OCTOBER NEWS

Exhibition: Spritual Songlines of the Land

Rod McIntosh and Nick Levy’s works tell the stories as Songlines encompassing law, culture and spirituality to ensure the continuity of all things living.

These impressive works are Dreaming stories presented as elaborate Songlines that relate to a specific place, group and individual.  They provide a map recording details of the landscape and express the relationship between the land, sea and the people. 

This combined exhibition presents outstanding works by two modern-day contemporary Kamilaroi artists.  Rod McIntosh has painted and drawn all of his life, combining modern day contemporary and culture into his impressive canvases.  Nick Levy was quoted as saying “to paint is a major motivator to all that he does.”

Exhibition: LandArtFarm

The second exhibition LandArtFarm is a site-specific artistic venture on 100 acres of bush-farm landscape in the beautiful New England region belonging to Dr Sandra Welsman. Over 20 LandArtFarm projects have been created over 2013 to 2015   from personal inspirations and ideas provided by visitors.

Land Art is based on natural features of a location and its environment. To be Land Art, a form of human creative action (bold or subtle, arty or engineered, even unintended) is needed, tied into a particular landscape. Land Art has sculptural elements but are site specific not for galleries.

“When ‘seeing’ potential Land Art projects, I look for CONTRAST, SCALE and REPETITION – these are defining features of my Land Art. CONTRAST includes mixing human inventive technology – in old and new forms – with the land, life and nature. SCALE and REPETITION build the visual spark that shifts the piece into Art. Scale is a challenge given the size of natural spaces. Most pieces will decline in time pressed by the sun, wind, rain, passing animals and relentless plant growth”, said Dr Welsman.

 Exhibition: Traditional Aboriginal Weapons

The final exhibition that will be opened on Thursday, 29^th September at 6pm is an artefact exhibition of traditional Aboriginal weapons consisting of Aboriginal Spears, Wooden Tools and Weapons. The types of wooden artefacts used by Aborigines varied throughout Australia and this exhibition will include weapons from a few regions.

SEPTEMBER NEWS

September 29^th sees the opening of three new exhibitions at the Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place on Kentucky Street. They comprise of an art exhibition named Songlines, a photographic exhibition called LandArtFarm and an artefact exhibition of traditional Aboriginal weapons.

Black and White Photography Club meeting

The Black and White Photography Group will meet on Wednesday, 7^th September, 2016 at 2pm. Please join us for afternoon tea and discussion of this month's theme: " Armidale Regional Council Landscape." Please comment with your own photo submissions, and check out the other entries for this month's theme!

Exhibition: Stories from No Man’s Land

The first exhibition is a body of work by Alison Williams. Alison has practiced art and taught for many years in the Clarence & Coffs regions and has won several art awards including the 2013 Coffs City Council NAIDOC community arts and culture award and the 2007 inaugural Clarence Valley Indigenous Art Prize with her painting Black Cowries Old Medicine.

This exhibition entitled, Stories from No Man’s Land are formative works from 2008 to 2015 which reflect ideas about identity and spirit. Alison’s ancestry as a Gumbaynggirr woman provides a centre of strength, from which she reaches beyond culture to raise awareness of truth and existence. Stories from No Man’s Land draws back the veils of dreams, revealing a journey of spirit inspired by travels through the physical world to Europe, Canada and at home in Corindi Beach on the North Coast of New South Wales.

Intrinsically important to Alison’s artistic journey was the journey made possible through being awarded the NSW Indigenous Art Fellowship in 2008, allowing her to travel overseas to Europe’s most famous galleries, absorbing culture from another place and time. The fellowship more importantly enabled Alison to complete a project of international scope, exhibiting with French Canadian artist and adjudicator, Marcel Debreuil and Canadian Aboriginal sculptor Irvin Head. The trio presented The Art of Dreaming, which revealed a delicate primitive thread that binds all living things.

Stories from No Man’s Land documents an exploration of self though story and dreams. The exhibition shares with the viewer a privileged view of inner thoughts and realms committed to canvas and paper. Memories of experience overseas and glimpses of Alison’s world both real and imagined appear throughout the work with stories of her lifetime and developments made over the last eight years.

Exhibition: Jalumbo

The second exhibition called Jalumbo is a collection from Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre which is situated on red rock road, Corindi Beach, approximately 30 kms north of Coffs Harbour. This northern coastal lowlands is of Gumbaynggirr nation.

Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre’s gallery called the Wadjar Gallery opened in 1996 and is supported by Arts NSW, Industry & Investment NSW, Museums & Galleries NSW, Regional Arts and other funding bodies. The Gallery aims to be a centre of excellence in Aboriginal visual arts for the residents of and visitors to the mid North coast and Northern Rivers region to promote access to and the understanding and development of the Gumbaynggirr culture and coastal Aboriginal visual arts.

Wadjar Gallery houses the Jalumbo collection. Jalumbo meaning “Long time ago” is a collection of cultural material ranging from oral history recordings, photographs, archives and historical items of significance for the Gumbaynggirr people.

Exhibition: Looking back 10 years to 2006

The third exhibition, Looking back 10 years to 2006 is a series of press releases, documenting important events that took place at the ACCKP in 2006. This retrospective exhibition illustrates the role of the ACCKP in providing a cultural awareness and cross-cultural learning facility throughout the New England region and restoring and keeping Aboriginal culture and heritage. Looking back 10 years to 2006 was curated by new Program Coordinator, Bevan Quinlin.

Holiday Program

The Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place (ACCKP) is once again running the Holiday Program for primary school children from Monday, the 26^th to Friday, the 30^th September, 2016, 9.00am to 12 noon. This program is open to all children of primary school age.

The theme for the September holiday program is “Spring”. We are also introducing a segment for Aboriginal poems. Children will have the opportunity to learn and carry out activities surrounding the theme. Please see program below.

The cost for the morning tea, supervision, materials and activities will be covered by the ACCKP. This holiday program is being funded by NSW Government Education and Communities. Please sign your child up at the ACCKP by the 23^rd September, 2016 to ensure your child/children’s place is confirmed.