As the temperatures soar across Britain there's plenty to enjoy in cool galleries and across a myriad of spaces, including of coursein Edinburgh as the festival season gets underway.
We've compiled a snapshot of Aussie & Kiwi appearances over the summer, plus reviews from some recent FANZA events and the recent London Australian Film Festival.
We'll be back with more news and events for you in September.
Enjoy!
but first, a special event in the Autumn ...
Fabulous Lives with Bindy Pritchard - 1 October
FANZA book fundraiser at Rebecca Hossack Gallery
FANZA is pleased to announce a special event featuring Western Australian writer Bindy Pritchard.
Bindy will be interviewed by renowned writer and translator Evan Fallenberg and will read from her debut collection Fabulous Lives (published by Margaret River Press).
"The stories in Fabulous Lives are generous and off-beat, illuminating characters whose lives are stuck in a loop but who might be about to be surprised. Pritchard’s writing is precise, often funny, and the voices she creates are extremely engaging. This is a terrific collection."
~ Laura Elvery, best-selling author of Trick of the Light
Welcome drinks from 6.00pm.
Interview and reading 6.30pm-7.30pm, followed by a book signing.
Tickets include wine + canapés, with all proceeds going towards supporting the work of FANZA to promote Australian & New Zealand artistic talent in the UK.
Kiwi Artist Tim Christie returns to UK for summer exhibitions
Chester (until 9 August) / London (2-23 August)
Following the UK success in 2018 of his geometric concept MONOMOKO, Tim Christie returns this summer to exhibit with Castle Fine Art in Chester and London. The Wellington-based creative won the Washington Green People’s Choice Award in Manchester last year with works which combine art and graphic design, photography and digital illustration, tradition and technology.
Christie is joining an impressive line-up. Castle Fine Art, the UK’s largest gallery group, represents internationally recognised names such as Bob Dylan, Billy Connolly, Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee, and fashion photographer Raphael Mazzucco.
An extraordinary mystery drama about family, identity, and Islamophobia in Australia.
The comfortable life of Sydney café owner and Muslim refugee Ricky (Adam Bakri) is thrown into chaos when his estranged sister Ameena (Danielle Horvat) – a highly politicised, hijab-wearing slam poet – goes missing after a performance. As the search for Ameena intensifies, Ricky is forced to re-evaluate his own identity, whilst doing battle with a right-wing media intent on framing his family as extremists.
Stunningly shot, this complex examination of race and identity in contemporary Australia is aided by a superb ensemble cast and a tough but honest look at the harsh realities of a ‘multicultural’ nation, and Australia’s own ‘hostile environment’.
Thomas Keneally & Marcus Zusak heading for Edinburgh Book Fest
Festivals running until 26 August
Two of Australia's best known writers join a bevy of Antipodean talent heading for Edinburgh Festivals this summer.
Keneally has woven another masterpiece in The Book of Science and Antiquities. Ancient human remains are found in Western Australia, causing controversy: was the man Aboriginal, or does he signify an even older culture?
And thirteen years since his multi-million bestseller The Book Thief, Markus Zusak joins for his first Book Festival appearance with his much-anticipated follow-up, Bridge of Clay.
As the global war on waste heats up, Caught In The Net explores and draws attention to the growing crisis of plastic pollution in our oceans while acknowledging and promoting understanding of varying cultural 'norms.
The gallery’s annual Songlines exhibition this year focuses on the representation of birds in Aboriginal culture. It brings together work by artists from different communities - artists work-ing in diverse iconographic traditions and employing different media – painting, printmaking, carving, textile
Kelly Lovelady & Heather Fairbairn head up Bushra El-Turk‘s hard-hitting, contemporary opera Silk Moth, presented alongside compositions from Liza Lim and Cassandra Miller, in a new production by London-based chamber orchestra Ruthless Jabiru.
A deeply moving and unflinching journey into Australia’s dark history. Adapted from Grenville’s acclaimed novel, this multi-award-winning production from Sydney Theatre Company tells the story of two families divided by culture and land.
Back to London after over 10 years absence. Expect to hear all the hits and more...
13 October -- Save the Date 2019 Australian Music Foundation Award Finals
FANZA Event Reviews
Before you go, it was great to see fabulous turnouts of FANZA supporters at our two exclusive events this month, plus the new-look London Australian Film Festival. Check out our reviews of each occasion below.
Jarrod Lee @ Where the Pancakes Are
FANZA had Flatiron Square jumping on a balmy night as the hugely talented Jarrod Lee took us on a cabaret tour of musical theatre favourites. A capacity crowd packed out Where the Pancakes Are, our fantastic venue for the night, tapping along while enjoying the iconic Flatiron eatery’s delicious pancake and fritter fare. Jarrod’s impassioned performance confirmed his talent as ‘a voice to die for’. This young New Zealander has a great career ahead of him.
Jane Harper & Stella Duffy @ Waterstones, central London
Not one, but two, bestselling writers joined us for a sparkling evening of 'Antipodean Noir' at Waterstone's, Tottenham Court Road.
Writer, theatre-maker and FANZA patron Stella Duffy skilfully explored with Australian Jane Harper (enjoying her first ever London appearance) the ingredients that have helped make her crime novels such an international success. The event kicked off with a powerful welcoming drink - The Dry Martini - kindly sponsored by the Australian High Commission, and wrapped with a lively Q&A, with the audience exploring the myriad aspects of the writing life.
Highlights from the London Australian Film Festival
This year’s London Australian Film Festival offered four days of screenings at the Regent Street Cinema in late June, as well as a special pair of Pride screenings the following weekend at Picturehouse Central.
FANZA is proud to support the Festival and we look forward to doing so again in 2020.
That's it! Keep checking the website for updates - new EVENTS are being added regularly - and check out the NEWS section to see who's winning prizes, launching new books - and generally causing a stir in the arts world!
This newsletter was brought to you by
The Foundation for Australia & New Zealand Arts
The Foundation for Australia & New Zealand Arts (Formerly ANZ Festival Ltd) is a charity registered in England and Wales – Charity Number 1156484
