the arts, access and participation, in our region.

The program will comprise weekly sessions with training and skills development in: Sound & Movement,

Performance & Drumming, Costume Making & Script Writing, as well as working towards a short performance piece for the end of the project.

Both programs will give artists with a disability a unique opportunity to raise the level of their art practice and to be advocates for promoting awareness of issues to do with disability and the arts, access and participation, in our region.

To enrol in these programs, or for further information on anything mentioned above please contact:

Anne-Marie Lysiak, DisAbility Arts Project Coordinator on (02) 6672 4770 (Tues or Thurs)

Mobile: 0438 205 550 or Email: alysiak@tweed.nsw.gov.au

★★ DisAbility Arts Project Partners: NSW Ministry for the Arts; Tweed Clubs via the Community Development Support Expenditure (CDSE Scheme), Tweed Community Options Project; Tweed Valley Respite Services Inc; Tweed River Valley Fellowship; Tweed Shire Council Community Services Division; North Coast TAFE; Centrelink; Department of Aging, Disability and Home Care, Tweed Shire Disability Access Committee and Access Arts Qld.

★★★ Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 BIG hART: EN~COMPASS - An update from Project Coordinator, Anne Chesher ★★★

Big hART’s successful formula in providing Multi-media Art opportunities to empower marginalised youth in regional areas* has provided the perfect structure and incentive for Tweed Shire Council through the Tweed Shire City Of The Arts 2003-2005, Gold Coast Council and local Youth Service providers to collaboratively develop a sustainable youth project incorporating film, sculpture, music and theatre called EN~COMPASS. Big hART’s Principal Artist, Kim O’Connell is engaged to direct the project’s design and creative elements.

Following the launch of Big hART EN~COMPASS by Mr Roger Wilkins, Director-General of the NSW Ministry for the Arts, the project has moved into its Second Stage equipped with a short film of interviews and scenes of the young people involved. (Copies have been distributed to Tweed’s youth services.)

Recognising the potential opportunity for young people in the district, a Working Committee comprising Youth Services Workers and Twin Towns Police and Community Youth Club has been formed to coordinate referrals, individual case issues, facilities and transport needs. With cross-border funding extending the project into the Gold Coast region, similarly, a further Working Committee has been formed with lower Gold Coast Youth Service Workers to facilitate participation and needs of the areas young people.

With the creative program and design for the Final Public Performance Event on the 23 July now confirmed, a schedule of youth activities ranging from filmmaking to sculpture, set design, rhythm and rap recording and human movement has been set in motion. The artists and the young people will work closely together for three more on-the-ground sessions culminating in the Final Event.

During the first on-the-ground session 14 young people worked with Principal Artist Kim O’Connell. Of these, six have not moved from the area and were able to participate again in the recently completed second on-the-ground session (Feb 05). In total 16 youth took part in the second session. Concentrating on filmmaking, the young people worked with artists and recorded film footage of Natural Arch, Currumbin Rock Pools and Fingal Headland.

The third EN~COMPASS on-the-ground session will commence on 4 April and will incorporate Youth Week at the City of The Arts Space. A small theatre will be set up for young people to compare their film work, and a ‘working exhibition’ will be established in the Incubator Space of the building to enable all visiting youth and the general public to witness the BIG hART: EN~COMPASS creative process in action.

* NB: Big hART’s recently produced four-part series Knot @ Home will be broadcast on SBS Television during May 2005. See What’s Coming Up and Dates for the Diary or contact, Project Manager Anne Chesher on 0418 289632

★ Big hART En~compass Project Partners: NSW Ministry for the Arts, Tweed Shire Council, Gold Coast City Council, Arts North West, Shire-wide Youth Service Providers

★★★ Youth Week - Creative Arts Festival & City of the Arts Professional Development Award - Update from Jo Reily Project Manager, Youth Enterprise Centre ★★★

Tweed Training & Enterprise Co (TTEC) Youth Enterprise Service, in partnership with various local youth, community and arts organisations, is producing a Creative Arts Festival for Youth Week 2005. The Festival, which runs from 10th - 15th April, is being coordinated ‘by young people, for young people’ as part of an accredited Events Management course integrated into a Department of Education and Training funded program, Links to Learning.

Working with the Tweed Shire Youth Development Officer from the Family Centre Community Projects, Jessica Walker, the young people are coordinating a number of events, including, a Youth Arts Exhibition to be held at the City of the Arts Space, a Short Film Festival and a week of free Activities and Workshops such as Circus and Fire, SK8 ‘Tips ‘n’ Tricks’, Graffiti Art, Indigenous Art and DJ Scratchin’.

To support the Creative Arts Festival the Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 program will provide a series of Professional Development Awards. The awards encompass a range of age and media categories so that all creative young people within the shire will have the opportunity to participate.

For entry conditions for the Award or to volunteer or participate in some way in this event please contact the Youth Enterprise Service on (02) 6672 8001 Tuesday - Friday or alternatively you can leave a message for Jo Reilly at Tweed Training & Enterprise Co on 1800 353 945. See What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary for more information.

★★ Harmony Day - Celebrate our differences! ★★

Murwillumbah Community Support Centre, Volunteering Tweed and Tweed Valley Respite Service are currently putting together the finishing touches for this year’s Harmony Day celebrations to be held in Knox Park, Murwillumbah. The event, which will be held adjacent to the Murwillumbah Community Support Centre on Sunday, March 20, from noon to 7pm, will focus on the cultural diversity that makes Australia such a vibrant country.

Two performances that were commissioned by the City of the Arts in 2004 will be included on the program. Local performance troupe, Inascape will perform the visually stunning Message in a Bottle, and indigenous dance troupe, Ginibi will perform excerpts from their traditional and contemporary dance repertoire.

A wide array of singers, dancers, performers and entertainers will provide Tweed residents and visitors with the opportunity to enjoy the different cultural groups that make up our society.

“The Tweed area has many different nationalities, cultures and religions and these provide great diversity in our community. Harmony Day is supported by the Federal Government and the Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 Program - it should be great fun!” said Deb Marks, Manager of the Murwillumbah Community Support Centre.

Celebrity compere, Maggie Anne Leybourne, will ensure that the program has plenty to offer and that there is something to appeal to the young, older age groups, families and anyone who wants to join the celebrations.

Performers, stall holders and anyone else wishing to book a stall or know more about the day should contact the Murwillumbah Community Support Centre on (02) 6672 3003. See What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary.

★★★★★ What’s Coming Up & Dates for the Diary ★★★★★

★ 1, Descendance

KU Promotions in partnership with Tweed Shire City of the Arts 2003 - 2005 is proud to present internationally acclaimed Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Dance Troup Descendance

When: Saturday 19 March

Where: Murwillumbah Civic & Cultural Centre

Time: Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm performance

Bookings: Buzz Bar Music, Murwillumbah Music and Minjungbal Museum at Tweed Heads South

Contact: Ku Promotions on (02) 6684 7921

★ 1, Harmony Day - Celebrate our differences!

When: Sunday 20 March

Where: Knox Park Murwillumbah, adjacent to the Murwillumbah Community Support Centre

Time: Noon - 7pm

Contact: Murwillumbah Community Support Centre on (02) 6672 3003.

★ 2, Community Stories with Aunty Maureen Logan and Aunty Bakoi Bolton

When & Where: Tuesday 24 May 10 am - Murwillumbah Library

 Thursday 26 May 9.30 am - Tweed Heads Library

 Thursday 26 May 1.30 pm - Kingscliff Library

Contact: ATSI Arts Project Manager, Lesley Mye on 0428 739 550

★ 3, Disability Arts Drumming with Ross Welch and Katya Skorik

When: Every Monday

Time: 10.30am - 11.30am

Where: On Track, 34 Cunningham St, Tweed Heads South

Contact: Jackie at On Track (07) 5524 9732

★★★ City of the Arts Space Exhibition/Workshop/Special Event Program ★★★

★★ Exhibitions ★★

★ 1, Youth Week Creative Arts Exhibition & Festival

When: 10 April - 15 April

Where: City of the Arts Space, Tumbulgum Rd, Murwillumbah

Contact: Jo Reilly, Youth Enterprise Service (02) 6672 8001

★ 2, The Artists of Cabbage Tree Island

When: Monday 6 June - Friday 10 June

Where: City of the Arts Space, Tumbulgum Road, Murwillumbah

For more details contact Janice Levy, Exhibition curator, (02) 6622 1903 or

janice_levy@mullum.com.au

★ 3, Cultural Exchange with Korean Artist, Chang Han

When: Friday 5 August - Friday 19 August

Where: City of the Arts Space, Tumbulgum Road, Murwillumbah,

Contact: Lesley Buckley, Cultural Development Officer on (02) 6670 2734 or

lesleyb@tweed.nsw.gov.au

★★★ Workshops/Forums/Events ★★★

★ 4, Indigenous Oral History Workshop with Colleen Hattersley

When: Wednesday 23 March

Where: City of the Arts Space, Tumbulgum Road, Murwillumbah

Time: 10am - 2pm

Contact: Lesley Mye, Project Manager on o428 739550

★ 5, Homegrown Filmworks Showcase Evening

When: Saturday 28 May 2005

Where: City of the Arts Space, Tumbulgum Road, Murwillumbah (Public Screening in the Park, so bring a rug or a chair and a bite to eat)

Time: 7.30pm - 9.00pm

Contact: Project Manager, Anne Chesher on 0418 289632 or

★ 6, Groundwork - The whys of Public Arts and its contributions to Placemaking (for Local Government workers only), details on public workshops in line with this topic will be announced in early April.

When: Monday July 25

Where: City of the Arts Space

Time: 9.00am - 4pm

Contact: For registration and booking information contact Lesley Buckley

(02) 6670 2734 or lesleyb@tweed.nsw.gov.au