1 2017 CAIRNS & REGION COMMUNITY EVENTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIARY Every effort is made to supply accurate information, but no responsibility is accepted by the compiler for errors. Compiled by Mike Friganiotis. Send event/course inclusion information to [email protected] - likewise if interested in joining, or wishing to unsubscribe from, the mailing list . THIS DIARY IS ALSO POSTED AND UPDATED ON THE FAMILY LAW PATHWAYS WEBSITE, FNQ SECTION – http://www.qldfamilylawnet.org.au/networks/far-north-queensland/activities ________________________________________________________________________ TEXT COLOUR CODE: RA FNQ SOCIAL/ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL/CULTURAL HOLIDAYS/SPECIAL On Now Till 14 Jun Come join Play-Connect-Grow:- We offer a supported playgroup where children can play and learn together and parents can join in or meet other parents. Everyone is welcome. In the garden at 98 Birch St, Manunda, (opposite Raintrees), Wednesdays 9:30am to 11:30am, for children between 0-5 years with their parents or guardian. A variety of fun filled activities are planned each week. Small morning tea is provided for the children, with tea and coffee available for the adults. No cost involved (gold coin donation appreciated). Reserve a place by phoning 4032 6800 Till 17 Jun Shoot from the Hip exhibition – examines the proliferation of Hipster culture and its subsequent impact on contemporary Australian Art. Gallery One, KickArts, 96 Abbott Street, Cairns Till 18 Jun FRANCESCA ROSA: MEMORIA - Francesca Rosa is a photo-media artist based in Etty Bay, Far North Queensland. Rosa’s most recent exhibition, Memoria at the Cairns Regional Gallery, is a deeply personal exploration of the life of her father, an Italian immigrant who came to Far North Queensland under the Italian-Australian Migration Agreement of 1951. However, the exhibition with its powerful images, photographs and collection of the artist’s father’s gathered and precious objects, tools and possessions will resonate with many audiences who have shared experiences of relocating to another country and creating a new life and home for their families. The installation titled Private Collection is an accumulation of objects belonging to the artist’s father, Mario Rosa (1931-2000) who travelled from Italy to Cairns in 1956 on the Aurelia ship, and settled in Innisfail to cut cane and ultimately work in the sugar industry until retirement. “Growing up in a family of nine throughout the war influenced my father’s frugality, and the process of holding onto and reusing was a way of saving for the future. However, the objects now function as time capsules, filled with the emotional weight of the past and serve as physical traces for his identity” says Ms. Rosa. Memoria is a collection of works in various media, including large-scale photographic projections that investigate the regional history of Italian migration, with particular focus on the first post-war Italians who arrived at Cairns Port for work in the Far North Queensland sugarcane industry. Under the Italian-Australian Migration Agreement of 1951, Italian immigrants were offered government assisted passage to Australia and the men were employed to cut cane for two years as a condition of this assistance. Included in the exhibition is a fascinating collection of original postcards of the ships that were used to bring migrants to Australia in the late 1940s and 1950s. A further element of the exhibition explores Australia’s response to the sudden influx of Italian migrant labour. Labelled ‘white aliens’, ‘swarthy invaders’ and ‘olive peril’, many Italian cane cutters eventually became landowners, replacing Australian and British farmers. Their success led to a fear of foreign dominance of the industry that escalated into a nationwide prejudice against Italian post-war migrants. In the exhibition, typologies and collections symbolise journeys and a passage of time. Memoria captures vernacular images of an historic time in far north Queensland, conveying notions of absence, memory and loss of Italian migrant cane cutters, especially the artist’s own father. Cairns Regional Gallery, 4046 4800. 2 Till 18 Jun MOVING HISTORIES // FUTURE PROJECTIONS - Moving Histories // Future Projections is the latest exhibition to open at the Cairns Art Gallery. It brings together some of Australia’s leading female contemporary artists working across screen based media including Mikala Dwyer and Justene Williams, Amala Groom, Deborah Kelly, Kate Blackmore and Jacinta Tobin, Joan Ross, Soda_Jerk, Angelica Mesiti and Caroline Garcia, curated by Kelly Doley and Diana Smith. The artists in Moving Histories // Future Projections approach their subject matter in a variety of ways – they turn the camera on themselves, re-stage historical events or reimagine alternative futures through speculative accounts of the past. Yet through repetition, montage and mimicry, they all explore a space where time folds in on itself and back again and each looks back while also moving forward. Collectively and individually they act as historians, archivists and archaeologists - excavating historical materials, digging through archives and channeling the past to make new connections across time and space. Speaking about the exhibition Gallery Director, Andrea May Churcher explains that the exhibition reminds us how contradictory notions of race, class and gender inextricably inform history and our perceptions of the future and that it is through the voice of the artist that we are presented with new, alternative futures. Moving Histories // Future Projections is A dLux MediaArts exhibition toured by Museums & Galleries of NSW. Fore more information: https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/4584/moving-histories-future-projections/ Till 18 Jun Michelle Nikou’s exhibition Aeiou brings together a selection of new and recent work by Michelle Nikou. It explores the Adelaide-based artist’s idiosyncratic cross-disciplinary practice, while stimulating critical thought around the legacies of modern art movements and the nature of contemporary practice. Nikou’s exhibition at the Cairns Art Gallery is innovative, playful and poetic and will challenge, entertain and stimulate conversations between viewers of all ages. Working across a range of media, the exhibition explores the Adelaide-based artist’s idiosyncratic cross-disciplinary practice, while stimulating critical thought around the legacies of modern art movements and the nature of contemporary practice. Nikou’s art practice characteristically draws on Surrealism in a reflective and productive way to transform domestic and mundane items and materials into objects of humour and marvel. She inventively uses surrealist strategies and techniques such as chance, automatism, detritus, collage, psychological or sexual metaphor, deadpan wit, surprise and juxtaposition, as well as mingling high and low art sources and cultural references. Intentionally blurring and extending the boundaries between fine art and craft, Nikou often invests unremarkable or overlooked facets of daily existence with new and unexpected significance. Nikou’s practice is also characterized by a deep engagement with language. She frequently creates installations based around a single word or phrase in a manner reminiscent of concrete poetry. She makes connections between art and literature that invoke suburban life, family interactions, relationships, and food. More info call 4046 4800 Till 18 Jun Stefan Cools – Liquidarium Meconii – II – Stefan is from the Netherlands and specializes on the examination of Butterflies, specifically meconium, the substance left after the butterfly leaves the chrysalis. Meet Stefan in his laboratory and join him in a butterfly tour of the Botanic Gardens, free, Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, 8.30am – 4pm weekdays, 8.30am – 1pm weekends, more info 4032 6650 Till 25 Jun Cultural Collective: Looking Forward, Looking Back – selected works from the Kenny Bedford collection (Torres Strait Islander), curated by Brian Robinson, Tanks Arts Centre, Tank 4, free, 9am – 4.30pm weekdays, 10am – 2.30pm weekends. Till 25 Jun Jane Dennis – Sushi Train – in her first major exhibition at the Tanks, Janes brings a sumptuous offering of raw fish prints, free, Tanks Arts Centre, Tank 4, weekdays 9am – 4.30pm, weekends 10am – 2.30pm. Launch at 6pm, 3 rd . June. Till 25 Jun Ian Smith & Glen O’Malley – Three foot six, the Sunlander – a collection of photos and paintings capturing QLD’s unique rail culture, free, Tanks Arts Centre, Tank4, weekdays 9am – 4.30pm, weekends 10am – 2.30pm. Till 1 July Cairns Dinner Theatre at the Reef Hotel Casino – Jury Duty, more info at www.cairnsdinnertheatre.com 3 Till 1 Jul Duplexor – Beyond the Double Island – Samuel Tupou’s exhibition sees the continuation of exploration into methods of duplication and concepts of duality. The works presented incorporate screen printing techniques, KickArts, 96 Abbott Street, Cairns, free entry. Till 2 Jul Brett Whiteley: Other places (somewhere else) exhibition, Cairns Regional Gallery, more info call 4046 4800 Till 8 Jul PEACOCKING ARC ARTISTS KICKARTS JIM TRAYNOR FEATURE WALL, OFFICIAL OPENING FRIDAY 9 JUNE 2017 5PM - 6PM, 96 Abbott Street, Cairns Till 13 Jul Cairns Dinner Theatre presents Lucid – a place where your dreams can come true. A jaw dropping spectacle that blends the beauty of circus arts with spectacular costumes, music and dance to create one unbelievable show. Dine while performers entertain you from all directions. More info & tickets go to www.cairnsdinenrtheatre.com