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Dear friends of Big hART
The beginning of 2015 sees us wrapping up some of our flagship works and embarking on some exciting projects in new territories. Thanks to our longstanding friends and supporters and welcome to our new friends, many of who we met late last year at the Melbourne Festival.
Next month we bring a swathe of activity to our home state of Tasmania - presenting two new works as part of the Tasmanian International Arts Festival. It means so much to us to be able to premiere Blue Angel and Acoustic Life of Sheds here. The sweeping, site-specific nature of both these works means they will be experiences never to be repeated, we sincerely hope you can join us.
March is a beautiful time of the year in Tassie – interstaters should seriously consider a trip down south.
- The Big hART team
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Blue Angel
World Premiere next month! On the shoulders of Big hART giants Hipbone Sticking Out, Namatjira and Ngapartji Ngapartji Blue Angel is the company's latest opus.
Tue 24 – Sun 29 March in Hobart, Tasmania
BOOK NOW
Blue Angel the theatre show is about to explode out of Blue Angel the project. Boldly telling wild, wonderful, and true tales of the sea, while exploring the situation for our world's modern seafarers, who despite bringing us over 95% of what we use and consume are mostly unknown to us.
Blue Angel will ambitiously occupy Hobart's iconic Astor Private Hotel, letting it become a once-in-a-lifetime site for exquisite performance, installation, film, music, feasting, and dreaming! The Tasmanian International Arts Festival invites you to get the full Blue Angel experience - BOOK NOW for an overnight stay. Blue Angel presents crew of real seafarers, who will appear alongside some of the country’s best actors and musicians including Kerry Armstrong and Mikelangelo.
Visit Blue Angel online to learn more about the project
Like the Blue Angel page on Facebook for behind the scenes news and updates
Image: Blue Angel projections on the sails of the Windeward Bound at the Australian Wooden Boats Festival.
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Acoustic Life of Sheds
Big hART is thrilled to be bringing some of the country’s best and most adventurous musicians to Tasmania next month for a unique performance program.
Our participating composers include Aria Award winners Genevieve Lacey and Nick Haywood, Green Room winners Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, Grammy Award winner Lucky Oceans and leading new music composer Damian Barbeler.
Over the past year these composers and their collaborators have spent time with stunning old sheds along the North-West coast of Tasmania. New works have been created, inspired by these buildings and their farming family owners.
Join us on this exclusive four-and-a-half hour musical pilgrimage where stunning sheds, virtuosic musicianship and brilliant landscapes combine to reveal new rural narratives.
Acoustic Life of Sheds is a free event 21 - 22 March & 28 - 29 March, North West Tasmania
Take a look at the event in the Ten Days program
Watch the Acoustic Life of Sheds trailer
Like Acoustic Life of Sheds on Facebook
For more info about the event register at acousticlifeofsheds.bighart.org or email andrew@bighart.org
Image: Magnus developing his sound recordist skills capturing Phil Slater, Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire. Big hART has been running a series of House Concerts in NW Tasmania engaging new audiences and building desire for the arts in this regional community.
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Project Cosmopolitana
Through a suite of community workshops Project Cosmopolitana is solidly building momentum towards a public showing of work in development in Cooma on May 2nd. We are enjoying fruitful collaborative partnerships with St Patricks High School, the Cooma Little Theatre and Raglan Art Gallery as part of this process.
The premiere of Project Cosmopolitana’s production Ghosts In The Scheme takes place in Canberra from 2-5 Sept, and tickets are on sale now. It’s great to again be working with the Canberra Theatre Centre to present new Big hART work.
Next month in Canberra we are looking forward to presenting a session on community arts and cultural development in collaboration with Belconnen Arts Centre and the You Are Here festival. Keep an eye out for other Big hART public events in Canberra in conjunction with Cosmopolitana and Ghosts In the Scheme this year.
Our project website is currently under construction, but keep an eye on the Project Cosmopolitana Facebook page to get the first word.
Image: St Pat's students during a music workshop with Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen
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Yijala Yala Project
After the exciting successes of 2014’s Hipbone Sticking Out tour and the Murru Concert, we are regrouping and back on the ground in Roebourne WA in 2015!
The Yijala Yala Project has a newly established partnership with The Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) and we are moving in to their brand new Ngurin Pilbara Aboriginal Centre as arts company in residence. During this residency Big hART will be working on a number of legacy initiatives with the community, such as further touring of the Murru concert, and local projects to engage the Roebourne community with whom we have created so much great content.
Our first legacy project kicks off next month with the painting of several murals: one at the Roebourne basketball courts, one at the skate park and a road safety mural in collaboration with the Red Dirt Driving Academy and the City of Karratha. Our collaborating artist Stu Campbell has been working with local artists to interpret their individual painting styles and techniques so they can be adapted for large-scale murals and spray painted by young people in the community. These designs are being integrated with many of the beloved Neomad characters, Satellite Sisters and the Love Punks.
We’ll be sharing updates of the works in progress on the Yijala Yala Facebook and website – keep checking in!
The Yijala Yala Project is sponsored by Woodside-operated Pluto LNG through its Conservation Agreement with the Australian Government.
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Samurai Digger
Scott, Sophia and Yumi Umiumare spent some time in Sydney in January, researching our forthcoming project 'Samurai Digger'. In the picture is Paul, who is sharing the story of his brother, Tony Glynn, and his peacekeeping mission returning Samurai Swords to Japan after WW2.
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Also with us was Jed - our illustrious sound designer who is a nephew to Paul - and our music and set designers Nate and Gen!
Samurai Digger will promote the concept that peace is not a passive state, nor just an absence of war, but something that happens as a result of the concerted actions of some.
The research and development of this work was funded through the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture fund, and we have just been invited to apply for further funding to continue the production’s development. Looking forward to sharing more with you as it takes shape.
If you are keen to know more please contact sophia@bighart.org
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Namatjira
2015 marks a new phase for the Namatjira Project. On-the-ground activity has officially wrapped up in Alice Springs but the project’s legacy work continues. We are committed to working closely with Ngurratjuta Many Hands Art Centre to ensure a thriving future for the Namatjira family and their contemporaries.
We are working toward securing completion funding for the Namatjira documentary – it is a tough undertaking but we will get there and can’t wait to be able to share this feature film with you! Our energies are also behind the legalities of establishing the Namatjira Legacy Trust, that we anticipate launching alongside the documentary to rally supporters.
Our Namatjira to Now exhibition at Parliament House finished this month, seen by approximately 50,000 visitors over summer! The associated AIATSIS exhibition raised over $45,000 in sales for the artists and their art centre. We are still working with Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, on future strategies for the art movement, and looking at exciting opportunities with our new partner Qantas.
Those in Alice Springs still have a few weeks to see Five Generations – the Strength of Namatjira’s Legacy at Araluen Arts Centre. These works span the movement over eight decades and have adorned the walls of Araluen for nearly a year - the exhibition closes on March 8!
Follow Namatjira on Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with developments around the legacy of this project.
Image: Semra, Gloria Pannka, Cheyanne, Aretha, Lenie Namatjira and Trevor Jamieson sing at Parliament House as part of the launch of 'Namatjira to Now'
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Follow Big hART on Facebook and Twitter for more regular updates.
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