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Rural artists have typically found themselves trying to translate their experiences of living on the land to gate-keeping gallery owners in the major cities. But new informal networks of artists, brought together on the internet, are cutting out the middle man and staging their own shows and happenings.
On the NSW Central Coast lives farmer and artist Neil Berecry-Brown. For him, those two titles describe what he does in equal measure and the roles are interchangeable. However, while living on the land has always meant being relatively isolated, this is starting to change. And for many rural artists around the world, technology has allowed them to find each other and form strong networks.
Australia’s Capital is keen to move into a new era as it passes 100 years since its inception. But what does it mean to be a Canberran? For the rest of Australia, Canberra has remained a staple of parody and caricature for its entire, short life, but surprisingly the residents of Canberra aren’t quite as quick to shrug off the old clichés as you might think.
There’s a problem in Australia, with regard to Europe. It’s not just the media, although we’re certainly among the biggest culprits. The pervasive attitude, in Australia, is that Europe is a history subject. Europe represents the past … Asia is the future … we’ve got Europe under control. So, we can tick the European box and move on.
There’s a problem in Australia, with regard to Europe. It’s not just the media, although we’re certainly among the biggest culprits. The pervasive attitude, in Australia, is that Europe is a history subject. Europe represents the past … Asia is the future … we’ve got Europe under control. So, we can tick the European box and move on.
In a world of global ambitions and amorphous regions, Europe has become emblematic of the struggle between the need for collective cooperation and the fear of becoming lost in a vast, culturally homogenous mass. And in the current crisis of confidence about the future of the European ‘project’, one country sits as a symbol of all the tension and all the uncertainty.
What role do artists and intellectuals play in the debate over displaced peoples? Cultural theorist Nikos Papastergiadis and artist and performer David Pledger have been trying to figure this out for many years. Both Nikos and David approach the subject of refugees, and our collective response to the ongoing drama, from different sides. But the questions they ask are very similar.
It’s been 30 years since one of Australia’s first major post-war cultural buildings, the National Gallery of Victoria, gained a sympathetic neighbour—the Melbourne Concert Hall—which was built in 1982. This pairing of institutions marked the start of what was to become known as Melbourne’s arts precinct. But why do cities love to plonk so many of their large cultural building in one area?
