About Face 07
“About Face 07” exhibition held at Bunbury Regional Art Galleries on the eve of Friday the 21st of September. Opened by the honorable Mayor David Smith with a huge turn out of around 100 people.
DADAA- South West Regional
About Face
“About Face 07” exhibition held at Bunbury Regional Art Galleries on the eve of Friday the 21st of September. Opened by the honorable Mayor David Smith with a huge turn out of around 100 people.This event was catered by the Noneycup Tearooms, Donnybrook with wine kindly donated by Capel Vale Wines, showcasing their new “Debut” range.
A total of 59 quality pieces of art completed during our visual arts program of this year were on display at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries for approximately 3 weeks during the busy spring period. Vibrant, abstract canvases exploring themes of self and identity made this show a standout exhibition. Over half of the major works on show sold and the money from the sales, after gallery commission, going directly to the artist. This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that our artists can continue to support their artistic endeavors at the Stirling Street Art Centre About Face workshops in 2008.
A big thank you to our amazing creative team of artists involved in this program consisting of arts worker and professional artist Marina Troitsky, supported by local artist Sarah McKenzie and Stirling Street Arts Centre President Dawn Mathieson. Thanks also to our regional partners the Stirling Street Arts Centre and the Bunbury Regional Galleries.
The premiere of our “What’s in the Box” performance was held at the New Lyric Theatre in Bourke Street, Bunbury. Opening night was on Saturday the 29th of October at 7.30pm with the matinee performance held on Sunday the 30th of September at 2pm. Tickets went on sale at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on the 10th of September.
Both shows did extremely well in terms of tickets sales. Money raised from the ticket sales went directly to the Bunbury Musical Comedy Group to ensure sustainability of the program and secure the New Lyric Theatre as the home of DADAA’s About Face Performing Arts program.
The moving performance was the final result of a 20 week “Storytelling through Performance” program, under the guidance of Director Margot Edwards with the support of Dance Artist Collette Howard and Bunbury Musical Comedy Group Secretary Karen Colley. Wendy Sugg (Coordinator of Network S.W based at Advocacy South West) described the performance as being an expression of trust and honest communication from the performers. “The crowd responded to the personal experiences showcased in the performance and it was amazing to see such a demonstration of courage and bravery in the form of an entertaining show.”
We at DADAA look forward to an exciting and inclusive program continuing within the Bunbury Musical Comedy Theatre’s public program. Collette Howard from Dance Company Contemporary DanceworX has been running $10 workshops at the New Lyric Theatre from October. These workshops incorporate a fusion of dance styles such as Break Dance, Spanish, Latin and hip hop with the aim of increasing self- empowerment, self awareness, self-esteem and fitness.
The artwork and a performance recording toured onto the Freight Gallery at DADAA in Fremantle. Entitled “Round the Regions” this exhibition opened on a summery Saturday afternoon on the 13th of October. This was a group exhibition, showcasing art produced in DADAA’s regional programs based in the South West and the Kimberleys. A significant number of people from the South West region made the trip up to the metro area to enjoy the premier screening of the “What’s in the Box” documentary, filmed and produced by members of the Advocacy South West film crew under the guidance of our talented media artist Graham Bishop. It was great to see the delightful reaction from our performers, as this was the first time they had seen “What’s in the Box” on screen.
We look forward to our contribution at the City of Bunbury 2007 Christmas Parade on the 2nd of December and our major showcase event at the Createability and Community Day, happening on the 3rd of December at Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre. The program will feature the launch of the City of Bunbury’s Access Tourism Project, the launch of the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries Community Banners and the official launch of Advocacy South West’s “My Story” film project. On display shall be artwork created as part of the About Face program, the Bridging the Gap marquettes, as well as a screening of the “What’s in the Box” documentary.
For more information on DADAA’s Regional S.W Program please contact:
Jennifer Miller, D.A.D.A..A (Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts Australia) Regional Project Officer, jennifer.dadaa@advocacysouthwest.org.au