Twilight Youth Market

Griffith City Library will be hosting a Twilight Youth Market to celebrate Youth Week on Thursday 21 April from 4:30-6:30pm. 

The Market will be held out the front of the Library on the sidewalk and they are calling calling for expressions of interest!

Interested in becoming a store holder? Contact the Library! 

Make sure you come down after work and check it out! PCYC will be fundraising with a BBQ!

Rocco shows creative skills travel

It's exciting to see a local photographer develop their skills and start getting work for multinational companies.

Within the space of a few years Rocco Pirrottina has moved from winning competitions to delivering advertising images for multinational and international clients including Woolworths and, recently, Vogue Magazine.

He is also an active video producer and cameraman. Over the years he has developed a style and, through disciplined attention to detail, his services are now sought by many commercial clients.

A given month for Pirrottina can comprise of shooting fashion, commercial products, corporate events and camping out in the bush for a documentary, as well as travelling with a production crew around Australia to produce content for national and international audiences.

“Aside from working as a member of the crew, I always love taking the role of director. I spent 12 months as Director of Photography on a Sydney-based project destined for Australian and European viewers. A lot of organising and meetings lead to a precision shoot and delivery,” he says.

“Travelling is in my blood, I travel frequently from state to state producing content for a diverse client base. One week I am on location in Melbourne shooting Formula class racing cars at Phillip Island for TV, and then onto a plane to Sydney or Adelaide covering something completely different."

Rocco Pirrottina's dedication to photography and video work is evident in the commitment required for freelance work. "It is a demanding field which works very tightly on time management," he says.

"I have on occasions, come home from a shoot in Sydney, a quick change of clothes and gear and off again to Melbourne or Adelaide for another scheduled job. It can be exciting and and stressful, but also a great opportunity to be part of a new project, meet new people in the industry and learn more. I have worked with many inspiring and talented people."

Pirrottina's talent was obvious when he won our Leeton-based photography competition in 2014. By that time he'd already won many awards locally, as well as collecting a silver and two bronze in the Epson International Panoramic Awards in 2013.

The Riverina landscape has been an inspiration in his work and he has shown the natural beauty of the region to a wider audience. “I enjoy promoting the beauty of Australia. I especially like promoting our local area and all the agriculture and scenic vistas.”



In addition to commercial photography and video production, he also enjoys getting outdoors and producing content focusing on nature. One particular personal project titled 'The Gathering' caught the attention of Sony Professional USA. "That video was a project for love, so it was gratifying to see their interest in my work," said Pirrottina.

It is remarkable that Rocco Pirrottina is largely self-taught and it is his passion for photography that has translated into a career in the burgeoning field known as the creative industries. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours!

Narrandera-based artist contributes to ARTLANDS

ARTLANDS DUBBO 2016 is a four-day conference and festival that will take place from 27 to 30 October. Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts, Troy Grant MP, launched it recently at the Sydney Opera House.

This marks the first time in over a decade that the national conference for regional arts has been held in New South Wales and it will feature contributions from Narrandera-based artists, including Vic McEwan. 

This biennial event will feature national and international keynote speakers and panels, facilitated forums, workshops, and discussions surrounding three key themes within the arts sector: Regeneration, Connectedness and Emergence. Each theme will explore contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities through research, debate and collaboration.

Narrandera-based artist Vic McEwan from The CAD Factory will be heavily involved in the ARTLANDS DUBBO 2016 program. McEwan is working with Artistic Director Greg Pritchard, Mullumbimby's Joey Ruigrok and Natimuk's Dave Jones to create an amazing opening ceremony for the conference. It is expected to be a spectacle rarely seen in Regional NSW.

Complementing the conference is the ARTLANDS Festival that will feature a line-up of artists and performers never seen together in regional NSW right on the streets of Dubbo. Curated by festival director, Greg Pritchard, the program will include musicians Heath Cullen, Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, Dave Mason & Brendan Gallagher and Radical Son. 

Furthermore, internationally acclaimed curator Djon Mundine will curate a new exhibition of work by regional NSW Aboriginal artists, Old Land New Marks, and regional physical theatre companies, FLiNG and Lingua Franca will perform their latest works.

Presented by peak organisations Regional Arts Australia and Regional Arts NSW and supported by Dubbo City Council, the NSW and Commonwealth Governments, ARTLANDS DUBBO 2016 is the must-attend event for artists and arts workers living and working in regional Australia.

The regional city of Dubbo is located 600kms west of Sydney and its 40,000-plus residents are preparing to host 1,000 conference delegates and festivalgoers. The event will showcase the city's taste and enthusiasm for the arts in all its forms. 

The ARTLANDS DUBBO 2016 program information and tickets are available at artlands.com.au

Photo of Troy Grant MP launching ARTLANDS supplied.

Hot shorts coming to Griffith

Flickerfest is celebrating 25 years and has hit the road again with its Best of Australian Shorts as part of a national tour, and will be arriving at Griffith Regional Theatre on Friday March 18 at 6.30pm for 7.30pm.

Acting Manager, Griffith Regional Theatre and Art Gallery, Margaret Andreazza said the tour gives Griffith locals a first look at the hottest short films in the country.

“The tour to Griffith showcases the Best of Australian Shorts programme, featuring the hottest shorts from the Australian competition at this year’s festival and a range of wonderful new short films,” said Mrs Andreazza.

“Highlights of the programme include ERNIE BISCUIT, a film from Academy® Award winner Adam Elliot - this clever animation traces the story of a lonely, deaf Parisian Taxidermist whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a dead pigeon.”

“And don’t miss the gorgeously shot and highly amusing SLINGSHOT, this year’s Flickerfest winner of the Academy® Accredited Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian Short Film,” she added.

Also screening is FLAT DADDY, starring Kat Stewart (Offspring) and Kathryn Beck (East of Everything) a contemporary story about life, death, betrayal and life-size cardboard cut-outs.

Tickets are just $15 including drink and pizza on arrival and are on sale at www.griffithregionaltheatre.com.au or contact the Box Office on 6962 8444.

“The entire programme has been hand-picked and is full of fantastic short films – this is a not to be missed programme for film lovers!” said Mrs Andreazza.

Full program details are available at www.flickerfest.com.au

Flickertest photo supplied.

Dizzying Heights

Wuthering Heights is heading to Griffith Regional Theatre on Wednesday March 30, 7.30pm as part of its four-month national tour and is set to blow the roof off!

Based on Emily Bronte’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights tells the story of Heathcliff, a mysterious boy who is rescued from the street and brought to Wuthering Heights, where he develops a passionate bond with Catherine Earnshaw. As time passes, Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship deepens to the point of dangerous obsession, until one day, Catherine marries another man. Overcome with jealousy, Heathcliff flees the Heights only to return, years later, ready to exact revenge on those he believed ruined his one chance at happiness.

From the critically-acclaimed teams behind shake & stir’s Animal Farm and 1984 comes the next adaption in the company’s award-winning cannon. shake & stir’s Artistic Director, Nick Skubij who adapted and directed this bold new work said “Aside from being an outstanding story of revenge, love and loss, we chose Wuthering Heights to re-imagine as, with every shake & stir production, we aim to invigorate classics for a new audience.

“Theatrically we are also pushing the boundaries and thanks to our esteemed design team Wuthering Heights will surprise and shock in all the right ways – we are literally bringing the natural elements into theatre,” added Mr Skubij.

Acting Manager Griffith Regional Theatre & Art Gallery, Margaret Andreazza said Wuthering Heights is mesmerising and has garnered stellar reviews during its sold out season in Brisbane during 2014.
“The story is simply captivating, it will draw audiences in and leave you wishing for more,” said Mrs Andreazza.

“Featuring a breathtaking design and a stellar cast, we invite you to drop by the Heights and settle in for this classic story, retold. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see this sweeping saga live on stage.”

Griffith Regional Theatre is offering advance purchase ticket price of just $25 which ends March 23, 5pm. Tickets are available online at www.griffithregionaltheatre.com.au or by calling the Box Office on 6962 8444.

Looking Forward to incredible talent

More than 80 artworks from female artists have been submitted for the Soroptimist International Griffith exhibition, ‘Looking Forward: Looking Back’ which officially opens this Saturday March 19, at Griffith Regional Art Gallery.

Griffith Soroptimist International President Pat Cox said the organisation was thrilled at the level of engagement from female artists throughout the region and beyond.

“We are so thankful to the female artists in the Riverina - and women who live outside the area and remain strongly connected to it - for their incredible response to our request to showcase their talents in this special exhibition to commemorate Griffith Soroptimist International’s 60th anniversary,” said Mrs Cox.

“The members of Griffith Soroptimist International are also grateful for the incredible support of Ray Wholohan and the staff at the Griffith Regional Art Gallery in helping this important exhibition come to fruition.”

Gallery Coordinator Ray Wholohan said he and his team have enjoyed viewing the beautiful, unique, diverse and visually compelling pieces of art during the installation in the lead up to the official opening this Saturday.

“We are honoured to part of this special event that gives female artists a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate their incredible talents and we know this exhibition will truly resonate with the community,” said Mr Wholohan.

“The works have come from places such as Deniliquin, Darlington Point, Wagga Wagga, Rankins Springs, Leeton, Coleambally, South Australia, and Griffith.”

A Viewers' Choice Prize will run for the duration of the exhibition next year, giving gallery visitors a chance to vote for their favourite artwork. Votes will be collected throughout the exhibition and collated at the close of the close of the exhibition, with the winner announced soon after.

‘Looking Forward: Looking Back’ will officially open at 2pm with high tea reception on Saturday March 19 and run until Sunday April 17 2016.

Artlands launched

ARTLANDS FESTIVAL brings to Dubbo some of the best artists and arts companies working in regional NSW for an exciting program of exhibitions and evening performance to round off your day at the conference.

Highlights include an exciting opening ceremony with ARTLANDS Cultural Program Director Greg Pritchard bringing together an artistic team of some of the best and most audacious artists in Regional Australia, including Australia Council Experimental Arts Fellow, Dave Jones from Natimuk, inaugural Arts NSW Regional Fellow from Narrandera, Vic McEwan, and the Northern River’s Joey Ruigrok.

A brand new exhibition of contemporary art from some of NSW’s leading regional Aboriginal artists will be put together by internationally renowned curator, Djon Mundine. Old Land, New Marks will be in the main gallery of the Western Plain Cultural Centre with the other galleries featuring previously unseen work from the Centre’s collection as well as work by Geurie artist, Matilda Julien. The foyer of the Dubbo Theatre and Convention Centre will see an exhibition of work from artists of the region curated by former Director of the New England Art Museum, Caroline Downer and ceramicist, Nicci Parry Jones. Throughout the ARTLANDS precinct, Orana Arts and Arts North West together with BAWD Property Trust have commissioned Curator Alex Wisser has to curate 10 public art pieces for the project Future/Public.

The Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre will turn from conference venue by day to performance venue by night with FLiNG Company’s (Bega) new performance work, We Will Come to the Rescue. It is going to be wild, with heroes and villains, and a world in disarray. Lingua Franca dance and physical theatre (Bathurst) creates visually compelling original performance and their new work Unsustainable Behaviour, promises to captivate audiences in Dubbo.

Whatever beat you move to, there’s music for everyone. Dubbo born, Dave Mason (founder of The Reels teams up with Brendan Gallagher; internationally acclaimed rock and roll balladeer Heath Cullen, from the NSW far south coast village of Candelo; amazing vocalist and songwriter Radical Son, who crosses genres from soul to hip-hop and beyond always guided by his Indigenous heritage; Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen take the early-mid 20th century hotbed of European musical styles to develop their own distinctive Euro-Roots sound; and the dark and soulful sounds of Dubbo born, Melbourne based, Mojo Juju will be another hot ticket at the Festival.

And there’s more to come. The Full Festival Program will be released in early June.

Photo of Radical Son performing at the launch of Artlands supplied.

SunRice Festival will roll through Leeton

Leeton businesses and residents will soon receive information outlining local road closures planned for one of Australia’s most colourful, traditional street parades during the 2016 Leeton SunRice Festival this Easter.

Leeton SunRice Festival Director, Sally Doig said the McDonalds Leeton Street Parade through Leeton’s main street on Easter Saturday was a key event in the festival, with a number of colourful and imaginative floats already being planned by local community groups this year.

“This is the 24th biennial Leeton SunRice Festival and the region truly has a lot to celebrate,” Mrs Doig said. “We traditionally attract a lot of vintage cars and car clubs, hot air balloon enthusiasts, community and sporting groups to the street parade. This is a great opportunity for groups and families to take a road trip to experience the hospitality of regional NSW.”

In order for the street parade to take place, a number of significant road closures will be in place on Saturday 26th March 2016 including the closure of Kurrajong and Pine avenues that will be closed from approximately 11am and will reopen immediately following the completion of the street Parade. Roads surrounding Mountford Park will also be affected in order to accommodate the very popular MicrotechDPS Festival on Mountford.

“We know that some of these road closures can be disruptive so we want to take the opportunity to thank the local community for their ongoing support of our event,” Mrs Doig said.

Throughout the weekend there will be a number of key events, including daily hot air balloon flights and Balloon Glow, Open Gardens, festivities in Mountford Park, Skate Championships and Leeton’s Longest Lunch, just to name a few. More information on events and a copy of the full program can be downloaded from The Leeton SunRice Festival website.

“As in past years, we are expecting thousands of people to take part in Festival activities in Leeton this coming Easter and they won’t be disappointed with the great line-up of family activities on offer,” Mrs Doig said. “The McDonalds Leeton Street Parade attracts floats of all shapes and sizes from all sectors of the community, with well-wishers lining the footpaths to wave as the parade and entertainers pass by.”

The procession ends at Mountford Park, where the MicrotechDPS Festival on Mountford begins, including performances by local artists, a variety of food and drink stalls to satisfy all tastes and the announcement of the 2016 Leeton SunRice Festival Ambassador.

Individual floats and groups of vehicles, marchers or bands are welcome to register their interest in becoming part of the street parade by downloading a registration form from www.leetonsunricefestival.com.au

Milestone rocks Griffith

The centenary of Griffith is a milestone and it was members of the community who proposed the development of a sculptural precinct by the waters of a central irrigation channel, which is symbolically the lifeblood of the city.

A group of international sculptors will assemble in the grounds of Pioneer Park Museum to create artworks for a park to celebrate the first century of the city. The activity will make the production of public art an event for the public to witness and, in doing so, gain experience in an art form that is rarely seen in the Western Riverina.

"Symposiums are great for bringing sculptors together from all over the world in one public space," enthuses convenor Luke Zwolsman. "It brings art to the people and allows them to see how stone sculpture is created. There's a wonderful symmetry in having public art created in public."

In a little over a fortnight, blocks of granite weighing up to four tons will shaped into forms that reflect the observations and different styles of seven artists. Each work in abstract styles but there will be distinct differences in their approaches. "Different sculptors bring individual styles," agrees Zwolsman.

The choice of material means the sculptors will have their work cut out for them. "Most sculptural symposiums work with softer stones. There are few granite-based sculptural symposiums in the world. You need to employ different skills to work with it."

The granite shows white streaks of silica, making it shine brightly in the Riverina sunshine. "This granite is fairly local, coming from near Parkes. It is one of my favourite sources of granite."

It's a material that, as well as requiring skill to shape, possesses both practicality and prestige. "Sculpture is a tangible art form. People touch the work, some climb on it. It's tactile as well as visually stimulating. Granite is more expensive than marble, as it is more difficult to quarry."

The Symposium will also present an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in sculpture with a day-long workshop planned. Griffith's own craftsman Hape Kiddle will introduce participants to the debate of form versus function through carving individual spoons. Kiddle has extensively explored this form, through solo exhibitions and most recently an auction to raise funds for a public school program.

Workshop participants will explore form, line, texture, and material benefits and restrictions while carving by hand using only a chisel and carvers knife. Up to twelve people will learn material issues, including wet versus dry timber and maximising woodgrain strength. Kevlar gloves will be supplied for safety, as well as the use of tools including chisels and carvers knives.

"The workshop will be aimed at beginners," says Kiddle. "It will be a gateway into sculptural basics and process that will enrich their understanding of the stone sculptors at work."

The international sculptors will also be providing an education, with a 10-day program planned for visits from tour groups and schools in and around Griffith. A number of larger events are also planned, including a Welcome to Country, a Mother's Day afternoon tea and a concluding Long Table Dinner with the Sculptors on Saturday 14 May that will provide an opportunity for the public to hear about the process of creating sculptures from the sculptors.

Photos and text by Jason Richardson, who works as curator at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum as well as communications officer with Western Riverina Arts.

Learn How to Protect History

Griffith Pioneer Park Museum will host a workshop on conserving historical items this Tuesday 5 April. The day-long workshop will introduce conservation practices, information on protection of historical items and basic steps for preventing their decay.

The day will include demonstrations of safe handling methods and basic treatments for ceramics, wood and related materials such as leather, metal, plastics, rubber, paper and textiles. A walk-through of Pioneer Park Museum’s exhibits will provide discussion points on conservation display methods, as well as preventive environmental measures such as the control of light, temperature, pests and pollutants.

Gosia Dudek is a mixed-media conservator with the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. She has extensive experience gained over the past 28 years in conserving and preparing objects for display at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.

"Conservators think of the long-term consequences of our treatments. We aim to use the best, reversible materials and techniques available in the industry.” said Ms Dudek.

Those in attendance are encouraged to bring an item they cherish to find out the best way to preserve it. There will also be information sheets available to learn more about conservation.

“This is an opportunity to learn from a conservator based in one of the leading museums in the state,” said Jason Richardson, Curator at Pioneer Park Museum. “There are a wide range of issues surrounding the protection of historical items and it is something of a hidden art. This is a chance to gain experience in an area that is largely undertaken away from public view at cultural institutions.”

The workshop will run from 9am to 3pm on Tuesday 5 April at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum. Cost is $20 for the general public with subsidised places available for Pioneer Park volunteers. To book your place call 0455 553 834 or email Jason.Richardson@griffith.nsw.gov.au

Photos supplied. Text by Jason Richardson, who works as curator at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum as well as communications officer with Western Riverina Arts.