August ENews No Images? Click here Hi everyone, Amongst the copious amounts of wisdom I collected from this year’s Mildura Writers’ Festival, one offering from Cate Kennedy really stuck with me: “writing is about noticing”. Though I would never be so silly as to equate an eNewsletter with writing as eloquent as Cate’s, each month they provide me with an opportunity to share some things I’ve noticed. Things like the Mildura Writer’s Festival itself, which over more than two decades has developed an exceptional reputation in the national writing and reading community. Or the growing speaker and artist list for Artlands Victoria (which you can register for here); the brilliant 2019 Connecting Places program (launching next week); and our next Arts Connect event in Orbost: “Connected, Committed and On Track: Thriving in the arts in East Gippsland”. The recently released Victoria Creative Industry Festivals Review includes a series of observations about the strengths of regional creative festivals in our state, including growing attendance alongside high levels of community and volunteer involvement. Amongst the various recommendations in the document to further support creative festivals, it’s important to reflect on these strengths and the contribution events like the Mildura Writers’ Festival make to our regional communities. A contribution I’m sure you’ve already noticed. Joe Toohey Artlands Victoria speakers announcedFrom across the seas and from on Country: we are excited to announce the first round of speakers for Artlands Victoria. Drawing from the Artlands Framework of Land | Creative Risk, these speakers contest the social, cultural and political constructs of art-making, challenge the notion of where art can live (way beyond major institutions in capital cities) and present new ideas about what regional arts practice can be. Let us introduce you... Connecting PlacesOur 2019 Connecting Places program will launch next Monday 6 August - keep an eye on our website for cutting edge and entertaining drama, high quality children’s works, and original live music! Connected, Committed and On TrackThe next Arts Connect event is coming up in Orbost on Friday 7 September. Connect with creatives across the region and treat yourself to a day full of professional development! OpportunitiesApplications are now open for
the Boundless Indigenous Mentorship Program. Applications close 13 August. Applications now open for the Creative Learning Partnerships program. Applications close 16 August. Round 3 of Writers Victoria's Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund will open 16 August. Entries now open for the Upstart Singer Songwriter Award, closing 31 August. The next round of Creative Victoria's Small Regional Presenters funding opens on 6 September Events22 July - 14 October - Flight/Motion at the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 2 August - 1 September - Regional Arts Fund project DIRt #4 exhibits as part of the +150 Years exhibition at the East Gippsland Art Gallery 10-12 August - Winter Wild, Apollo Bay 4-19 August - Swanpool Arts Festival 19 August - Mallee Almond Blossom Festival 17-26 August - Words in Winter, Daylesford 29 August - 1 September - Refuge 2018: Pandemic at Arts House, Melbourne 31 August - 14 October - The People's Museum, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 7-9 September - Bendigo Festival of Exploratory Music What's on the road...Blood & Bones & Fins & Glory by Southern Ocean Sea Band Dance Hall by Finucane & Smith Elegy by Lab Kelpie Hell Ship – The Journey of the Ticonderoga by Chester Creative Swing Man by Hey Boss Which Way Home by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company Loops Live by Creates Alive The Bottle Collector by Asking for Trouble Southern Ocean Sea Band during their Small Halls Tour in 2017, by Peter Chamberlain Ros on Artlands"I have grown to trust that artists and communities can respond, react, grow, challenge and celebrate in ways greater than you ever dreamt, and the capacity for empowerment through the arts is second to none." Our Artlands Creative Producer Ros Abercrobie talks all things Artlands Victoria with Regional Arts Australia. |