| Home > e-bulletin
art at the heart is the sixth biennial Regional Arts Australia national conference and will be held from 3 -5 October 2008 in Alice Springs with an outdoor opening ceremony at sunset on Thursday 2 October.
The Northern Territory Government is hosting the conference through Arts NT in collaboration with the Alice Springs Town Council. The Australian Government supports Regional Arts Australia’s national conferences through the Regional Arts Fund. The Australia Council for the Arts supports the artistic program for the conference. The Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is supporting Indigenous participation in the conference. Read more information about the partners and supporters here
News
Only three weeks to go Registrations are about to close for art at the heart. “People have until 15 September to go online and submit their registration form,” says the President of Regional Arts Australia, Suzie Haslehurst.
“Already our numbers have reached the 800 mark – this is going to be our largest conference ever. People are very excited about coming to the centre of Australia for this conference,” she says.
Conference Coordinator and Artistic Director Kieren Sanderson is working non stop with her team to put the final pieces into place. Karlee Foster and Joe Pickett from Tasmania recently joined the conference team and have barely lifted their heads since they arrived.
“We are learning so much about how to organise a giant event like this. It will be a great help as we work towards the next Regional Arts Australia conference in Launceston in 2010,” Karlee says.
Last minute organisation If you haven’t booked your accommodation yet or need more information on Alice Springs visit the pages below:
Important Information
Conference Venues
More Accommodation Listings
Your arrival The Conference Hub is located at the Alice Springs Convention Centre 93 Barrett Drive, Alice Springs. The Registration desk will be open for check-in at the following times:
Thursday 2 October 8.00am – 5.00pm
Friday 3 October 8.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday 4 October 8.30am - 5.00pm
Sunday 5 October 9.00am - 1.00pm
At check-in you can collect your name tag and delegate kit. Your name tag is required for access to Conference events, sessions, venues, buses, lunches and tea breaks.
Many events and networking opportunities will take place prior to art at the heart but also during the conference. To find out what’s happening, visit the calendar of events for more information.
Calendar of Events
Regional Arts Australia online mailing list This will be the last conference e-bulletin that you will receive before art at the heart. You will remain subscribed with Regional Arts Australia to receive updates on the arts in regional Australia and will be kept up to date about the 2010 Regional Arts Australia national conference, hosted by Tasmanian Regional Arts in Launceston.
If you would like to unsubscribe, visit www.regionalarts.com.au - in the mailing list box type your email and select "leave" from the dropdown list, and click "Go".
Launch of Big Story Country
A highlight of the conference will be the launch of the Big Story Country, the much-awaited latest book of great arts stories produced by Regional Arts Australia. In it, writer Moya Sayer-Jones works with the people who tell the stories in their own words, about the joys and pain of bringing off that great work of art or public event.
“Often the vitality of art and how we make it is obscured by art-speak,” says Moya. “For this book, we wanted to bring the humans back and produce real stories that all people could read, connect with and be moved by.”
Each delegate will be presented with a copy of Big Story Country.
After national success Ngapartji Ngaparjti comes home
Alex Kelly, Creative Producer of Ngapartji Ngapartji, is giving art at the heart some interesting background on a show that is much more than just a theatre performance. Earlier this year Alex was awarded the 2007 Kirk Robson Award from the Australia Council for the Arts and is a 2008 Youth Action Net fellow.
Alex, can you tell us more about Ngapartji Ngapartji?
Ngapartji Ngapartji is a Pitjantjatjara concept of reciprocity and exchange and means I give you something, you give me something. It is best known for its sell out theatre show which commanded standing ovations across the country. This year the show has been nominated for a Deadly Award.
The production, performed in Pitjantjatjara and English, explores the impact of the Cold War on desert communities through the prism of Trevor Jamieson’s family story. However, the show – the result of nine years of research between Scott Rankin, Jamieson, the Jamieson family and members of the Pitjantjatjara and Spinifex communities – is just the tip of the iceberg of this ambitious and innovative Alice based project.
Ngapartji Ngapartji applies the Big hART model of art and culture- led community development and social change to a new context. It brings together Pitjantjatjara and non-Pitjantjatjara people, honoring everyone’s contribution, to create a process of ngapartji ngapartji: exchange and cross-cultural collaboration.
To date Ngapartji Ngapartji has worked with over 250 individuals across the Central Desert and partnered with 30 organisations.
Where has Ngapartji Ngapartji been to?
Since its inception Ngapartji Ngapartji has presented eight theatre seasons to more than 25,000 people around Australia at Melbourne International Arts Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Dreaming Festival and Sydney Festival.
You said Ngapartji Ngapartji was not only a theatre production?
Ngapartji Ngapartji has initiated an innovative arts and literacy based crime prevention program and raised awareness about the dire status of Indigenous languages through over 150 media articles, interviews, conference presentations and news reports to date.
We have also developed a world-first online Pitjantjatjara language and culture site which now has over 350 subscribers. More information is available at http://ninti.ngapartji.org
Language and cultural material is approved by Ninti Mulapa – the language and culture reference group made up of senior Pitjantjatjara people – before being broadcast or displayed publicly.
In addition to encouraging language maintenance on the ground and through the website and the touring theatre show the Ngapartji Ngapartji project is encouraging the development of a national indigenous languages policy. Australia has the most rapid loss of languages of any country in the world and it is estimated that all indigenous languages will be lost in the next 50 years if nothing drastic is done.
Recently we launched a policy paper on Indigenous languages which has captured the attention of senior federal policy makers. The paper is available online at http://www.ngapartji.org/content/view/19/79/
Where is Ngapartji Ngapartji based?
The project has its base in Alice Springs but the team regularly travels to Pitjantjatjara communities such as Docker River (NT), Ernabella, Mimili and Pipalyatjara (SA). In Alice Springs Big hART arts mentors and producers work alongside young people and their families from Abbott’s, Karnte, Little Sisters and Larapinta Valley town camps. Local youth and social services, media, arts and business organisations support this community process.
What is the future of Ngapartji Ngapartji?
The project will reach its conclusion in December 2009. Evaluations and reports on the project will be released in early 2010. The team will spend the next 12 months collating reflections and observations about the project to produce a legacy package for all project participants and supporters.
Come and find out more about the project at the ‘Behind the show’ session on Friday 3rd at 11.10 or come and see the show at Araluen Arts Centre, which plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8.15pm. Tickets are available at the Box Office on 08 8951 1152. Book your tickets soon as they will sell out.
For more information visit www.ngapartji.org
Free Indigenous Film Program
This program will showcase Northern Territory Indigenous films and allow filmmakers to discuss their work with the audience. The program focuses on changes to the NT Aboriginal people’s experiences of citizenship and self-determination in the wake of the 1967 Referendum when Australians voted by an overwhelming majority to include Aboriginal people in the census and to empower the Federal Government to make laws on their behalf. A special series of short films exploring Alice Springs town camp residents’ experiences of the post-referendum period have been commissioned especially for art at the heart.
On Thursday 2 October from 1-3pm, Rachel Perkins’ ‘Freedom Ride’ and Frances Peters-Little’s ‘’Vote Yes for Aborigines’ will provide an historical background for the films that will screen on Sunday. On Sunday 5 October the program will open with the comissioned Alice Springs town camp films reflecting on the meaning of the referendum for local people (delegates will be able to see preview in the session on Friday 4-5pm).
Following these films, enjoy a series of new short films made by the ‘Mulka Project’ in Yirrkala, North East Arnhemland. The Mulka films highlight the intergenerational transmission of culture and identity using new digital technologies and involving repatriations of media made by balanda (non-Yolngu) people over many years.
The multi-award winning feature documentary Dhakiyarr vs the King, a story of two laws and the cultural expression of citizenship and reconciliation in the Northern Territory will screen after the Mulka films.
Town Camp, Dhakiyarr and Mulka filmmakers will be present for post-screening discussions with host Steve Gumerunji Hodder.
FREE film screenings:
Thursday 2 October 1.00pm – 3.00pm and Sunday 5 October 4.00pm at Araluen Arts Centre 61 Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs For enquiries contact Araluen Box Office 08 8951 1122.
Become a virtual friend
www.myspace.com/artattheheart
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10197789292
| 
