Meet Ian Pidd - Artistic Director
My life and career
I grew up in Hobart and began my career in the arts by spending what seemed like every weekend accompanying my parents as they rehearsed within the city's amateur theatre scene. Consequently I got immersed from an early age in theatre as diverse as Agatha Christie thrillers to productions of hit Broadway musicals. It was a blissful way to spend weekends and as soon as I could, I was appearing in plays myself, starting with Owl in‘Winnie the Poo’ for the Fern Tree Players. I left Tasmania in 1978 to study theatre in Sydney, but have maintained a close relationship with my island home.
One of my greatest working experiences was at Back To Back Theatre. The collaboration we did with Handspan, Minds Eye, was an amazing project. It was a huge hit in Melbourne and confirmed that company’s crossing over from being an ensemble of artists with a disability, which they always said was untrue, to simply being a hot theatre company.
I love the projects I regularly do in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Ramayana I directed there with Snuff Puppets was great fun and very beautiful. Founding The Village with Stuart Vaskess and Suzanne Kalk has allowed me to connect with a generation of younger artists that has been very refreshing.
My involvement with the Junction 2010 arts festival
I went to the Regional Arts Australia national conference in Horsham in Western Victoria six years ago and thought the festival was fantastic. So when TRA asked me to pitch for the directing role in Launceston I jumped at the chance. It really is one of the best festival gigs in the country. We have received an overwhelming response to the festival from artists and organisations across Australia and have extended the festival to six days from August 25-30.
My vision for Junction 2010
I want the festival to be surprising, to make people laugh, and frown and ask questions. The festival has lots of participatory work in it, so I am hoping that by the end the people of Launceston feel that they have been a part of it. I want the festival to give people a sense of optimism about the future; that feeling that if all this creativity is happening then the future is worth giving some serious thought to!
What legacy will Junction 2010 leave behind for Tasmania?
I do hope that people are inspired by the art they see and the people that they meet at the event. I am also hopeful that many Tasmanian artists will find new collaborators, and that the visiting artists find reason to return to Tasmania and work again. We are also mentoring some incredibly talented young Tasmanians so that they get the rare chances to work on this scale. For instance the festival Associate Artistic Director is the marvellous Joseph Pickett, who will be a force to be reckoned with any minute now. And, who knows, if the festival is a success perhaps we can make it an annual event.
Conference Venues in Launceston
We are delighted to welcome delegates to the beautiful city of Launceston in the north of Tasmania. The venues for the conference are located in the city centre and are within walking distance of each other. If you have not already booked your accommodation and would like some assistance, please contact the Launceston Travel Centre: http://www.visitlaunceston.com.au/ or on their FREECALL: 1800 651 827.
Two of the venues for the conference are:
Princess Theatre
The elegant, historic Princess Theatre will be the venue for the Junction 2010 plenary sessions. The theatre boasts stamped metal ceilings in the foyer and a magnificent dome in the auditorium. The theatre was originally built for Mr Marino Lucas, a vaudeville entrepreneur from Hobart. On opening night in 1911 the backstage area was still to be completed so silent films were shown. This proved to be so lucrative that the Theatre operated as a cinema until 1970. In 1970 the Launceston City Council bought the Princess Theatre, which opened as a live venue (its original purpose) to great fanfare on 16 November that year with a gala performance by the Australian Ballet.
For more information log onto www.theatrenorth.com.au
Albert Hall
In addition to other events, the conference gala dinner to be held on Saturday, August 28 will be held at the historic Albert Hall. Built in 1891 to house the Tasmanian Industrial Exhibition, the Albert Hall is one of Launceston's most significant heritage buildings. The corner stone was laid by Samuel John Sutton, Esq. Mayor of Launceston on 2 April 1890. The exhibition itself was designed to ease the social misery caused by the depression of the 1880s.
The historic Brindley organ, situated in the Great Hall, was featured in the celebrations. "Nearly 2000 pipes, 30 pedals, 27 stops and a million parts seemed like a lot of trouble to go to create a single musical instrument". It is Australia's largest surviving organ pre-dating 1860, a rare example of the work of organ builder Charles Brindley and is the oldest community organ. Built of local timbers including blackwood and huon pine, the organ's bellows are lined with original kangaroo skin. Believed to be the only one of its type in the world when installed in the Mechanics Institute, the organ originally was hand blown "by two strong men or one exceptionally strong man". In being relocated to the Albert Hall, it was later powered by water and has since been adapted to run on electricity, with water as a backup.
For more information log onto www.alberthall.com.au
My Journey as a Tasmanian Aborginal Artist - by Vicki West
If you listen, you may hear voices gently whispering - they speak of pride in its people, ancient customs and beliefs and a need to identify with its own specific culture. There are also mutterings of discontent, displacement, detachment and disempowerment. What and who are we, as individuals and collectively? Where do we find ourselves in this current socio-political climate? What is our role? What and where is our place today upon our land? How do we feel about it all? There is a need for celebration of everything we ever were and are now but how do we do this?
As an artist I explore these issues of Aboriginal identity and cultural survival within a broader contemporary Australian society. For me, art in its various forms (i.e. visual, oral and written), is a tool for cultural revival and survival for my people. I try to address and express these concerns in my arts practice and in doing so celebrate my Aboriginal identity. Art is my way to ensure my voice is heard.
Materials carry meaning and along with traditional/historic references, the location or source is integral to understanding the artwork. Kelp, a plant fibre from the ocean, is the traditional material used by the ancestors, and continues to be my preferred material for weaving. Over the last few years my work has evolved into installations and sculptural forms, varying from large scale installations to very delicate and intricate smaller works combining kelp and other natural fibres and fabrics with introduced material like barbed wires, fencing wires etc.
Working with the traditional materials and in the traditional ways has been important for me in reconnecting with the Aboriginal heritage and culture. Sitting with other women in the Community, and sharing stories while we weave, much in the same way as it has been for thousands of generations is a very grounding experience. One of my most rewarding projects I have being involved in was Tayenebe as a tutor, mentor and artist. It was a highly rewarding experience to work with 37 women learning the art of weaving, and I was privileged to share my skills and knowledge.
The traditional Aboriginal shell necklace makers, which are a significant part of the Aboriginal cultural practice in Tasmania, have also been a huge influence and inspiration in my journey as a Tasmanian artist. Tasmania has a remarkable Aboriginal arts community and people like Ricky Maynard (Indigenous Photographer) and Julie Gough (Writer and Researcher, Visual artist) are some of the few examples of the wealth of talent in our state.
I believe Junction 2010 is a great platform to spread awareness about Tasmanian art and the scope of the Tasmanian art community. My experience as artist in residence at the previous conference Art at the Heart at Alice Springs, gave me the opportunity to meet other people who shared my vision and that was extremely rewarding. I really connected with the land and custodians of the country and have expressed these influences in my future work. I am sure Junction 2010 will also leave a similar legacy for the artists in the state.
About Vicki West
Vicki West is a Tasmanian Aboriginal artist with a strong national reputation. She is represented in numerous Public collections including the National Museum of Australia, Canberra, and has been actively involved in a range of both Aboriginal and broader community projects including the Tayenebe weaving project.
For more information about Tasmanian Aboriginal art log onto www.tas-aboriginal-elders.org.au
For more information about the Tayenebe weaving project log onto http://static.tmag.tas.gov.au/tayenebe/
Photo: Project- Nasty piece of work, Material- dodder vine, kelp and silks
Tasmanian Heritage Accommodation
Launceston is noted as having one of the best-preserved early cityscapes in Australia, featuring elegant Colonial and Victorian buildings, as well as shades of an Art Deco past: A Victorian bandstand, an Art Deco fire station, the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery established in old railway workshops, and a Victorian maternity hospital transformed into a multi-million dollar home are just some of the treasures of the city.
Just 20 minutes’ drive from the heart of Launceston is a view John Constable might have painted: softly undulating green fields, lanes lined with avenues of 150 year old hawthorn, poplar and elm trees, an elegant church spire in the near distance…and, in the foreground, breathtaking Quamby Estate. Completed in the 1830s, this homage to Anglo-Indian architecture was commonly known as “Tasmania’s Government House of the north,” a reference to a former resident, the State’s first Tasmanian born Premier, Sir Richard Dry.
Quamby, owned by ex-Voyages Grant Hunt, is now a luxury retreat and public golf course, as well as the walking base for Anthology Travel’s Tasmanian experiences: Cradle Mountain Huts and Bay of Fires Walks. A Pike Withers interior redesign has replaced heavy red Regency stripes with the trademarks of a minimalist’s sense of luxury: magnolia white walls, white organza curtains, and a white linen dining room contrasted with the vibrancy of jewel-coloured contemporary landscapes by local artists (in this case, northern Tasmania’s Tony Smibert and Patrick Grieve).
A serious French influence is paramount at Peppers Calstock, near riverside Deloraine. British Tatler Magazine described Peppers Calstock as “the most enchanting small hotel on the planet”. Just half an hour from Launceston, it conjures up the very best of European country house hotels, with all of the privacy of a French chateau – set against the unique natural beauty of northern Tasmania’s Great Western Tiers. The 18th century mansion Calstock was designed to feature exactly what you would expect to find in a gentleman’s home: solid cedar doors, marble mantelpieces, fine plaster mouldings in 16-foot ceiling rooms – all features that remain intact today. Many well-travelled guests also claim the hotel features “the biggest bedroom in the world”. With sweeping views of century-old elms and oak trees, you know you’re in the country.
A-List Address Book:
Peppers Calstock Highland Lakes Road, Deloraine 03 6362 2642; Quamby Estate 1145 Westwood Road, Hagley 03 6392 2211
Other living heritage accommodation
Brickendon Farm & Historic Accommodation Stay in one of five farm cottages in this historic convict village, twenty minutes from Launceston. Woolmers Lane Road, Longford 03 6391 1251; Craiganor Regency townhouse offering luxury self-catering accommodation on the edge of the CBD. 13 York Street, Launceston 0438 055 850; Fitzpatrick’s Inn Classic Georgian inn in historic Westbury dating back to the 1830s and offering B&B accommodation and restaurant. 56 Meander Valley Road, Westbury 03 6393 1153; Kateland Manor Estate B&B boutique accommodation (c 1910) set on a 288-acre estate in the Tamar Valley. 170 West Arm Road, Beauty Point 0418 128 742; The Racecourse Inn National Trust listed, convict built Georgian coaching inn and restaurant. 114 Marlborough Street, Longford 03 6391 2352; Mountford Granary Provides farm-stay accommodation for art lovers in Illawarra Road,
Longford 03 6391 1832; The Red Feather Inn One of Van Diemen’s Land’s first coaching inns, first licensed in 1842, now operating as boutique luxury accommodation. 42 Main Road, Hadspen 03 6393 6506; Somercotes Homestead Stay in cottages occupied for many years by families who emigrated in the 1820s from England. Heritage Highway, Ross 03 6381 5231; Woolmers Estate Colonial Cottages 1840s free settlers’ cottages, near the home of the National Rose Garden. Woolmers Lane, Longford 03 6391 2230.
For more information on Launceston including where to stay, what to do, where to eat visit www.visitlaunceston.com.au or on FREECALL 1800 651 827.
Text courtesy Hilary Burden, Photo: Peppers Calstock
