NSW Aboriginal Regional Arts Fund - We Got It!

MP Adrian Piccoli bringing the good news to RADO Derek Motion

Described as one of the most famous art critics worldwide, Australian Robert Hughes defined Aboriginal Art as the “last great art movement of the 20th Century”. Whether it is woodcarving, sculpting or painting – Aboriginal art is captivating, expressive and reflects the richness and diversity of our Indigenous culture.

The Aboriginal Regional Arts Fund (through Arts NSW) has the aim of making Aboriginal culture of regional NSW more visible and accessible, and increasing professional and skills development opportunities for Aboriginal artists living in regional NSW. Each year regionally based artists and arts organisations are invited to apply for funding to support Aboriginal communities in exploring and expressing their cultural identities.

Western Riverina Arts was one of the successful applicants in 2016 and the non-profit organisation has been awarded $15,000 from the Aboriginal Regional Arts Fund, Arts NSW. “This funding will be used for skills development workshops across the region.” says Regional Art Development Officer Derek Motion. “Over the next 12 months we will employ Aboriginal artists to run a series of workshops across all of our local government areas - Griffith, Leeton, Narrandera & Murrumbidgee.”

The 16 workshop days will offer a wide variety of art styles including painting, woodcarving and weaving. Aboriginal artists will run two-day workshops in each area for young aboriginal artists, helping them to acquire new skills and create some original artwork, which can be seen in the second iteration of the  Murrumbidgee Marramarra exhibition 2017 and will be a follow up to the widely praised and successful Murrumbidgee Marramarra exhibition currently showing at the Griffith Regional Art Gallery.

The NSW Government has provided almost $770,000 for 25 projects that support training, career development, employment and marketing opportunities for Aboriginal artists, arts workers and young people across NSW. Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said the new projects will enable Aboriginal artists to build on their abilities and talents, boost local economies and encourage a greater appreciation of Aboriginal culture in the wider community.

Much of the heart and soul of Aboriginal life and culture can be found in their artwork, that often comes with a deep spiritual meaning based on significant ancient stories. Some Aboriginal artwork can even be dated back more than40,000 years ago. That’s why it is even more important to support and promote Aboriginal artists and their work and Western Riverina Arts is excited about the great opportunities this project has to offer to the aboriginal communities in the region. If you are interested in being involved in the Marramarra project – either as an artist or workshop participant – get in touch with RADO Derek Motion to express interest.

Calling all Poets

Griffith City library is seeking all poetry enthusiasts to put pen to paper and create a unique poem that represents Griffith.

Library Manager, Christine Del Gigante said this is a wonderful opportunity for students and the wider community to express in words their thoughts, memories or feelings of Griffith and what Griffith means to them.

“This is an incredible way to acknowledge the centenary of Griffith and for locals to express themselves in a creative way for all of us to enjoy,” said Mrs Del Gigante.

The winning entries will be announced and read out loud at the official birthday ceremony at the Griffith Regional Theatre on 4 August 2016 and the winners will receive a cash prize of $200.

Library staff are encouraging people from ages 8 years and up to put their thoughts into words and create a poem that will be remembered and recorded for generations to come.

Entry forms can be picked up from the Griffith City Library or downloaded from at www.wrl.nsw.gov.au The Centenary Poetry Competition closes Friday 1 July 2016.

GOOD LUCK!

Regional Arts Fund Community Grants - APPLY NOW!

Circus, Crafts and textiles, Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Photography, Puppetry, Theatre, Visual Arts and the list continues...those are just a few of the possible projects that you could get funded in 2017 by the Regional Arts Fund Community Grants Program, which opens today.

The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund (RAF) supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote Australia and meets the strategic priorities of supporting participation in, and access to, the arts and encouraging greater private sector support for the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is designed to benefit regional and remote arts practitioners, arts workers, audiences and communities.

The Cad Factory in Narrandera has been a successful applicant in the Western Riverina for the past two years and was able to score $40,000 in funding for their projects. In 2015 they used the funding to realize 'On Common Ground' - a community driven, site specific exploration of innovative contemporary textile practices and showcased traditional textile crafts of the region and sound art with a focus on their interaction with the land and environment. This year the Cad Factory runs a Residency Exchange program, which enables artistic exchange, the creation of new work, workshop opportunities, professional career development, skills exchange and community building opportunities between regional, city based and international artists. 

On Common Ground by the Cad Factory

  The objectives of the Regional Arts Fund are to support and promote participation in, and access to, Australia’s arts and culture in regional and remote Australia by:

• Encouraging and supporting sustainable economic, social and cultural development in regional communities.
• Developing partnerships and networks which leverage financial and/or in-kind support for specific projects and encourage ongoing collaboration.
• Developing audiences and broadening community engagement with the arts.
• Increasing employment and professional development opportunities for, and raise the profile of, regional and remote artists.

The Regional Arts Fund (RAF) Community Grants program is changing for the 2017 round. Here are a few things you need to know:

• Opening dates and closing dates have been moved forward in the year.
• RAF applications will only be accepted through the Regional Arts Australia secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.
• Guidelines have been reviewed and simplified.
• There is a NEW category Small Regional Festival Support.
• The Residencies and Mentorships category is no longer available.
• Multi-year funding is only available for two years and projects must be discussed with RANSW staff before applying.
• You will need to respond to a number of Australian Government questions for statistical collection that are common to all arts grants applicants administered by the Department of Communications and the Arts.

SmartyGrants is an online grants management system now being used by most government and non-government arts bodies. It might be a bit confronting the first time you use it, so make sure you leave plenty of time to get your application done. Read the RAF Community Grants NSW Guidelines 2017 carefully and discuss your project with RADO Derek Motion. We can help explain the new process.

Applications open: Monday 20 June, 2016
Applications close: 3:00pm AEST Monday 8 August, 2016

Read more: http://regionalartsnsw.com.au/grants/raf/#ixzz4CAunTQJu

Visual Artist Kelly Milton is coming to the Riverina!

Contemporary South Australian visual artist, Kelly Milton, has initiated a series of regional art classes, designed for rural communities who may have limited access to formal art education and visual art opportunities. 

"I have pitched these classes specifically for people who feel they have little or no art skills, but secretly would like to give drawing and watercolour painting a crack." says the 2016 finalist of the Women's art prize. "The majority of my clients start the sentence with "I can't draw". My perspective is that if you can hold a pencil or pen, then you can draw!” 

Kelly is a painter, sculptor and installation artist. In 2013 she was awarded the ‘Artists at the Armory’ Residency in Sydney, and was selected for several exhibitions there. In 2015 she was a finalist in the Emma Hack Art Prize and the Whyalla Art Prize. Her work has been collected in Croatia, Sydney, Melbourne, the Print Council of Australia, and numerous Adelaide collections.

With her art project 'the Kelly Crew', Milton aims to make contemporary art skills accessible to everyone. “We've had great results from the Kelly Crew Project. All budding artists’ involved are now confident learner-­‐artists, and are looking at their long-­‐term creative development." 

Kelly Milton has a long term vision for her project including "periodic follow up classes with home grown, or self seeded community exhibitions later down the track".

Classes will be held between 18 - 24 July in the new Narrandera Arts Centre.

For all enquiries, please contact Kelly directly on: 0447772249, or via her website: www.kellymilton.com.au

 

CASP - Now Open!

CASP 2017

Are you a member of a regional based group or organisation that likes to initiate local arts projects? Well then we got great news for you - the 2017 round of the Country Arts Support Program (CASP), just opened and offers grants from $3000 to $5000 aiming to assist locally determined cultural activities.

The goal is to support community arts and cultural development in regional NSW through small grants that:

• Assist locally determined community arts and cultural activities
• Increase opportunities for regionally-based groups to access a diverse range of arts programs
• Enable communities to explore and express their cultural identities
• Bring social and economic benefits to the community through training, employment and      promotional opportunities
• Lead to greater awareness and appreciation of cultural diversityIncrease the sustainability and resilience of regionally based community arts organisations

In 2016 there are a variety of projects throughout the Western Riverina that were made possible with funding through CASP: 

• Griffith Pioneer Park Museum  will host a video projection workshop.
• Coleambally Town Life Committee will offer painting workshops with Linda MacAuley.
• Waddi Housing will provide an avenue for emerging Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander artists to promote their artwork within the Murrumbidgee Shire
• John O’Brien Bush Festival will bring The Drop Bears to Narrandera for the Festival, as well as offering workshops in poetry and music at local schools.
• Leeton Art Society will run three artist workshops at the Leeton Multipurpose Centre between February and August 2016.
• Parkview Public School P&C Association will host artist Christina Read to explore drawing and lino cut print making techniques. Work will be presented at an informal exhibition at the school. painting workshops.

CASP has made a few changes for the 2017 round though. Here is what you need to know:

• Opening dates and closing dates have been moved forward in the year to enable timely announcements for 2017 projects.
• CASP applications will only be accepted through the Arts NSW secure on-line grants system, SmartyGrants.
• Guidelines have been reviewed and simplified.
• You will need to respond to a number of Arts NSW KPIs that are common to all arts grants applicants under the NSW Arts and Cultural Policy Framework (ACDP).
• The newly merged councils have not yet been built into the system. You will need to indicate your local council before merger in the application and your application will be assessed by the Regional Arts Development Organisation (RADO) pre-merger.

If you are interested and would like to know more about CASP please come in and see us at Western Riverina Arts to discuss with Regional Arts Development Officer Derek Motion the possibility of applying for funding through the Country Arts Support Program, which closes Thursday 28 July 2016.

The Country Arts Support Program is an Arts NSW devolved funding program, administered by Regional Arts NSW and local Regional Arts Development Organisations, on behalf on the NSW Government.

Detailed information about the program, including guidelines and how to apply, is available here. For help regarding your application or any further questions don't hesitate to contact RADO Derek Motion at rado@westrivarts.com.au or make an appointment on 04 2888 2059

Murrumbidgee Marramarra - the grand opening!

“Marramarra” is a Wiradjuri word meaning ‘to make, to do’. And that is exactly what local aboriginal artists did for the exhibition Murrumbidgee Marramarra - ‘make’ their best artworks!

The aims of this project are to showcase art made by Aboriginal artists in our region and also to facilitate Aboriginal community groups further engaging in the Arts. Have a sneak peek of what you can expect to see here:

Western Riverina Arts will open the exhibition by regional Aboriginal artists tonight at The Griffith Regional Art Gallery, in partnership with the Griffith Gallery and with support from Local Aboriginal Lands Councils and the Aboriginal Medical Centre.

"This project has developed last year as a partnership between Western Riverina Arts and the Griffith Gallery," said Western Riverina Arts RADO Derek Motion. "Both of our organisations have a key priority of promoting the work of local Indigenous artists. There are many talented Aboriginal artists in our region, and we want to assist with helping them gain the recognition their work deserves, both locally and outside the region."

Leading local Aboriginal artists exhibiting will include: Michael Lyons, Ros Lockhart, William Ingram, Rodney Simpson, Allan McKenzie, Sarah Weymouth, Wayne Krause, Corey McKenzie and Veronica Collins.

“Murrumbidgee Marramarra will be a real drawcard exhibition and I’d urge everyone to come and see it during June,” said Griffith Regional Art Gallery Curator Ray Wholohan. “There’s an interesting variety of work on display – from traditional styles to more contemporary – that shows a great diversity of talent. There are also some works created by groups such as the kids from Youth of The Streets, who have been working for weeks on an installation specifically for this project.”

We are looking forward to see you tonight at the launch of Murrumbidgee Marramarra at 6pm. The exhibition will run until Sunday 3 July and will also be shown at the Narrandera Arts Centre during July 2016.

THEY WANT YOU!

If you’re an artist from the Riverina, Burning Seed’s ARTery department would love to hear from you. They have $1000 in arts grants available for a regional artist from the Riverina attending this year’s Burning Seed festival in Matong.

Last year a Riverina grant was awarded to former Projects and Communications Officer of Western Riverina Arts, Jason Richardson, for the artwork Colour from Outer Space. Participants were delighted by Jason’s work, which offered sound-activated visuals on a TV with percussion lying around to encourage them to trigger it. The idea was to represent inclusivity by having an installation that responded to people making music.

Burning Seed would like to get more local artists and art lovers involved and offers an opportunity for people who love to create, but aren’t necessarily professional artists.

Applications for Riverina grants are now open and close on June 19th 2016 at 6pm.

Simply apply using the small grant application form, and let them know that you are from the Riverina. You can review the questions they ask you here and check out the policies including more information on the kind of projects they fund.

For more information about Burning Seed and their art grants please visit www.burningseed.com

Textile Art Workshops

From June to September the Cad Factory will be working with the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, along with artist Nicole Barakat, and community members to create a new installation artwork called "Shadow Places". It will be exhibited from 2 - 11 September to co-inside with Syndey Design that's held at the museum.

Sydney artist Nicole Barakat is coming to Narrandera to give three workshops in June and August for Shadow Places. 

​

The workshops are open to people who like making textile work and want to challenge themselves by helping to create a new contemporary artwork. All workshops are free. 

Workshop 1

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June

Arts Hub Narrandera

10am - 4pm

Workshop 2

Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June

Arts Hub Narrandera

10am - 4pm

Workshop 3

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 August

Arts Hub Narrandera

10am - 4pm

**Please bring along to the first workshop**

- Objects, images or stories of something you consider to be ‘innovative’ - it can be something ordinary or extraordinary!

- Materials and/or tools that you connect with rural landscapes, ecology, agriculture

To book or ask any questions please contact Sarah on 0405 447 490 or sarah@cadfactory.com.au.