A call to culture and country, the inaugural Corroboree Sydney Festival presents the very best in stories, song, dance and art. Courtesy Corroboree Sydney Festival Corroboree Sydney Indigenous Festival is about connecting people and culture. The inaugural event of this annual festival kick’s off next week (14-24 November) with eleven days of free and ticketed events. Creative director Hetti Perkins, said, “This corroboree is all about sharing culture, where people from all backgrounds can come and have an intimate, personal and informal experience of Aboriginal culture.’ Perkins added, ‘I hope this corroboree will bring people together, both black and white.’ Derived from the word “Carriberie”, it is believed that the first Corroboree to be documented by early explorers was staged at a site now identified as Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. The festival takes that cue, with events held at the Gardens and focused around the harbour, including the Sydney Opera House, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the Bangarra Dance Theatre at Pier 4/5, Blackfella Films next door at Pier 2/3, as well as programs at the Art Gallery of NSW, The Australian Museum, The State Library of NSW, and broadcasts on Koori Radio 93.7FM. artsHub has put together a hit list of must do’s over the 11-day festival: #1: Pop-in to the pop-up Corroboree Club at Pier 2/3, which is going to be the festival’s epicenter with non-stop live performance, from music to comedy to drag. Much loved singer Archie Roach will kick off the Club’s opening night (15 November) with new and re-mastered tracks from his first four albums. This is a ticketed event. Acclaimed Indigenous singer Casey Donovan will also headline at the club over the festival. #2: Catch a flick at Corroboree Cinema at Pier 2/3, a program curated by Blackfella Films, including the highly anticipated film The Darkside, by Warwick Thornton, with its collection of Indigenous ghost stories starring Deborah Mailman, Claudia Karvan, Bryan Brown, Shari Sebbens, and Ben Quilty among others. Thornton will also do a Q&A session on the film. Ticketed events. The State Library also offers opportunities to meet filmmakers and will present a program of short films and free documentary screenings as part of Corroboree Cinema. #3: Get immersed in a paper house at the AGNSW. Step inside an installation of a replica ‘mission home’ skinned with handmade paper made by artist from the Euraba Papermakers collective, and a sound piece and projection in collaboration with Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones. Titled Illuminate, this community-driven artwork captures the aspirations of the Goomeroi people, in northwest NSW; and will continue that spirit of community with paper-making workshops (16 November). Free. Aunty May Hinch, founding artist, Euraba Artists and Papermakers, said: ‘We want some good to come out of it, we want our younger generation to come in and be a part of what we are doing, learn their culture and learn who they are so they can go out and be proud and strong people.’ Illuminate at AGNSW. Courtesy the artists and AGNSW #4: Be entertained by a fruit bat, jazz-duo and an Indigenous app also as part of the AGNSW’s Corroboree program. Festival director Hetti Perkins will be speaking at the Gallery, writer Anita Heiss will host a Champagne and choc-lit celebration and Indigenous folk/jazz duo Microwave Jenny will perform on 20 November as part of the Gallery’s Art After Hours. Free. The Gallery will launch its Indigenous Australian: Art Gallery of New South Wales, a new app for iPad offering the chance to explore key artists and works from our Indigenous collection. And on the weekend at the Gallery, artists Judy Watson, Daniel Boyd and Ken Thaiday talk on their work, Film director Wayne Blair will introduce a free screening of his acclaimed movie The Sapphires, and Ngununy the much-loved cheeky fruit bat will give a special performance for children (23 November). Free. Michael Brand, director of the Gallery, said: ‘I am honoured that the Gallery can play such a significant role in this festival for what promises to be such a culturally enriching experience for visitors… It’s also a unique opportunity to further our understanding of the art and culture of the original people of our land.’ #5: Catch the latest in Indigenous dance by the internationally renowned Bangarra Dance Theatre. For Corroboree they will host a series of intimate performances at Pier 4, showcasing their new production Dance Clan 3 commissioned by Artistic Director Stephen Page and choreographed by four of the company’s female dancers Deborah Brown, Yolande Brown, Tara Gower and Jasmin Sheppard. This new work takes audiences, ‘from the luminescent Torres Strait and the turquoise waters of Cable Beach in Western Australia, to the lands of the central desert and the place we call Sydney’, exploring diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander story lines. Ticketed event. Dance Clan 3. Image © Bangarra Dance Theatre #6: See larger-than-life art and artefacts at the Australian Museum. Sydney-based Wiradjuri artist Nicole Foreshew will project on the Museum’s 20-meter William Street façade images of Aboriginal women. Not to be out-sized, inside the museum, previously unseen artefacts and documents will be taken ‘out of the vaults’, and join Aboriginal educator and cultural practitioner, Jimmy Smith who will will interpret Aboriginal heritage through a daily tour of the Museum’s vibrant installation of 68 animal sculptures and traditional sculptures in the exhibition Menagerie. Jimmy Smith at the Australian Museum. Image © Australian Museum View the Museum’s website for schedule talks, among them multi-award winning author and historian, Professor Bill Gammage, who will share what he uncovered when researching his book, The biggest Estate on Earth – how Aborigines made Australia – a surprising systems of recording the Australian landscape. (17 November) Australian Museum Indigenous Creative Producer, Laura McBride said, ‘Creating a place where cultural exchange can occur whilst illustrating the role Museums can play in helping to conserve our culture, we hope that these events will encourage visitors to engage with and learn from our rich heritage and history, particularly in regards to NSW, home to the largest Indigenous population in Australia.’ #7: Craft it up at the Corroboree Studio and Black Arts Market. Join a free workshop over the weekend (23-24 November) and learn how to weave, paint or dance with Indigenous performance, elders, artists and identities. Its hands-on story-telling at its best. Check the website for times. Free. Or head to The Black Arts Market at Pier 2/3 (16-17 November) for a shop up and to meet Indigenous craftspeople. Meet women weavers from Wagga Wagga along with more than 30 different artists and community groups from Broken Hill to Ballina, in Sydney to present their artworks for sale, many for the first time. Free #8: Learn the Language. Communication is the best step to understanding. The State Library’s linguistic expert will present “Rediscovering Indigenous Languages” talks at the Corroboree Lounge (14-24 November). #9: Grab a bush-tucker lunch in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and walk it off afterwards with an Indigenous Heritage walking tour. Free. #10: Have a cuppa with an Elder during the festival – a rare opportunity to sit down and tap into that wealth of cultural knowledge in a casual setting. Check the program for venues. Free. Perkins said, ‘Our Council of Elders are highly esteemed members of the Sydney community and have each played a vital role in the growing respect and recognition for Indigenous culture in our city. We are honoured to be able to draw on their experience and wisdom in presenting Corroboree Sydney.’ And if you can’t make it to Sydney, connect in to the celebrations on Koori Radio 93.7FM, which will be hosting live broadcasts and conversations throughout the festival. Corroboree Sydney Festival is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, and is set to become a major event in Sydney’s cultural calendar. Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, The Hon George Souris said: ‘The NSW Government is proud to support Corroboree Sydney, an event of considerable importance to Indigenous communities both here in NSW and across Australia.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 08:51:45 +0000
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