Small Voices Made Loud in Big Spaces

The Cad Factory artists Vic and Sarah McEwan have collaborated with local students from the Greater Kengal Small Schools Network to create a unique and cutting edge contemporary performance event on Friday 26 October at the Tootool Silo.

Vic and Sarah McEwan received an Extended Residency in Schools grant which enabled the two artists to work for over three months with the students of Boree Creek, Milbrulong, Pleasant Hills and Yerong Creek Public Schools.

The project was auspiced by Western Riverina Arts.

The funding is a partnership between Arts NSW, Australia Council for the Arts and the Department of Education and Communities in order for students to work with professional artists to create new work. Other important objectives of the funding is to provide insights into the working lives of artists and to encourage and develop future artists and arts audiences.

The Ronalds at The Roxy Art Space

The Ronalds will be presenting their latest interactive art experience at The Roxy Art Space in Leeton from Friday October 5, 2012.

Ganmain Artists Patrick and Shannon Ronald, best known for their large scale hyper-realistic photography of interiors and architecture will be introducing their latest work designed exclusively for The Roxy Art Space show.

The artists have developed two interactive artworks that encourage audience participation and a higher level of engagement with the works on display.

The first work takes the form of an interactive video game where the audience controls ‘Roxy the Fox’ as she ventures through the streets of Leeton. Actions performed within the videogame trigger physical objects within The Roxy Art Space to light up, revealing hints needed to complete the game.

The second web-based work investigates remote interaction with the gallery and audience collaboration. Players at The Roxy Art Space are asked to respond to triggers that are activated remotely by players viewing the gallery via a live video stream.

Communication is achieved by visitors to the gallery taking photos via their Smartphone of items as they are illuminated by the online players, the photos are then uploaded to display on ‘The Roxy Show’ website providing the online participant with the hints needed to progress through the game. If the player at the gallery doesn’t have a Smartphone, they can complete the game in low-tech mode by holding up handwritten hints to the webcam.

This work allows the exhibition to be engaged with on a global scale, removing the usual limitations of having to physically visit an exhibition in order to experience the artwork.

“We are looking forward to the response to our latest work. We have tried to create a show that gives the audience a real sense of involvement and an experience that is made specifically for the people of Leeton. We have developed two systems that allow the viewers to directly contribute to the exhibition and what they get out of it,” said Mr Ronald.

In addition to the interactive works, a selection of The Ronalds’ previous work will be shown throughout the gallery, including the award winning ‘m2’ series, and ‘A Fitted Kitchen is a Joy to Behold’ the major commission for the Ten Days on The Island Festival last year.

Opening hours are 9am – 5pm Mon - Fri and the exhibition runs until 29th October. The artists will be holding the official launch on Saturday October 13, 2012 from 5pm - 7pm.

For more information visit The Ronalds website www.theronalds.com.au

Make your own movies!

Western Riverina Arts and Narrandera Library are offering a FREE half-day hands-on workshop that will introduce techniques used by professionals in many creative industries.

Learn how to shoot quality footage, set maximum audio levels and make better movies!

Gain skills and advice on camerawork that applies to both video and photography, as well as insights into getting the best result in post-production and software you can use for your next feature.

This three-hour workshop includes afternoon tea and starts at 1.30pm on Friday 5 October 2012.

Call Narrandera Library on 6959 2128 to book your place ASAP because numbers will be limited. Priority will be given to participants aged over ten years.

Think B4 U Drink

Dream Big Conference for Riverina

Narrandera will host the inaugural Dream Big Conference in July.

A partnership between Western Riverina Arts and Eastern Riverina Arts, the conference is about raising the bar for local festivals. They have collected together a field of inspirational speakers including Junction Festival (TAS) director Ian Pidd, Perth Festival key designer Joey Ruigrok, Deni Ute Muster’s John Harvie, Anna Loewendahl from the Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital’s Festival of Healthy Living and Gabrielle Eade (ArtsNSW). After a morning of inspiring talks and lunch, there will be a workshop in which ideas are matched to possible funding sources.

“People attending the conference will come away with lots of ideas of how to add vitality to their festivals, and with and understanding of what funding is available for these ideas," said co-convenor Dr Greg Pritchard.

Eastern Riverina Arts’ Scott Howie suggests there “great discounts for volunteers and artists”.

The one day conference will run at Narrandera’s CRC Plaza Theatre on July 27th 2012.

“This is a great opportunity for local festivals and artists to make connections and learn about possibilities,” said Dr Pritchard.

“It’s exciting that local councils right across the Riverina have come on board to support this great initiative.”

Registrations are open at http://dreambigconf-estw.eventbrite.com.au

For more details visit http://dreambigconf.blogspot.com