2017 Projects
Le Femme Fatales, Wishart, Mel
An all-female, politically savvy street band initiative led by Mel Wishart at the HONK! Oz festival to encourage less experienced female musicians to join the scene.
An all-female street band who staged a ‘funeral’ performance at the honk oz music festival, encouraging women (especially those who lack confidence), to join the musical community.
The theme is ‘death of arts’ with performances featuring a coffin that serves as a mini stage and holds recycled instruments for audience participation. By mixing less experienced female musicians with seasoned ones, mel created a fun, visually engaging, and politically savvy performances. This women-only space helps female musicians express their insecurities and promotes their participation in this male-dominated field.
Love: Art, Ideas, Music, Politics - Alexander Brown, Melanie Barnes & Nick Southhall
Was a gathering held on 22 & 23 April, 2017 in Wollongong NSW. The theme of the festival was Love and it included workshops and activities on the topic. We interpreted love broadly and held discussions that celebrate love’s power and shared collectively in an exploration of its meaning.
Love: Art Ideas Music Politics
Wombarra Sculpture Workshop - Gaby Porter
The creation of "Shellpod," a 2.5-metre ferro-cement and mosaic tile public sculpture by Gaby Porter, Lois Hill, Annette Welling, and Al Wetten installed at Sharky's Beach in Coledale.
In 2017 Gaby Porter and the Wombarra sculpture workshop created the 2.5metre sculpture ‘shellpod’. Installed in 2018 by Wollongong city council at Sharky’s beach Coledale.
Constructed in ferro cement and mosaic tiles by Gaby Porter, Lois Hill, Annette Welling and Al Wetten.
Update: Wombarra property sold. Gaby intends to continue creating sculpture and a garden on a smaller scale. New owners have closed the garden
https://www.wombarra.com/Wombarra/www.wombarra.com/index.html
Strawberry Visions
This project supported music and visual artists such as Donny Benet, Saskwatch, Good Morning, Solid Effort, Dippy, Sundog and Tinker to name a few, at Strawberry Boogie - our monthly event celebrating the diversity and strength of the local creative scene.
Funding supported the purchase of basic infrastructure, which has assisted at Strawberry Boogies, Wollongong Fringe Festival, Yours & Owls Festival Sydney Fringe Festival and ‘Yes’ Plebiscite Events with Vice.
“The Culture Bank grant was a remarkable assistance to the events and have enabled us to continue supporting the arts & music community in the Illawarra”.
The Tender Cloth application - Michele Elliot
The Tender Cloths have been made during my residency at tender funerals and in collaboration with the families who have kindly donated flowers from the services for their loved ones.
A method of natural dyeing that produces soft impressions and exquisite colours on the lengths of muslin.
“I’ve learned a lot in the process, hence I’ve had the benefit of skills development in this area too.”
Michele Elliot | Contemporary Textile & Installation Artist Australia
The Stella Prize, The Heroines Festival - Sarah Nicholson
An inaugural literary festival curated by Sarah Nicholson themed "Finding Our Past, Imagining Our Future," celebrating women writers of speculative and historical fiction.
The Heroines Festival celebrates and promotes the talents of women writers’ who reclaim, restore, and reimagine women’s stories. With a focus on speculative and historical fiction the Heroines festival’s inaugural theme is “Finding our past, imagining our future.”
Our aim is to bring together women writers’ who have the dived into our historical record and brought back the lost stories of women’s lives; at the same time, Heroines will be showcasing women writers who are creatively imagining the future of women in fiction and reality.
Produced with funding from Culture Bank and presented in collaboration with Wollongong Writers’ Festival, the South Coast Writers’ Centre, and the Stella Prize, The Neo Perennial Press brings the Heroines Festival to readers and writers from the greater Wollongong area, and beyond, for the first time.
Cortex Journal - R Ozolins & A.J Pike
Cortex Journal is a digital publication based in Wollongong, NSW. Our vision is to blend thought from science, philosophy, and art to create interesting and original content. Contact us if you have any questions or want to submit.