News

Splendid Thanks

Thank you for sending in your applications to take part in the Splendid Arts Lab. We are very excited by the high calibre of submissions this year. We received applications from a broad cross-section of artforms and geographical locations... from Alice Springs to Tenterfield.

Thanks, too, to those who helped to spread the word.

Who will be in the class of Splendid 2011? All applications are now in the hands of the Curatorium... and they have a tough job ahead of them. The lucky 15 will be notified and their names will be announced via our website on Monday 13 June.

Curious Creatures

Jimmy McGilchrist and Darryn Van Someren's interactive and sensor-driven projections will get a test-run next month at the Lismore Lantern Parade. The curious creatures will be visiting their birth place in Lismore before heading to Splendour in the Grass in Woodford, QLD.

"At the lantern parade, Darryn and I will be able to test the interactive content of the project which is something that we really can't do in the studio. We'll be studying how the huge audience reacts and participates so that we can determine the tech and creative decisions to act on in the window before Splendour in the Grass 4 weeks later.

We've toned down the project for the families and kids that we expect at the lantern parade. At Splendour, the project will need to be boisterous and shocking so as to compete in that environment." - Jimmy McGilchrist

Gallery After Hours: Meet the Curious Creatures
6:30 - 8:30pm Sunday 19 June | Lismore Regional Gallery

Don't miss your opportunity to meet Splendid Artist, Jimmy McGilchrist, and his collaborator, Darryn Van Someren, when they show their Curious Creatures and provide insights into the processes involved with bringing the creatures to life.

Lismore Lantern Parade
Saturday 25 June 2011 | Lismore, NSW

The Lantern Parade brings together community groups, schools and artists throughout the Northern Rivers to present a spectacular parade of light sculptures through the city. See Curious Creatures in action and enjoy a night of illuminating fun.

We encourage you to show your support to Jimmy by opening your wallet and giving financially to the project. Help the creatures breed and multiply! Go to www.pozible.com.

Close Encounters

Have you seen a UFO, experienced an alien abduction, had a ghostly interaction or experienced any alternative paranormal encounters?

Jordana Maisie invites you to help her develop ways for "talking to aliens" and a "how-to manual" for experiencing a close encounter. From 8-12 June, she and Ashley Dyer will be in residence at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists where they will test and develop Close Encounters, due for installation at Splendour in late July.

Make A Meal Of It

A fine dining institution, filled with a foot of soil? All in the name of art and fundraising for Close Encounters, Jordana Maisie is collaborating with chef and restaurant owner Chui Lee Luk to present a visceral experience unlike any seen in a restaurant space.

The work is called Liminal Space and it sees the audience enter an environment housing an amalgam of the electronic and the organic. Scattered LED light bulbs, connected by an intricate circuit of wires protrude from a carpet of soil that powers the work. It is designed to gently reframe the way we perceive, interact with and understand natural materials such as soil.

Jordana invites you to view or to dine within the work at Claude's in Woollahra, Sydney from 7-18 June. Fundraising will take place on Sunday 12 June when Jordana and Lee Luk invite you to join them for a 5-course meal. For more information on the menu and prices, visit claudes.com.au. To book, email bookings@claudes.com.au by Friday 10 June.

Concrete Jungle

Our Splendid Producer, Carli Leimbach, and her Concrete Jungle Collective have installed a green wall outside the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the ABC. It runs along 110 metres of the Ultimo Pedestrian Network and is a mixed media green wall designed to grow ideas, encourage debate and ignite imaginations about sustainability... something we are growing in the Splendid program this year.

It is part of UTS's City Master Plan to deliver a whole new campus to the UTS community and iconic buildings for Sydney as a whole. Concrete Jungle's design is the first of the artistic interventions on construction hoardings around the city to stimulate conversation about the many options we have for doing, designing and innovating a better urban environment.

"At its centre is an interest in urban renewal through greening the city, urban agriculture, green wall and roof designs, DIY local urban food systems and developing stronger local communities." - Concrete Jungle Collective

Concrete Jungle is a collective of designers, artists, environmentalists, curators and architects who seek to learn through the act of making and whose projects aim to create discussions around the future motivations for designing and building in Sydney. The project team consists of Carli Leimbach, Rully Zakaria, Tania Leimbach and Nick Sargent.

For more info, visit www.draw.net.au/projects/concrete-jungle.

Welcome Andy

There is someone that we would like you to meet. His name is Andy Stewart and he is stepping in as our Production Manager for 2011.

Since graduating from the Technical Production course at National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Andy has worked as a stage manager, lighting designer and production manager for theatre and large-scale events across Australia.

He has worked for Sydney Festival for Festival First Night, Railway Street Theatre Company, South Australian Theatre Company, Theatre of Image, Spectak Production, City of Sydney NYE and the NSW Premier's Department.

Andy will be lending an experienced rock 'n' roll hand to get all artworks ready for their debut at Splendour in the Grass in late July.

Employment & Opportunities

National

NAVA's Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists

NAVA is accepting applications for the Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. It has 4 $5000 scholarships to award to emerging artists to assist with travel related expenses for professional development purposes including research, tuition and residency costs. Applications are due by 5 June 2011. Download the application form at www.visualarts.net.au/grantsprizes/navagrants.

Victoria

The City of Melbourne's 1200 Buildings Public Art Commission

The City of Melbourne is accepting expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced artists for the 1200 Buildings Public Art Commission, a pilot art project responding to the energy and sustainability performance of a commercial building within the City of Melbourne. Shortlisted artists will attend a detailed briefing session and workshop in June 2011 to explore the potential scope for a permanent public artwork to be commissioned and built in the period of Sep-Nov 2011. The City of Melbourne invites artists across all art forms to submit an EOI by 15 June 2011. For a copy of the project brief, contact Jodi Newcombe at or jodi@carbonarts.org or Tammy Stokie at tammy.stokie@melbourne.vic.gov.au.

South Australia

Carclew Youth Arts' Scholarships & Mentorship

Carclew Youth Arts is accepting applications for both its 2012 Scholarship Program and Independent Arts Foundation Creative Writing Mentorship. It is calling out to young South Australian artists who are demonstrating outstanding talent and potential in their field. Learn more about the scholarships and mentorship at an information session in the Ballroom at Carclew Youth Arts on 1 June at 5:30-6:30pm. Applications are due by 5pm on 1 August 2011. For more information, visit www.carclew.com.au or contact Dale Durie on 08 8267 5111 or ddurie@carclew.org.au.