Culture Guide May 29 – June 4: Reconciliation Week, Groove Therapy + Unspoken Words Fest

May 29th 2017
Tuesday 30th May

It's Time. Or Is It?

50 years on from the 1967 Referendum, and with another referendum on the horizon, this event looks at the impact of the vote. What have we achieved and what lies ahead? How is recognition of First Nations Peoples in the Constitution expected to make a difference? What role can the creative community play moving forward?

WHAT: Talk – It’s Time. Or Is It? The Road to Constitutional Recognition
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: The Giant Dwarf, 199 Cleveland St, Redfern
HOW MUCH: Free, register online here

Reframing Art and Screen Culture

Working across genres, artforms and platforms the role of the artist in society is changing: Cultural leader? Ratbag? Trend setter? Activist? Intellectual elite? Provocateur? Change maker? Shapeshifter. Featuring a line-up of tenacious artists celebrated for producing work that is both hyper-local and internationally resonant, this conversation will explore the contemporary role of the artist and their commitment to bold, authentic story telling. What stories need to be told? Who needs to tell them? And how are they told?

WHAT: Reframing Art and Screen Culture
WHEN: 5-7pm
WHERE: Vivid Ideas Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Art
HOW MUCH: Free, register online here

Negative Volumes: Danger Magic

Before the words, there is the voice (The good voice. The bad voice. Your voice).  Presented by Liquid Architecture, Negative Volumes: Danger Magic features artist performances of Dick Higgins’ Danger Music.  More info here

WHAT: Negative Volumes: Danger Magic
WHEN: Tuesday + Wednesday 6-8pm
WHERE: Firstdraft, 13-17 Riley St. Woolloomooloo
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Wednesday 31st May

Pretty Gritty #18

It’s a special, special Pretty Gritty — guest curated and happening on a school night! Jasmine Guffond is presenting some of her compadres from Berlin — Jessica Ekomane and Silje Nes — along with some favourite locals (even if they keep coming and going from Melbourne) — Ela Stiles & Half High. It’s going to be dark, droney and dreamy with the very strong possibility of utterly awesome!

WHAT: Pretty Gritty #18
WHEN: 7:30-11pm
WHERE: 107 Projects, 107 Redfern St. Redfern
HOW MUCH: $12-15, Tickets and info here

Groove Therapy

Groove Therapy is a dance class series aimed at making their world (as professional dancers) accessible to all walks of life. They are most famous for their weekly beginner hip hop classes across Sydney and Melbourne, for peeps who have always wanted to try a dance class, but may have felt too intimidated by it.What you may not know is that they also spend hours of our time every week running dance programs to marginalised community groups, including elderly dementia sufferers, at-risk displaced youth, Indigenous communities, and young girls.

WHAT: Groove Therapy
WHEN: New time – 6pm
WHERE: COMMUNE, 901 Bourke St. Waterloo
HOW MUCH: $20, Tickets and info here 

Decolonisation or Reconciliation?

This year, National Reconciliation Week commemorates two significant milestones in Australian history: 50 years since the 1967 referendum and 25 years since the Murray Island Land Case ‘Mabo’ Decision. In those 50 years museums have slowly changed from exhibitions ‘about’ Indigenous peoples to exhibitions by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curators. The theme of this year’s Reconciliation week asks us to ‘take the next steps.’  How can museums embed the diversity of knowledge and experience that these objects signify for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities today?

WHAT: Sydney Ideas – Arts and Aboriginal Australia – Decolonisation or Reconciliation?
WHEN: 6-7:30pm
WHERE: Law School Foyer, Level 2, The University of Sydney
HOW MUCH: Free, register online here

Object Therapy Discussion Panel

Is transformative repair a response to problems of obsolescence and waste in product design? Does it have the potential to create an emergent service market for design and arts professionals?

Consider these questions and more with a panel of experts including Object Therapy curator and project designer, Guy Keulemans, jeweller Bridget Kennedy, designer Henry Wilson, ceramicist Naomi Taplin and hosted by ABC Sydney’s Simon Marnie.

WHAT: Discussion Panel – Object Therapy
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Australian Design Centre, 101-115 William Street, Sydney.
HOW MUCH: $10 + BF, more info here.

Thursday 1st June

June at Verge

The opening night of two exhibitions at Verge Gallery.  Featuring Onward by Harriet Body – a series of paintings that document the artist’s creative body in action, and, Song of Sibyls, a film by Marlaina Read and music by Katelyn Clarke – an experimental adaptation of a Gregorian chant about a prophetess and the apocalypse.

WHAT: Exhibition Opening
WHEN: 6-8pm, Exhibition runs until June 24
WHERE: Verge Gallery, Jane Foss Russell Plaza, City Rd. University of Sydney, Darlington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Re-Working the Model

We think of models as instructional objects and intriguing miniatures, but rarely do we pause to consider the invisible models that influence our daily life. Join UNSW Galleries and Makerspace for Re-Working the Model, an evening of interventions to help us re-think the models that shape our world.  Follow intervenors into A Working Model of the World as they challenge our acceptance of linguistic, cultural and performance models in art and society.

WHAT: Re-Working the Model
WHEN: 6-9pm
WHERE: UNSW Art & Design, Cnr Oxford St. & Greens Rd. Paddington
HOW MUCH: Intervention Free, Workshop $5, Tickets and info here

Friday 2nd June

June at Alaska

ALASKA Projects is thrilled to be presenting their June exhibitions, featuring two Melbourne-based artists presenting their first Sydney solo exhibitions – Cream Dream by Matthew Harris, and Aqua Lung by Laura Skerlj.

WHAT: Exhibition Openings Alaska Projects
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Alaska Projects, Level 2, Kings Cross Car Park, 9A Elizabeth Bay Rd. Elizabeth Bay
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Saturday 3rd June

Movers and Makers

Parramatta Artists Studios (PAS) popular Movers and Makers open day returns in 2017 with an unmissable program for practising artists. Meet the movers: Get insider knowledge directly from artists and arts workers about how to create your next opportunity. Meet the makers: Join the PAS artists in their studios, see an artist performance and get a taste for practitioners who are on the move.

WHAT: Movers and Makers
WHEN: 10am-4pm
WHERE: Parramatta Artists Studios, Level 1, 68 Macquarie St. Parramatta
HOW MUCH: Prices vary, tickets and more info here

Unspoken Words Festival

What is overlooked or silenced when it comes to poetry? Who’s there, and who’s missing? How can we broaden the range of stories we’re engaging with? How can we ask the uncomfortable questions? How does our storytelling and storylistening affect the way we do other things? This is a kind of fringe SWF, with cheaper tickets and more about you.

WHAT: Unspoken Words Festival
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am
WHERE: The Red Rattler Theatre, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville
HOW MUCH: From $10, more info here

Conversation Starters

Inspired by the work of artist Kader Attia, whose practice looks at questions of repair, power and colonialism, Conversation Starters will explore how contemporary art can be the starting point for a different kind of conversation. Probe into hard-to-ask topics throughout a weekend of workshops, films and performances at the MCA.

WHAT: Conversation Starters
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday
WHERE: Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George St. The Rocks
HOW MUCH: Free, some events ticketed, more info here

Indigenous Storytelling Tour

Join a walking tour around this ever-changing inner-city suburb of Redfern and learn all about it’s indigenous history, and future. Of course stopping for a coffee on the way.

WHAT: Indigenous Storytelling Tour
WHEN: 10am
WHERE: Meeting at The Old Clare Hotel, Chippendale
HOW MUCH: $59, Tickets and info here

Tribunal

TRIBUNAL is an ambitious new participatory performance project that brings together Indigenous Elders, artists, human rights activists, lawyers, young leaders and outlaws. An Australian Truth and Reconciliation Tribunal will be created to interrogate and explore notions of truth and lies around the labels of ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’.

WHAT: Tribunal by PTY | Fairfield
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, The Rocks
HOW MUCH: From $24, Tickets and info here

FRESHFLIX Emerging Filmmakers' Conference

For the first time ever, Freshflix is teaming up with Vivid Ideas to bring you two jam-packed days of workshops, filmmaker talks and industry speed-dating to set the emerging Aussie filmmaker up with everything they need to get into the industry. In typical Freshflix style, they’re rounding up some incredible local musicians and artists to bring you two solid days and nights of live music and art, good food by the legends behind Shiso Fine food truck, great company and quality films.

WHAT: FRESHFLIX Emerging Filmmakers’ Conference
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday 12-11pm
WHERE: The Giant Dwarf, 199 Cleveland Street Redfern
HOW MUCH: From $12, Tickets and info here

Sunday 4th June

Two Up Talks

Hosted by Nerida Ross, Two Up is a talk series that combines two completely unrelated topics in back to back lectures. The floor is then opened up to the audience for a fun and impulsive round of questioning, encouraging interaction between speakers and ideas. Two Up is part of the Vivid Sydney Cellar Door Program. For this round Vivid brings you two experts from completely unrelated creative industries. Francisco Urbina will be discussing how location-mapping technologies are shaping business and Emily McDaniel will be talking about curating Indigenous Art.

WHAT: Two Up Talks
WHEN: 6-9pm
WHERE: Cake Wines Cellar Door, 16 Eveleigh St, Redfern
HOW MUCH: From $20, Tickets and info here

Tune in to Arvos at 4:30pm every weekday for more Culture Guide.
Brought to you by the City Of Sydney.

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