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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PUBLICATIONS
PLATFORM PAPERS
‘An alternative voice, seeking the health of Australia’s performing arts’. John Golder, editor
Platform Papers, now in its sixth year, is an influential quarterly series of essays by arts practitioners providing background and thoughtful proposals for change on topical artistic, ethical and political issues relating to the arts. Small, friendly and authoritative, they are aimed at engaging the reader in areas ranging from theatre and dance, film and television to cultural policy, employment, censorship, the digital world and the creative economy. Now required reading in green rooms and board rooms, Platform Papers have become a significant feature in the landscape of our national conversation.
BOOKS
Our books have two groups: cultural history and reference works, often the outcome of many years of private research. Now available are:
- Chasing the Runaways: Foreign film production and film studio development in Australia 1988–2002,
Nick Herd - Currency Companion to Music and Dance in Australia,
John Whiteoak & Aline Scott-Maxwell general editors - The Empire Actors: Stars of Australasian Costume Drama 1890s–1920s,
Veronica Kelly - Keith Bain on Movement,
Michael Campbell editor - A Leader of His Craft: Theatre Reviews by H.G. Kippax,
Harry Heseltine editor - Lords and Larrikins: the Actor's Role in the Making of Australia 1830s–1970s,
Kath Leahy - Simple Gifts: A Life in the Theatre,
George Ogilvie - Singing the Land: The Power of Performance in Aboriginal life,
Jill Stubington
These books are non-profit publications supported by the subscription of individuals who value the act of bringing to light and interpreting experience and knowledge of our performing arts which would otherwise reach no further than private hands.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
CHASING THE RUNAWAYS: Foreign film production and film studio development in Australia 1988–2002
(click for more information)
Nick Herd
The Empire Actors: 'Stars of Australasian Costume Drama 1890S-1920S'
(click for more information)
Veronica Kelly