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Hello,

With the change of weather brings the great news that venues are back to full audience capacity and there's a power of theatre coming up across the region. We are also seeing the explosive return of music to infiltrate our ears and bodies! This newsletter has details on some of these events but make sure you follow us on our Facebook and Instagram where we will try and share all the creative goodness with you.

Last month saw one of the most magical events we've seen for some time. Patricia Piccinini Skywhales enchanted over 4000 people at the Lavington Sports Ground. For those of us that went, it was definitely a memory-making experience. For me it was lovely to observe the crowd, the atmosphere of calm and wonder and celebrate the first big people-gathering we've seen in the region for a long time. As the Skywhales floated over Wiradjuri land I couldn't help but feel a sense of community cohesion. Did you go? What did you think? A huge congratulations to Albury City for putting on a seamless event.

Remember to keep in touch with us via socials or email to let us know about your creative achievements.

Nat & the Murray Arts team

Latest News

Another Round Announced!

Murray Arts is launching another round of the UNLOCKED Micro-funding program for 2021. There are two types of grants available:

UNLOCKED – mini

A single payment of $500 to individual artists to spend on professional development for their creative practice.

UNLOCKED – mega

A single payment of $2 000 to collectives of local independent creatives to work together on professional development for their creative practice.

All artists and creatives who live or work in the Murray Arts footprint are welcome to apply.
Closes 13 May

More info and apply

Funding for Greater Hume Library

Greater Hume Council will receive $199,696 to improve the amenity of Holbrook Library with refurbished meeting rooms, new furniture to create flexible spaces and allow for a broader range of programs and automatic doors will be installed to improve access.

The funding was part of the NSW State Government's $6 million in funding for public libraries across the State as part of the new Public Library Infrastructure Grant program.

NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin said 25 local councils, of which 20 are in regional NSW and five in Sydney, will receive grants for projects this year to extend and improve public library buildings, spaces and information technology for NSW communities.

During April we ran a series of workshops and information sessions with Arts Law Australia and Dan Kaufman.

Thanks to Arts Law Australia and Create NSW we were able to facilitate two free webinars - Artist Run Initiatives and Copyright for Artists. These workshops by the team at Arts Law are always full of important but easily digestible information and are run in an interactive format.

Thanks to Wodonga Council who subsidised the 'Writing for the Web' workshop with Dan Kaufman.
Run over a half day at The Cube Wodonga, participants learnt about how to write effectively for online and undertook a series of exercises to help grow their writing skills. In no time, Dan had the group putting their creativity to use by crafting and weaving words for full impact.

We are always interested to hear about which professional development you need to improve your arts practice, so let us know your ideas.

Albury Digitisation Project

Congratulations Albury City Council – Murray Region Digitisation Hub who received $233,965 in funding which will establish a digitisation workshop space and studio at Albury LibraryMuseum that will in turn provide digitisation capability to seven community museums and collecting organisations in the Murray region including Culcairn Station Masters House Museum; Flying Fruit Fly Circus; Headlie Taylor Header Museum; Holbrook Submarine Museum; Jindera Pioneer Museum; Woolpack Inn Museum; and Wymah School House Museum. Specialised digitisation equipment will be purchased, and professional training programs implemented to build and maintain the skills and capacity of individual museums, facilitating the digitisation of at least 400 objects. Council and partners will continue to offer regular digitisation training, a collection database and equipment availability to each organisation into the future.

New Book Congratulations

Local author Aimee Chan has just released another children's book 'The Happy Mask'.

Written in response to how kids dealt with and responded to COVID and restrictions, 'Maggie doesn’t want to wear her mask. She thinks masks make people look mean. So Dad has an idea for how Maggie can show people how she really feels and still stay healthy.'

Read more about The Happy Mask

What's On

La Loire | Peter Caddy | Art Partners Australia
Until 9 May

This exhibition is a collection of pastel landscapes from the Loire Valley.
More info

Mission Songs Project | HotHouse Theatre
12-15 May

From cultural identity to love and loss, the inimitable Jessie Lloyd uncovers rare songs from day-to-day life on the missions, settlements, and reserves. Performed by an extraordinary trio of Indigenous singers, Lloyd unearths almost forgotten stories that illuminate the history of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Elders, families, and communities.

Celebrate with us as our four local songwriters, together with local community members, take to the stage with Jessie Lloyd to share their stories through song.
More info

In the Bubble Exhibition | Turks Head Gallery
21 May - 1 August

Thanks to funding from the Country Arts Support Program (CASP), 2020 In The Bubble is an exhibition reflecting on our experiences in the Border Bubble, in the year 2020. We all have a story to tell and this exhibition is a response from our community to show the images and video we have captured during the year.
More info

Bogong Photography Field Trip | MAMA
15 May

Enjoy a photography field trip to the Victorian alpine region with Artists Felix Wilson and Madelynne Cornish.

Spend a day exploring Bogong Village and surrounds, learning from artists, and gaining an insight into the Bogong Centre for Sound Culture artist in residency program.
More info

Portrait Workshop with Peter Coulson | Turks Head Gallery | Albury
16 May, 1PM

Become inspired to create and re-excite your photography. Peter’s workshops cover more content than most photographic colleges teach in 2 years! The focus is to teach you how he works technically, and how he works to achieve such a high standard of emotive, breathtaking and captivating photography; and how you can do this yourself.
More info

Neighbour | Burraja Gallery | Albury
3-5 June

How well do you know your neighbour? Who's over the fence? What do you have in common?

Join us around the dinner table for a night of breaking bread and storytelling, featuring guest artists drawn from the local community. Hear from them as they share their stories of making Albury-Wodonga home, while sharing a delicious meal.
More info

Phantom of the Opera | Albury Entertainment Centre
14-22 May

Albury Wodonga Theatre Co bring you Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking masterpiece, “The Phantom of the Opera” at to the Albury Entertainment Centre. Phantom’s legendary score still delivers the most powerful emotional impact of any major musical, which has made it by far the longest-running show in Broadway history.
More info

Lior & the Border Quartet | The Scots School Albury
22 May

Thanks to funding from the Country Arts Support Program (CASP) acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter, Lior, performing live in Albury with the Border Quartet (Kaori Sparks, David Pietsch, Damien Jones & Caleb Murray). Supported by Domini Forster, this special one-off concert event is to launch Murray River Fine Music, a new music performance and education initiative based in Albury.
More info

Beth Peters : Drawn Work | Wangaratta Art Gallery
22 May - 27 June

Beth Peters’ exhibition Drawn work references a method of needlework which is created by removing threads from the warp and/or the weft of a piece of even-weave fabric with the remaining portions, gathered and threaded together to form new intricate lace-like patterns. Like needlework or embroidery which require patience and attention to detail, this series of drawings on paper respond to the obsessive quality of the stitched thread with the repetitive drawn graphite line. Repetition of practice allows for a meditative state, a slipping from the threshold of conscious to unconscious thought, a space of disquiet, the temporal fragmentation of order, the unravelling of control and the re-weaving of disorder to create new order.
More info

Annual General Meeting Murray Arts | Burraja Gallery | Albury
22 May 1pm

This years AGM will be held at the new Burraja Gallery in Albury.
Appointment of Board and MASAC members, presentation of the Annual Report, and looking back over what we achieved in 2020. All welcome. RSVP

Toocoolville & Oakbankbec Wacky Bird Gallery Takeover | Corowa
29-30 May

Daysdale artists Susie Scott and Rebecca Kos are coming into town and taking over Wacky Bird Gallery for the weekend.
The exhibition will be a commentary on rural life from a women's perspective.
Opening night 28th May 6pm.
More info

Carousel | MAMA | Albury
until 30 May

Carousel is a series of one-off presentations offering intimate and focused encounters with some significant and some rarely seen artworks from the Murray Art Museum Albury Collection.

Artworks change weekly with an express Curator's Talk every Thursday 12.00pm - 12.30pm.
More info

Opportunities

JOBS / EOI

EOI | Connecting Places | Regional Arts Victoria
Closes 25 May

Connecting Places is our small halls touring program. Our network of halls are mostly run by volunteers. Accordingly, the shows selected for the program are relatively low-cost, ‘tour ready’, easily adaptable to various performance spaces, and tour with their own technical equipment. Performing artists touring with this program must be self-sufficient, flexible and excited to share their work with small communities.
More info

EOI | Ephemeral Art Program | Wodonga Council
Closes 1 June

Wodonga Council’s Ephemeral Art Program (2021-2022) aims to create inspiring temporary public art that supports community identity and increases the cultural vibrancy. Creating the unexpected is the key objective.
The council is calling on artists to express their interest for inclusion in various short-term art projects within the 2021- 2022 financial year. These ephemeral art projects include the following.
1. Open Galleries
2. Artwork for seasonal city flags
3. Art installation in the CBA - no theme
More info

EOI | Mural Mentoring Program | Kirrily Anderson
Closes 23 May

Artist Kirrily Anderson will be designing and painting a mural in Corryong in Spring 2021. This mural will be themed on the diverse flora and fauna of the llcal environment. An opportunity exits for a budding artist ( or collaborative pair) bewteen the ages of 16-25 to undertake a menteeship under Kirrily for the duration of the program.
Apply

EOI | Arts & Education Program | Regional Arts Victoria
Closes 25 May

Arts & Education is an incursion based program consisting of live and online performances, residencies and workshops which can take place in schools, community halls, galleries and performing arts centres. The program is designed to bring arts experiences to young people across Victoria from Foundation level through to VCE with links across the Victorian Curriculum, with a firm focus on The Arts - Drama, Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Visual Communication and Design. We are particularly interested in works with a participatory or workshop element, work designed to be experienced through both in person and/or online delivery and work suitable for primary and secondary ages.
More info

GRANTS & FUNDING

Make Music Day 2021 | Create NSW
Closes 16 May

Make Music Day takes place each year on June 21 and is a global celebration of music-making across thousands of cities. Now more than ever we are aware of the power of music to connect and elevate people. It brings humour, community and solidarity, it transports, and it heals.

This year as part of Make Music Day celebrations, local musicians are being invited to apply for a share of $90,000. The NSW Government is offering six grants worth $15,000 each to coincide with the global festival, providing some welcome relief to local artists affected by the pandemic.
More info

1000 X 1000: Crisis Cash for Artists | Theatre Network Australia
EOI open until June

Last year in response to the pandemic, a consortium of performing arts companies led by Theatre Network Australia and Creative Partnerships Australia launched Crisis Cash, a campaign to support independent artists, producers or crew in the performing arts who have been significantly affected by the pandemic and do not have a financial safety net. Crisis Cash offers a one-off emergency payment of $1,000.
More info

Playing Australia: Regional Performing Arts Touring Fund | Australia Council for the Arts
Closes 1 June

The Regional Performing Arts Touring program (Playing Australia) supports performing arts to reach regional and remote communities across Australia. Grants are available to support the net touring and other designated costs associated with tours. There is no limit on the amount that can be requested. 
More info

CALL FOR ENTRIES / OTHER

2021 Writing for TV Intensive | Screenworks
Closes 21 May

Applications are now open for the Screenworks 2021 Writing for TV Intensive, a two-day workshop that will guide participants through key elements fundamental to writing a successful TV drama series. Open to early-career writers living in regional NSW and regional Queensland, 12 selected applicants will develop their skills to enable them to bring their stories from regional Australia to our TV screens.
More info

Chiltern Art Prize
Closes 28 May

The Chiltern Art Prize and exhibition is a three-day event held at the Chiltern War Memorial Hall over the Queen's birthday long weekend in June (11-14 June).

The exhibition will showcase approximately 400 artworks across a variety of mediums including sculpture, photography, and painting. All works will be for sale and in the running for prizes in excess of $5000.
More info

Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2021 | Sutherland Shire
Closes 30 June

With prizes totalling $26 000 the biennial Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award showcases outstanding art created with, on or about paper. Artists compete for the $15 000 major award, the $5000 Young and Early Career Artist Award, the $5000 Friend's of Hazelhurst Local Artist Award, and the $1000 People's Choice Award. The exhibition will present a diverse range of paper works or techniques, including drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, paper cuts and video.
More info

Naked & Nude | Manning Regional Art Gallery
Closes 16 June

Call for entries for artworks including sculpture, painting, ceramics, drawing, photography, installation and video – highlighting the diversity of approaches to representation of the human form by contemporary artists in Australia.
More info

National Capital Art Prize
Closes 1 July

The National Capital Art Prize will be held annually with Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia over 18 years of age invited to submit up to four paintings in any of the four categories.
More info

Richell Prize for Emerging Writers | Emerging Writers Festival
Closes 9 July

The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers is again open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction. The prize is judged on the first three chapters of the submitted work, along with a synopsis outlining the direction of the proposed work and detail about how the author’s writing career would benefit from winning the Prize.
One lucky winner will receive $10,000 in prize money, to be donated by Hachette Australia, and a year’s mentoring with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers.
More info

Murray Arts is Reading

Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

How could you be an authority at understanding a subject without actually practicing in that subject?
That was the first thought that I had when I started reading this book and the author stated that he doesn't make photos. I didn't think this guy could know what he was talking about but I knew when I read the first paragraph that here was a kindred spirit, wowed by the power of photography:

I happened on a photograph of Napoleon's youngest brother, Jerome, taken in 1852. And I realized then, with an amazement I have not been able to lessen since: "I am looking at eyes that looked at the Emperor."

Easy to read and visual examples of theory and essay Roland's analysis of photography made sense to me. A photo doesn't need to be perfect to evoke emotion or tell a story, in fact the most impactful photos I've seen are technically imperfect.

While this book focuses (like the pun?) on photography, the analytical and emotional approach can be applied to aspects of visual arts. It has changed the way I experience photography.

And prior to this I didn't know what a lucida was. Do you know? Yeah you probably do, but if you don't, read it about it and be amazed. I knew painters used lenses even in Renaissance times but I didn't know this is what they were called. You learn something new everyday.

Have you read this book? Do you have an art book recommendation? Tell me

Murray Arts contributes directly to the arts and cultural lifeblood of the NE VIC/ Border region by working directly with individuals, communities and local government to assist them in developing the arts and cultural life of their communities.

Murray Arts gratefully acknowledges funding partners:

Murray Arts acknowledges the traditional custodians and caretakers of the land and waters on which we are privileged to work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and encourage everyone to champion our emerging leaders of the future.

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