UPDATES
* Arts and Public Life Breakfast with the Hon James Spigelman AC
FROM THE BOARD
22 February 2012 at The Tea Room Queen Victoria Building Sydney
To book click here
The former Chief Justice of NSW reminisces about Arts Boards he has known and recalls the effort, the contribution and the enrichment which the experience has brought him. He is currently the Chair of the National Library of Australia.
* The Empire Actors
Read Ailsa McPherson on The Empire Actors here
The Empire Actors is reviewed in Popular Entertainment Studies 2.1. 117-121
* Philip Parsons Memorial Lecture
Katharine Brisbane gave the lecture IN PRAISE OF NEPOTISM
Read it here
The Philip Parsons Lecture was given on 27 November at Belvoir Street Theatre
* Platform Papers 30 published 1 January 2012
INDIG-CURIOUS: WHO CAN PLAY ABORIGINAL ROLES? by Jane Harrison
Read more
David Unaipon had a commitment to sharing his stories with non-Aboriginal people. What can we make of this? Did he mean they have the freedom to adopt Aboriginal myths and stories without qualm, without recourse, without responsibility? Or did he merely hope that they would be valued as part of our country’s cultural expression? How, if ever, can Aboriginal themes be 'used' in a way that is acceptable to Aboriginal people? How can non-Aboriginals interpret their work? Neither Homer nor Shakespeare are around to defend their work, but Aboriginal people are alive and outspoken about how they are depicted on the page, stage and on the screen. Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison tackles this intractable issue and finds a way forward.
* Platform Papers 29 published 1 October
DEMOCRACY V CREATIVITY IN AUSTRALIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC by Nicole Canham
People working in the classical music sector today, writes Canham, have lost connection with the larger public. We are not facing up to the fundamental question: “Why don’t you, or wouldn’t you, come to our concert? Or if you were to come, what would you like to see/hear?” Today we are in the middle of a creativity revolution, inventing new forms of popular culture in which everyone can be a participant.
Join Nicole's blog
Click here
* 'NETWORKING Commercial Television in Australia'
The new book by Nick Herd
THE REAL STORY OF THE TELEVISION WE HAD TO HAVE.
The conduct of a commercial television service is not to be considered as merely running a business for the sake of profit. Because of the influence they can bring to bear on the community, the business interests of licensees must at all times be subordinated to the overriding principle that possession of a licence is a public trust for the benefit of all members of our society.
PMG Charles Davidson to Parliament on the passing of the Broadcasting and Television Act 1956.
* Latest comments on Platform Papers
Platform Papers 25
Erin Brannigan has provided an important catalyst with her considered, complex and persuasive study which is a pleasure to ponder on. It should be on the reading list of every dance and creative arts course and disseminated widely through the industry.
Cheryl Stock, choreographer and dance educator
www.currencyhouse.org.au/node/129
Platform Papers 27
Any blogger will know the weird sense of beginning an online ‘conversation’. It's akin to delivering an informal lecture to an empty auditorium. In most cases, you're met with silence. This is no different from a newspaper review, or a novel, or a message scratched into a bus stop seat.
John Bailey, Melbourne arts journalist and bloggist
www.currencyhouse.org.au/node/185
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PLATFORM PAPERS
Title
INDIG-CURIOUS Who can play Aboriginal roles?
Author
Jane Harrison
Platform Paper Issue#
30
ISBN13
978 0 9807982 9 6
Purchase Options
Product Description
Australia’s first Indigenous writer, David Unaipon (1872–1967) made a commitment to sharing his stories with non-Aboriginal people. Did he hope that they would be valued as part of our country’s cultural expression? Since his time Aboriginal myths and stories have been widely adopted and adapted, often without reference to their origins or history. Homer and Shakespeare are no longer around to defend their work, but Aboriginal people are alive and outspoken about how they are depicted on the page, stage and on the screen. How, if ever, asks Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison, can Aboriginal themes be ‘used’ by others in a way that is acceptable to Aboriginal people? How can non-Aboriginals learn to interpret themes, and indeed, what are Aboriginal themes? Who can give permission and who refuse? What about our shared experiences and common history, do we not all have the rights to that? Harrison treads her way through the challenging issues of exploitation, referencing, literary fraud, blacked-up actors and community ownership. Sharing our history and stories is essential, she writes, for the health of Aboriginal culture. But first we must acknowledge who is in control.
Jane Harrison is a multi-award-winning writer and essayist. Her first play Stolen (1998) has been widely performed in Australia, the UK and Asia, was co-winner of the Kate Challis RAKA award and was set for school study in Victoria and NSW. Her play Rainbow’s End is currently on the school syllabus 2009–12. Other plays are Blakvelvet and Custody.