MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:56 PM Page 1

music dance theatre visual arts film new media MAVfolio

multicultural arts victoria guide to the arts 70

Inside: P.2 Editorial P.3 Music – Melbourne Food and Wine Festival – Out of the Square – Mista Savona P.4 Cultural Diversity Week – Premiers Gala Dinner – Black Harmony Gathering – Omar Faruk Tekbilek

P.5 Visual Arts – Naomi Ota – I Love Pho – Pysanka

P.6 -7 Theatre & Dance – Currents of Identity – Palimpsest – Koori Youth 20 years

P.8 MAV Youth Trainee – OZCO Music Grants Info Session

Palimpsest (tyc in Korea) - Pg 6

MAV folio Feb 2008 - April 2008 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 2

African village the Arts Centre

Suzuki Night Market

Multicultural Arts Victoria is back in the full swing and has many great things Over the Day long weekend MAV also worked with the Arts Centre on planned for 2008, our 25th year of operation. MAV could not do the work we a unique project to build an African Village. The huts and village were built with do with out the significant support of our key funding partners, The City of the community on the Arts Centre Lawn to celebrate our newly arrived African Melbourne, The City of Yarra and Arts Victoria, plus the valuable support of the communities. It is great to see so many communities being openly welcomed Australia Council and the Victorian Multicultural Commission who importantly to the Arts Centre. fund our cultural development work in the community. MAV has extensive links For Cultural Diversity Week, MAV will once again be working in partnership to many extraordinary artists and communities and has the capacity to create with the Victorian Multicultural Commission in programming and presenting an ongoing vibrant multicultural hub of activity. We look forward to your

editorial some of our most talented artists from our community at the Premiers' Gala support for our program in 2008. Dinner on Saturday 15th March. The dinner will highlight the significant MAV has commenced the year by producing once again the sensational contribution in Arts our diverse communities have made. We will also be Suzuki Night market series in partnership with the Queen Victoria Market. Over producing a diverse music program for A Taste of Slow plus in partnership the summer months, until the end of February, MAV presents a fantastic music with kultour and Casula Powerhouse - I Love Pho workshops, exhibition and and performance program on two stages every Wednesday night. Over 20,000 cooking demonstration at ArtPlay people each week experience the exhilaration, bustle and magic of the night As identified in our report The Way Forward the single most important finding market. If you have not been there yet, make sure you make it for one of the was that cultural diversity and Arts for all Victorians is widely accepted and last Wednesday nights in February or you will have to wait for another year to endorsed. The challenge however is to translate this into effective strategies soak up one of the best out door experiences Melbourne has to offer! that will eliminate the perceived and/or real barriers, and increase CALD MAV strongly believes fair and just reconciliation with traditional owners and artists' and communities' participation in the arts. MIX IT UP,The Night Market, true social justice for all Aboriginal people is fundamental to our nation's well- Premiers Gala Dinner, ArtPlay and the Black Harmony Gathering are all very being. Government and communities can play a vital leadership role in effective means of ensuring systemic change and to ensure the increased supporting greater understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal peoples, development of multicultural arts content and infrastructure at local, state and culture and history. national levels. In March we have Cultural Diversity Week. MAV will present reconciliation in On an International level The Tony Yap Company has just returned from action through our unique annual Black Harmony Gathering with the local creative development opportunity working with Theatre Company Nottle late in Koori mob. Black Harmony Gathering will be held at the beautiful Fairfield December in Korea. Through this collaboration Theatre Company Nottle have Amphitheatre celebrating the International Day for the Elimination of Racism at been endeavouring to find a new theatrical language and to make noon on Sunday March 16th. This year marks the fifth year of Black Harmony experimental performances with the Tony Yap Company and to create a and a significant milestone for local Victorian Indigenous dance group Koori universal theatrical language through international exchange. Youth Will Shake Spears, who are celebrating 20 years of dancing in the MAV has also recently supported three of the key artists from the Tony Yap community. Also this year through the support of the Besen Foundation the Company, Tony Yap, Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey plus invited Warrior Spirit Art Collective encouraged MAV to create an opportunity for a multimedia artist Kim Lawler to work in Singapore with the Necessary Stage. young indigenous trainee. Little G aka Gina Chrisanthopoulos will be based at MAV to work on Black Harmony. Also working internationally with Singapore is talented visual artist Naomi Ota who has been invited to exhibit at the Esplanade in April/May. This invitation MIX IT UP our award winning partnership program with the Arts Centre begins was an outcome of the Tony Yap Company and Multicultural Arts Victoria's again on the 16th March. The outstanding Omar Faruk Tekbilek, who is an attendance at the Singapore Arts Mart in 2007. This is an exciting outcome for internationally acclaimed musician, will be performing traditional Sufi, folk and the artists and the work becomes a vital part of program celebrating the 10th contemporary music from Turkey and the Middle East. The Arts Centre and Anniversary of the cultural partnership between Singapore and Australia. The MAV have been successfully funded through a strategic partnership grant by MOU has importantly paved the way for Australian artists to engage in the Australia Council Community Partnerships to deliver major community arts collaborations and exchanges with Singapore artists. and cultural development outcomes through MIX IT UP.This is an extraordinary opportunity to engage with the local community to make real difference in the So from grass root events to the international collaborations Multicultural Arts arts both locally and nationally. The first community we will be working with, Victoria is making a difference. We invite you to enjoy the journey with us. for MIX IT UP, will be the Turkish community who will be celebrating 40 years of Turkish migration. Jill Morgan Executive Officer

MAV folio Page2 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 3

LABJACD San Lazaro Mista Savona

MISTA SAVONA - From Melbourne to Kingston to WOMADelaide Kua Etnika Last year, local producer/ musician Mista Savona took in mu Australia to new and higher heights with the release of his third album Melbourne Meets Kingston. The first ever album length collaboration between Australian and Jamaican artists, Melbourne Meets Kingston saw Mista Savona travel to to record and work with extraordinary Jamaican artists such as the legendary Big Youth and newer talents , Determine, Stevie Culture and Lisa Dainjah. 'Jamaica is just amazing - musically, culturally and on all levels - it's all about the skills, the vibe and the vocals! Its mad over there, music West Papuan Cultural Choir is everywhere, its the pulse of the nation, and the competition is so strong that the talent is just astonishing….What I wanted to achieve with this record was to get across to Australian audiences the kind of sounds coming out of Jamaica today and the best representation of A Taste of Slow my own sound and style as a musician and producer.' Feb 22 - Mar 8, Slow Food City Marketplace, 23 - 24 Feb, Federation Square With its unique blend of roots reggae, , hip hop, Middle Eastern and Indian flavours, and outstanding vocal performances, the Like the hare, slowly we are understanding that the fast way of life is not always the best. A album has continued to enjoy strong support, radio airplay and Taste of Slow 2008 counters our frantically-paced culture by focusing on Slow principles that excellent reviews since its release, as well as increasing demand for treasure tradition, cherish communities, celebrate conviviality and value and respect the art of touring and performance of the work. And so the Mista Savona Band contemplation and reflection. The River Terrace along the Yarra,, will be abuzz with activity has evolved bringing together a diverse mob of local Melbourne and entertainment all weekend. Meet and chat with the people who grow, catch, prepare and musical talents, with members of Ghanaian, Zimbabwean, French cook your food. Catch a cooking demonstration from top chefs and home cooks or wander up Guinean, Greek, Maltese, Philipino, Indian and Anglo descent, fronted to the Plaza to see one of the fantastic bands performing: Meltemi, String Theory, Kavisha by the amazing Vida Sunshyne whose credits have included work with Mazzella, Dya Singh, Musiki Manjaro, Klezmeritis and a block party on Saturday(see below). Nitin Sawhney and Lionel Ritchie. FREE www.atatsteofslow.com.au 'Working within different cultures and bringing about new and exciting collaborations between different groups of people is something I really love to do, and this exemplifies that kind of approach to music and Celebrate the Bean musicians.' Sun 2 Mar, 11am-6pm, Waterfront City, Docklands Mista Savona and the band are gearing up for some special An all day, open-air coffee celebration with an abundance of sweet treats for the chocolate performances on 7 March 7 to 9 March at one of the world's most fiends. Join Melbourne's best roasters and hottest baristas, arrive as the first grinders crank prestigious music festivals, WOMADelaide. into gear and steaming milk begins to whistle. Through the day on stage - Crocs Home WOMADelaide 2008 will see over 400 artists from 20 countries unite Barista Championship, Equal Latte Art Smack Down, Ethiopian Coffee Roasting Ceremony and to celebrate cultural diversity and the depth of creative talent from live music including West Papuan Cultural Choir, Bossa Negra, Los Romanticos and Afro around the globe. The group has also been asked to perform at Habesha. FREE WOMAD in the UK and are currently negotiating dates for a European www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au tour. Presented by the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Multicultural Arts Victoria in 'The priorities at the moment are finishing the next album, playing association with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival more festivals and cementing a local and international reputation for making great music…as well as more widespread support for Australia's unique independent music scene.' Out of the Square Look out for Mista Savona playing locally every Tuesday at The Evelyn, Sat 23 Feb, 2-6pm, Main Stage, Federation Square Brunswick St Fitzroy and on Fri 22nd Feb at The Espy, St. Kilda. As part of A Taste of Slow, 9 Piece Latin Mestizo outfit San Lazaro are collaborating with Latin Or to catch the full line up with dancers, horn section, rhythm section, Hip-hop masters Labjacd and samba-funk collective Tumbarumba to celebrate the cultivation samplers and guest emcees get on over to WOMADelaide in early of original urban music with latin roots. Kicking off at 2pm this free outdoor event has been March. especially curated to showcase the wealth of diverse and unique contemporary urban latin For more about Mista Savona visit www.myspace.com/mistasavona music forged in Melbourne in a family friendly environment. Also featuring DJ Manchild (PBS) and for more about WOMADelaide visit www.womadelaide.com.au on the decks making for a non stop shakedown till 6pm. FREE the Arts Centre in association with Multicultural Arts Victoria presents as part of MIX IT UP

MAV folio Page3 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 4

Cultural Diversity Week Premiers Gala Dinner Sat 15 Mar, 7pm, Palladium Ballroom, Crown Casino

As part of Celebrate our Cultural Diversity Week 2008, Multicultural Arts Victoria works very closely in partnership with the Victorian Multicultural Commission to present a spectacular evening of entertainment with community, government and business leaders to celebrate Victoria's cultural, linguistic and religious diversity. Guests enjoy some of Australia's best new and emerging artists in the stunning settings of the Palladium Ballroom. The Premiers Gala Dinner has proven over and over to be a great platform to showcase the hard work and creativity of our many diverse and talented artists throughout Victoria. It's their performances which brings life and excitement to this sell out annual event. This years featured cultures are Celtic, Indigenous, Indian, Turkish, Argentian, Ukrainian, Philipino, Senegalese and Cuban. Premiers Gala Dinner 2007 Omar Faruk Tekbilek MIX IT UP, the Arts Centre in association with Multicultural Arts Victoria. Sun 16 Mar, 5pm, Hamer Hall, the Arts Centre Experience internationally acclaimed virtuosi Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Ensemble in their only Melbourne performance of traditional Sufi, folk and contemporary music from Turkey and the Middle East. Honored as a peacemaker and virtuoso, Tekbilek's work transcends political boundaries while maintaining traditional sensibilities in a way few artists can manage. A multi- instrumentalist par excellence, he has collaborated with a number of leading musicians of international repute such as jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, keyboard player Karl Berger, ex- Cream rock drummer Ginger Baker, Ofra Haza, Simon Shaheen, Hossam Ramzy, Glen Velez, Bill Laswell, Mike Mainieri, Peter Erskine, Trilok Gurtu, Jai Uttal and Steve Shehan among others. This will be the first time he has toured Australia with his ensemble. $59 / $45 / $40 / $35 / $30 BOOK NOW! ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 136 166, Ticketmaster outletsor the Arts Centre Box Office Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Black Harmony Gathering 2008 Sun 16 Mar, 12pm - 4pm, The Fairfield Amphitheatre, Heidelberg Rd, Fairfield Melways Map 30 J12 In its 5th year the Black Harmony gathering brings together another outstanding line up of artists both visual and music from the oldest living culture along side Australians developing cultures to share and celebrate the gradually expending society. Sharing Songlines through different forms of music to collaborate one thought. “SAY NO TO RACISM” HELD in the heart of Aboriginal land and multicultural communities on the banks of the Yarra River, the Black Harmony Gathering is a free event to Celebrate Our Cultural Diversity and "SAY NO TO RACISM" sponsored by the City of Yarra, VMC, and Besen Foundation and produced by Multicultural Arts Victoria. The Black Harmony Gathering which is hosted by the Aboriginal community also marks the Black Harmony Gathering United Nations Elimination of Racism day and will showcase Melbourne's premium aboriginal artists, finest African, and emerging culturally diverse musicians. The day will be MC'd by Uncle Herb Patten, Kylie Belling and Candy Bowers from Sister She. Performing on the day will be: Koori Will Shake Spears, ACES Choir, Kutcha Edwards, Jali Buba Kuyateh, Hassan Jafar, West Papuan Choir, Sweet Cheeks, Young Warriors and Illana Atkinson. Pin Rada & Melbourne/Istanbul Kolektiv CD Launch Sun 2 Mar, 5 pm, Northcote Uniting Church, 251 High St, Northcote A powerful new cross-cultural meeting between two cities, featuring: Matt Stonehouse, Ben Last, Cuneyt Cakmak, Kate Adam and Ali Conum., music for the soul. $15/$12. Info: 94822884 or www.chalice.org.au

MAV folio Page4 Premiers Gala Dinner 2007 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 5

visual arts

I Love Pho tour - Kultour A Kultour Event. A Casula Powerhouse Project (Re)discover Viet Nam through I Love Pho, an exhibition that explores the Vietnamese beef rice noodle soup called Pho, an integral part of Vietnamese cultural heritage. I Love Pho uses pho as a metaphor to interpret and reveal a Viet Nam whose people and history are as varied and complex as the preparation and cooking of a bowl of pho’ itself. The project creates dialogues between visual artists, local communities and broader audiences exploring issues of identity, history, culture and diaspora over a bowl of pho. I Love Pho combines the work of visual artists responding to the concept of pho’ and what it signifies, as well as pho tasting and cooking demonstrations, workshops for children and adults, guided tours and more. At each destination new work by local Vietnamese artists will also be included. www.multiculturalarts.com.au Naomi Ota VICTORIA ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, next to Federation Square, Melbourne - Naomi Ota 'Scent of whiteness' 29 and 30 Jan Pho’ Dog Workshop by Mai Long 12 Apr - 18 May, Installation at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore 23 Feb Pho’ Cooking Demonstration and Tasting by Tina Le* Naomi Ota participated in Asian Arts Mart 2007 in Singapore as the visual 23 and 24 Feb Exhibition of local artists Van Thanh Rudd & Hoang Tran Nguyen * artist of the dance performance group Tony Yap Company. She has been Bookings: 03 9664 7900 or [email protected] invited back to Singapore to exhibit her artwork, an installation titled Scent of proudly supported by the Melbourne City Council Whiteness in the main concourse at the Esplanade. Scent of whiteness invites the audience into the scenery that gives a sense of Taste of Slow Festival, Federation Square, Melbourne slow- growing (growth with stillness). Forms of objects refer slow- 24 Feb Pho’ Cooking Demonstration with Tina Le* transformation of nature particularly that of sea-bleached coral. The notion of Footscray Community Arts Centre, 45 Moreland Street, Footscray space within the installation also demonstrates an interpretation of particular 22 Feb - 10 Apr I Love Pho Exhibition* issues derived from her on-going research into the spatial concepts observed 2 Mar Exhibition launch*, Pho Dog Workshop*, at the sacred groves (Utaki) in Taketomi Island which belongs to Yaeyama Pho Cooking Demonstration* archipelago, Okinawa, the southernmost district of Japan. Bookings: 03 9362 8888 or [email protected] This visual arts installation project will contribute to paving the way for Australian artists to engage in collaborations and exchanges with Singapore. * Part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival As the year 2008 is the 10th Anniversary of the cultural partnership between The exhibition will also be presented by KULCHA in WA in May 2008 Singapore and Australia, Naomi's exhibition would provide a great opportunity to mark this significant event. Pysanka - Traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg Painting The project is supported by MAV, Arts Victoria, and the Esplanade Co Ltd. For Workshops: 1-2 Mar 2008 1-3pm further information please contact MAV. ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, next to Fed Square Profile The art of creating Ukrainian pysanky (from the word pysaty - to write) has been Naomi Ota is a fibre installation artist. Her work is a complex cross-over handed down from generation to generation. Decorated eggs were intimately related between textile and contemporary art. Her field also extends into theatrical to the greeting of spring, the decorated egg represented life winning over death, installations. Her broad experience as a professional artist has contributed a spring over winter. The symbolism of the pysanka has brought hope happiness and unique cultural context to the discipline. Ota's works have been exhibited in protection to the Ukrainians for many centuries. The designs on pysanky are, for the various national and international events, such as the '3rd Biwako Biennale' most part, geometric, with some plant and animal forms. (Oumi-hachiman, Japan), '5th Triennial International Textile Exhibition' (Tounai, In this workshop coordinated by MAV Deputy chair Natalia Moravski children with Belgium), 'Brisbane Arts Festival' (QUT), 'pins & needles' (National Gallery of their parents will be able to make their decorations using Kistka ( special nib) to paint Victoria), 'Flax & Linen Biennial' (Normandy, France), 'Tamworth Fibre Textile on white eggs , then dipping them into dye, and repeating the process until the Biennial' (touring Australia), 'Diaphanous II' (Nokia Singapore Arts Festival, pattern is complete Come along and learn about this age-old tradition in workshops. Singapore), 'the 4th International Textile Fair' (Kyoto, Japan) which she For Ages 5 and above with accompaning adult. received the award grand prix. Her works are included in public collections of BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL Bookings for workshops can be made by emailing National Gallery of Victoria, Museum of Victoria, Art Bank, The Royal Brand [email protected] Association in NSW and Kyoto Nishijin Textile Industrial Association. Ota has an MA by research (sculpture) from RMIT University, Melbourne, and an MA (Textile) from Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan. She is currently a PhD candidate at RMIT (Textile). MAV folio Page5 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 6

Haresh Sharma and AlvinTan theatre & dance

Currents of Identity - Tony Yap Company and The Necessary Stage compare histories for a new inter-cultural collaboration. From 30 January to 5 February 2008, Australian performers and artists, Madeleine Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Kim Lawler and Tony Yap, met with playwright Haresh Sharma and Director Alvin Tan at The Necessary Stage Black Box (Singapore) for the first phase of a new Australia-Singapore collaboration.The week was organised as a Design Workshop for the new collaboration and received funding under the Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and Singapore, which was renewed late in 2007 and supported in part by Arts Victoria and AICC. As part of the research, the artists shared personal stories which revealed themes of adoption, displacement, conversion, translation, mobility, family, land and journey. Besides sharing their past works, they also made field trips, conducted interviews and created nascent works exploring sound, movement, text and multimedia. Many of the artists' experiences were surprising and even bizarre from their respective cultural standpoints. So a set of “real” and “surreal” scenarios were devised as departures that would allow them to explore imagined and/or real histories, lineages and geographical spaces. Discussion revealed “lineages” as the expression of connections over time, what Edward Said called “currents of identity”, or those affinities of both blood and non-blood relationships that interweave across landscapes. Despite the short period of work, the artists have already discovered opportunities to enrich their individual practices quite apart from the keen desire for all to create a new work. These include new possibilities for text-based developments in the work of the Tony Yap Company, and the insights and opportunities offered by the sustained cultural enquiry that has been a hallmark of The Necessary Stage methodology over twenty years. The plan is to meet again with all artists involved including designers and performers 21-30 July 2008 in Melbourne. The team will consist of the following , Madeleine Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Kim Lawler, Tony Yap, Haresh Sharma, Alvin Tan plus Jane Nolan, Leroy Parsons, Chua Enlai Currents of Identity and Alin Mosbit. During this phase, the artists will be collaborating to create a few episodes/scenes asa works-in-progress. They plan to hold a presentation for an invited audience of colleagues and peers for feedback. Multicultural Arts Victoria looks forward to supporting the next stage of the creative development process of this exciting collaboration.

a palimpsest -Tony Yap Company in Korea Palimpsest- literally, scraping the vellum of one manuscript which is then re-written upon. The creative development –Tony Yap Company (tyc) comprising choreographer/dancer Tony Yap, composers/musicians Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, and visual artist Naomi Ota spent several weeks in Munmak, Sth Korea in December 2007 working on a creative development with the Hooyong Performing Arts Centre Resident Company, Theatre Nottle and Indonesian dancer Agung Gunawan The project is directed by Young-Oh Won, with playwright Hyun Woo Kim and performers Dae-Gun Kim, So-Young Lim and Jee-Hyun Lee. This new work will undergo further development in 2008 and will be performed in Indonesia in November and Seoul in December 2008. The new work, working title Palimpsest is an investigation of the processes of attachment, Palimpsest suffering and silence. Creating the work, while living together in the converted primary school which is Theatre Nottl's home brings an intensity and a deep engagement with each other. The project came about through the connection made between Tony Yap and Mr Won, initially at the Little Asia Creators Meeting in 2004. Each day we meet after communal breakfast and cleaning we meet in the studio: which has become transformed daily by Naomi's visual design from paper and rock. We improvise, score and discuss (via several languages) what is working and what the language of the work will be. We have had trips together to a local, small and beautiful Buddhist temple and Sculpture Park, to Wonju to the chimchiban (a communal bath house with saunas, hot baths, and plenty of families), to the Korean BBQ restaurant complete with karaoke, to Seoul to visit the Arko Theatre where we will perform next year. This is a deep experience of creation: intercultural, and interdisciplinary- with the centre of the focus being the ability of the artists involved to create from their imaginations. Trust and intuition combined with committed work cross cultural contexts. This is what we are working with. We are very grateful to the Australian International Cultural Council, Multicultural Arts Victoria and to Theatre Nottle who have all generously supported the Australian artists to MAV folio work collaboratively in Korea. Page6 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 7

Koori Youth Will Shake Spears This year marks the 20th year for Koori Youth Will Shake Spears who have been the highlight of MAV's Black Harmony Gathering for the past five years. They Koori Youth Will Shake Spears were formed in 1988 and have performed at many different events around Melbourne and Victoria including festivals, concerts, conferences, school and university functions and community activities. Koori Youth give a voice to the young indigenous in Melbourne and importantly the dance group shares aboriginal culture with the wider community. Being one of the longest members of the Spears, Alister Thorpe has been with dancing with the group since 1990. His brother Coree and mates Mungarra and Alan Brown Junior joined just a few years later and they are still performing together. Allen Brown Jnr has been passing the culture down to his young boys Marlu and Kynan and we saw them on stage with the group for the first time at last years Gatheirng. Over 100 young people have danced under the banner of Koori Youth Will Shake Spears and through mentoring the older generation there will be many more Spears for years to come! Fabio Robles Fabio Robles had already attained the prestigious qualification of Maestro Superior de Danzas Folkloricas and was a registered dance teacher in Argentina when he arrived in Australia in 1981. He was 14 years old. Fabio's passion for Latin American culture compelled him to continue in these studies and subsequently win a scholarship to study at Conservatorium Gatell (Buenos Aires Argentina). Recognized internationally as a virtuoso dancer of Malambo, Fabio is a pioneer of Latin American Dance in Australia and has achieved recognition and awards as an outstanding Choreographer and Director. He and dance partner Ana Andre now co-direct Back to Back Australia, a Latin American dance studio in Nicholson Street, Fitzroy. With a history full of diverse experiences, passion and knowledge Fabio and Ana aim to bring creative people together and give them a positive and vivacious environment in which they can grow, learn and potentially work. They intend to impart and receive wisdom, inspiration, respect and integrity through the perpetual study of Latin American artistic crafts, and therefore build opportunities for those who want to work in the entertainment industry and those who seek to experience and enjoy it culturally. They believe for the industry to exist these two aspects are of equal importance and provide both the teaching of skills and the appreciation of a rich and vast culture. Fabio's expertise has lead him to training, teaching, judging, performing and work on exciting shows and festivals all over the world. Amongst other things, this year he will be working as a choreographer on television dance show So You Think You Can Dance and directing a stunning Tango performance for the Premiers Gala Dinner.

word Fabio Robles

Saloni M presents the Journey to Ithaka at La Mama Poetica Mon, 17 March, 8 pm, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton, Seven poets draw from the inspiration of Cavafy's famous philosophical poem by enjoying the journey rather than the destination, celebrating the process rather than the outcome, relishing experience rather than achievement, welcoming later rather than sooner... Saloni M is a collective of artists and writers across genres and art forms who seek to honour, interrogate and celebrate that part of themselves that is connected to the Mediterranean and/or the Middle East. The poets are: Joe De Iacovo, Helena Spyrou, Viv Wiles, Ahmed Hashim, Hidayet Ceylan, Matt Hetherington, and hosted by Angela Costi. $7/5 conc booking no. 9347 6142.

MAV folio Page7 MAV FOLIO 70 19/2/08 12:57 PM Page 8

Other ... Folio Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Jill Morgan MAV welcomes Applying for Music Grants at Sub-Editors Music Anita Larkin Youth Trainee the Australia Council: Dance Tony Yap Visual Arts Naomi Ota Little G AKA Gina Chrisanthopoulos, draws inspiration The Australia Council for the Arts and Multicultural Arts Victoria Word Lella Carridi from her Aboriginal and Greek backgrounds when invite you to a free information forum on applying for music Theatre Meg Larkin rapping, dancing and performing. After studying grants at the Australia Council. The session is designed for musicians seeking support for their projects. There will be tips Indigenous Performing Arts at Swinburne University, Little Multicultural Arts Victoria Staff G earned herself a name performing as the lead in the hit on how to navigate the application process, an insight into how hip-hop musical Bass Anger which confronted issues of grants are assessed, and a chance for you to ask questions. Executive Officer Jill Morgan friendship, violence, racism and love. She also worked at When: Monday 3 March at 6.30pm Finance Officer Hung Nguyen Northlands SC as Koori liaison with the two Koori Where: The Reading Room, Multicultural Arts Victoria, The Admin Officer Janette Hoe / Meg Larkin Project Officer Anita Larkin educators. Gina's performances have included many Fitzroy Town Hall, 201 Napier St, Fitzroy, Melbourne. Youth Officer Khaled Abdulwahab events in the indigenous community in Melbourne with Contact: Anita Larkin, Multicultural Arts Victoria. Ph: 03 9417 6777 or email [email protected] Black Harmony Youth Trainee Georgina Uncle Richard Frankland and Uncle Kutcha Edwards and Chrisanthopoulos gracing the stage of the Hamer Hall as a featured In addition, there are limited times available on 3 and 4 March Mix It Up coordinator Miriam Abud performer in the MIX IT UP,Visible concert. for individual client meetings with Australia Council Music Graphic Design Tony Yap After having time out for a while, Gina has joined the MAV section staff member Andy Rantzen. For more information, or to Photos Bill Poon, Georgia Metaxas, Josh team as a trainee on the Black Harmony Gathering. MAV arrange a meeting, please contact Andy Rantzen at the Australia Robenstone, Natasha Blankfield, Claudia will train and give professional experience in all aspects of Council on (02) 9215 9115 or email Sangiori Dalimore [email protected] coordination of the event to Gina as a young member of kultour Rohini Sharma the Indigenous community. The initial training for the BHG is for one Indigenous person in 2008 with the possibility Multicultural Artists of development over future years. This trainee position Multicultural Arts Victoria has been developed as a result of community consultation Booking Service Fitzroy Town Hall with the Warrior Spirit Art Collective who are keen for Gina Opening doors to the world we share……. 201 Napier St Fitzroy to assist on this event as well as the 20 year celebration PO Box 2179 Fitzroy DC 3065 of "Koori Youth Will Shake Spears" which is an important Multicultural Arts Victoria represents a vast network of artists P 9417 6777 land mark for the local Preston mob! and communities resident in Victoria. We have an extensive list F 9416 3342 Gina is just as happy to be in the office as we are to have of high quality and diverse cultural performers and artists for E [email protected] her here,“ It's an honour to be working behind the scenes your concerts, events, festivals and educational programs. With W www.multiculturalarts.com.au on both projects. Gaining knowledge is one of my strong connections to multicultural communities in Melbourne passions so in helping represent my people and working we are able to source the ideal performance or workshop to suit with a diverse network of indigenous people I'm learning your requirements. every day.” Gina's position is generously funded by the For information on artists and fees contact Meg Larkin in the Besen Foundation office on 9417 6777 or [email protected]

Little G