Northcity4 seminar: Exchanges and Sisterworks
Maryann Talia Pau is one of the speakers at tomorrow night's seminar Exchanges at Northcity4.
I find the work and practice of Maryann incredibly inspiring.
Not only is her work innovative and beautiful, Maryann also works on a number of projects with the wider community, sharing her cultural beliefs and traditions as well as a political conscience with projects such as 1 Million Stars to End Violence.
If you would like to hear Maryann talk about her practice, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.
“For me, weaving is inherently innovative and healing. It is a special head, heart and hand language that demands agility, courage and good old fashioned patience. When I weave, whether its with materials, words or ideas, I imagine my ancestors - their humour, wisdom and mischief and how that can inform my identity as an Australian with roots in Samoa.“
“Every piece comes from love. For me it has to. That’s the most important power for me.”
Maryann Talia Pau
This year Northcity4 hosted a star weaving workshop with Maryann and hope to do more in the future.
Another event that coincides with the seminar is the Sisterworks installation on the outside of the building.
SisterWorks is a social enterprise that provides practical support to women refugees and asylum seekers, assisting them to achieve economic independence as the makers of handcrafted products.
Northcity4 invited Minna Loft, an Fine Arts Honours student at Monash University, to propose an installation for the facade of Northcity4.
Minna who also volunteers at SisterWorks has curated a
collaboration between SisterWorks and Northcity4 to create awareness about
SisterWorks.
A one day workshop was held at NC4 in September this year, where women met
and crafted the pieces for the window display.
On Saturday October 12 2013, the pieces were installed and
SisterWorks set up a small pop up stall at NC4 to sell and showcase their work.
SisterWorks will have a selection of handcrafted pieces on
display and for sale at the seminar tomorrow night. I have seen some of the work and it is amazing.
The Key of Sea will also be selling CDs an their recently published journal, and Maryann will be selling some of her work.
So there is a lot on offer at our seminar this Thursday night.
You can buy tickets at the Northcity4 website and tickets will also be available at the door.
I hope that you can join us for this special event.
Northcity4 seminar: Exchanges
This coming Thursday Northcity4 is holding our third seminar: Exchanges
The initial thoughts for this seminar came to me last year when I was at the launch of the second album by The Key of Sea.
I was struck by the power of music to unite people regardless of language. The exchange which happened between these different cultures celebrated the uniqueness and beauty of each.
The arts all share this amazing ability to communicate across different cultures and people.
At a planning meeting for Northcity4's 2013 program, I raised this idea and we all decided to explore it in this seminar.
About this event (from Northcity4's blog):
Romani Benjamin has written about The Key of Sea and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in a previous post on Northcity4's blog. You can read it here
I hope that you will be able to make the evening.
Tickets can be brought online here
The initial thoughts for this seminar came to me last year when I was at the launch of the second album by The Key of Sea.
I was struck by the power of music to unite people regardless of language. The exchange which happened between these different cultures celebrated the uniqueness and beauty of each.
The arts all share this amazing ability to communicate across different cultures and people.
At a planning meeting for Northcity4's 2013 program, I raised this idea and we all decided to explore it in this seminar.
About this event (from Northcity4's blog):
Cultural exchange is at the heart of nurturing and celebrating diversity. Within our communities this openness provides the opportunity for partnerships to develop and creative expression to flourish.
This seminar will explore local examples of how various forms of creative exchange have been used to celebrate and support difference, whilst at the same time offering an opportunity for individuals to feel safe, inspired and supported.
When: Thursday 31 October 6-8pm 2013
Speakers:
Romani Benjamin and Hugh Crosthwaite – Founders of The Key of Sea, Romani and Hugh will talk about their initiative that aims to create a lasting celebration of Australia’s cultural diversity through music.
Maryann Talia Pau – is a maker and aspiring ‘Matuauu’, Samoan matai/chief language for Super Weaver. Maryann will share how she explores the language of weaving to celebrate her Samoan ancestry, while at the same time using it to inform her identity as an Australian.
Courtney Green - Social and Community Development Coordinator Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Courtney will discuss how Australia’s leading asylum seeker organization is using community engagement and mentorship to assist some of the most disadvantaged people in our community.
Each speaker will discuss their individual projects. This will be followed by an opportunity for wider discussion with the group.
Cost: $20
Romani Benjamin has written about The Key of Sea and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in a previous post on Northcity4's blog. You can read it here
I hope that you will be able to make the evening.
Tickets can be brought online here
Northcity4 workshops
Northcity4 has some great workshops coming up in the next couple of months.
We are also involved in Craft Cubed and have workshops and an Open Day planned during this time.
I will be teaching a 4 week workshop on Lost Wax Casting, which starts in August.
More information can be found on the website : www.northcity4.com
Northcity4 in July
Northcity4 has 2 exciting events running in July. The first is a Masterclass with renowned contemporary jeweller, Manon Van Kouswijk. This workshop will run for 2 days over the weekend 14th and 15th July.
Pennie Jagiello NC4 gate installation
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| Pennie Jagiello, Speech Bubble |
This Saturday and Sunday, Northcity4 is running 2 great workshops:
1. Pennie Jagiello Message in a Bottle Saturday June 16, 10 - 4pm: create a neckpiece from recycled materials
2. Nicky Hepburn - Keepsake Sunday June 17 10 - 4pm: explore making rings from alternative materials
There are still places available in each workshop, please visit Northcity4 for more information.
So, not only is Pennie running a workshop this weekend, she has also just installed an amazing artwork on the front of our building! This installation is the first in our gate installation project where we will be inviting different artists to engage with the outside of the building. This installation can be viewed all hours up until July 27 2012 : 61 Weston Street Brunswick.
Check out Northcity4's blog for more information on this exciting installation.
Workshops in June - Northcity4
On Saturday 16 June from 10 - 4pm, we have Pennie Jagiello giving a workshop using recycled plastics to create a neckpiece.
On Sunday 17 June from 10 - 4pm, Nicky Hepburn is running a workshop using alternative materials to create a ring, or series of rings!
for more information check out our website: www.northcity4.com
Anna Davern workshop Northcity4
Due to popular demand, Anna Davern is running a second workshop on Sublimation printing at Northcity4
To enrol in this workshop, download the enrolment form from the website and submit with payment (instructions on the form).
I am looking forward to this workshop, should be very interesting.
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NC4 Seminar
Remember! Our first seminar is this Thursday at Northcity4
Seats are limited, so it is important to book.
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Links
I am moving all my links over to Northcity4, we should have a links page up and running soon.
I am in the process of updating my website and designing new work. I hope to have something in my shop on the website soon ( soon might = a couple of months, but hopefully not).
Northcity4
Thank you to everyone who came to our opening on Friday night, it meant a great deal to us all.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us to get to this stage, it is so greatly appreciated
Limited edition prints for NC4
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Here are the two prints I have made for the launch.There is an edition of 20 for each print.
The paper size is :
380mm wide
570 length
Every print has been hand painted with watercolour paint, so they are all slightly different.
The first print.
The second print.
Print number 1 (small box) $170
Print number 2 (detail) $250
These prices are just for the launch night: Friday March 2, 6-8pm Northcity4
61 Weston Street Brunswick 3056
Kate Gorringe-Smith and NC4 prints
I printed these linocuts with the assistance of Kate Gorringe-Smith, a Melbourne based printmaker and friend.
Her work is available through Port Jackson Press in Smith St.
Kate was such a great help to me doing these prints.
It has been a number of years since I last did a linocut, so I not only needed technical help, I also needed access to a press! And Kate provided me with both.
I would love to do more printmaking, I like that it is tool based like gold and silversmithing, and that you have to go through a number of processes to get to the finished piece and that every print is slightly different as it is hand printed.
These two prints are about a celebration of hand skills in a contemporary context.
This detailed linocut I printed first.
It is the detail which is on the box which is the other linocut.
Everything about this linocut took a long time, which was why it was printed first.
When Kate left me in her studio to keep printing I was left with my trusty assistant.
The job she had was to try and look like a cat, something she does very well.
The second linocut.
This is actually the first, as I see the two as a pair. The box image, then the detail of the box.
Thank you Kate!
Her work is available through Port Jackson Press in Smith St.
Kate was such a great help to me doing these prints.
It has been a number of years since I last did a linocut, so I not only needed technical help, I also needed access to a press! And Kate provided me with both.
I would love to do more printmaking, I like that it is tool based like gold and silversmithing, and that you have to go through a number of processes to get to the finished piece and that every print is slightly different as it is hand printed.
These two prints are about a celebration of hand skills in a contemporary context.
This detailed linocut I printed first.
It is the detail which is on the box which is the other linocut.
Everything about this linocut took a long time, which was why it was printed first.
When Kate left me in her studio to keep printing I was left with my trusty assistant.
The job she had was to try and look like a cat, something she does very well.
The second linocut.
This is actually the first, as I see the two as a pair. The box image, then the detail of the box.
Thank you Kate!
Bike image by Kasia, bike by Ben
You may have seen this image, it has appeared in a number of places lately, it was taken by my friend Kasia Zygmuntowicz.
Thank you Kasia!
The bike itself was re conditioned by the talented Ben Sheppard and is one of 3 bikes that Ben has donated to Northcity4 for use by the tenants and friends of NC4
Thank you Ben!
Northcity4 blog and launch
We have been very busy at Northcity4.
You can check out what we are up to on our blog
Remember, our launch is this Friday, March 2, 6-8pm
We have excellent door prizes:
- 2 tickets to Eddie Palmieri, donated by Straightup
- a beautiful necklace made by one of my favourite jewellers and people, Anna Clynes
Also, I have made 2 limited edition hand painted prints which are for sale on the night
Caz Guiney has made a limited edition of badges, and Ali Limb has also made a limited series of special necklaces.
We are hoping to raise money to set up the school.
As green air is important to us, we are hoping to also raise money to buy plants for the building, so we have a plant pledge!
And on top of all that, NC4 is being opened by Marcus Westbury, a man held in great esteem by all of us.
AND we have Natalia Milosz-Piekarska speaking on her recent experiences overseas and the impact that has had on her work.
AND there will be top notch wine from one of my favourite wineries - Mount Langi Ghiran
food from The Brunswick Foodstore, five minutes up the road from NC4
and DJ BS will be spinning some tunes
and I am sure there is more! will let you know
Northcity4
61 Weston Street Brunswick 3056
www.northcity4.com
You can check out what we are up to on our blog
Remember, our launch is this Friday, March 2, 6-8pm
We have excellent door prizes:
- 2 tickets to Eddie Palmieri, donated by Straightup
- a beautiful necklace made by one of my favourite jewellers and people, Anna Clynes
Also, I have made 2 limited edition hand painted prints which are for sale on the night
Caz Guiney has made a limited edition of badges, and Ali Limb has also made a limited series of special necklaces.
We are hoping to raise money to set up the school.
As green air is important to us, we are hoping to also raise money to buy plants for the building, so we have a plant pledge!
And on top of all that, NC4 is being opened by Marcus Westbury, a man held in great esteem by all of us.
AND we have Natalia Milosz-Piekarska speaking on her recent experiences overseas and the impact that has had on her work.
AND there will be top notch wine from one of my favourite wineries - Mount Langi Ghiran
food from The Brunswick Foodstore, five minutes up the road from NC4
and DJ BS will be spinning some tunes
and I am sure there is more! will let you know
Northcity4
61 Weston Street Brunswick 3056
www.northcity4.com
Northcity4 website
The Northcity4 website is live!
We (Romani Benjamin, Anna Davern, Caz Guiney and Ali Limb) are very proud of this.
many thanks to Shelli Whitehurst at Code Name Max
as well as the talented Andrew Phillips
and Anna Davern for all their hard work in making our website a reality
Please visit our new site and while you are there feel free to subscribe to our mailing list
New work by Anna Davern
Anna Davern has a new exhibition opening in Sydney this coming week.
It is at Studio 20/17 and runs from 7 - 25 February 2012.
from Studio 20/17
I have been lucky enough to see this work in progress.
This is a quiet and powerful body of work.
Quiet, because the colours are subdued and considered. There are no extraneous details to take away from the subject matter and the materials. Both are left to speak for themselves.
Anna will be in Sydney for the opening and the artist talk. Details can be found here
all images by Anna Davern
The Davernator better get back to Melbourne tout sweet, as Northcity4 needs her.
It is at Studio 20/17 and runs from 7 - 25 February 2012.
If I was in Sydney this is where I would be.
Gold and Steel are materials that are intrinsically tied to stories of our culture and how we define ourselves. Our cultural myths abound with references to gold and steel: Our egalitarian heritage that can be tied back to the Gold Rush and it’s opportunities for all, and the steel of Ned Kelly’s armour which represents our distrust of authority. The landscape from which these materials originate, is a defining element of our identity, from the iron-oxide red of the centre to the golden sands of its edges.
Anna has long been interested in the concept of Australian identity and the role jewellery has to play in the expression of this identity. Recent investigations into the role of landscape in the definition of our identity have taken her work off the body and onto the wall. With this new work, Anna plans to use of the materials of gold and steel to put the landscape onto the body.
from Studio 20/17
I have been lucky enough to see this work in progress.
This is a quiet and powerful body of work.
Quiet, because the colours are subdued and considered. There are no extraneous details to take away from the subject matter and the materials. Both are left to speak for themselves.
Anna will be in Sydney for the opening and the artist talk. Details can be found here
all images by Anna Davern
The Davernator better get back to Melbourne tout sweet, as Northcity4 needs her.
The Craft Blog
Craft Victoria has a new blog:
The Craft Blog
It looks pretty exciting. There is a lot to see and be inspired by.
Image from Craft Victoria
Oh, and there is a great exhibition on at the moment by Kirsten Perry
The Craft Blog
It looks pretty exciting. There is a lot to see and be inspired by.
Image from Craft Victoria
Oh, and there is a great exhibition on at the moment by Kirsten Perry
Northcity4
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I am involved in an exciting new project called Northcity4
Northcity4 is Ali Limb, Anna Davern, Caz Guiney, Romani Benjamin and Katherine Bowman (me)
this is what we are about:
We are 5 contemporary jewellery and object makers who want to celebrate, support and promote Melbourne’s amazing contemporary jewellery community.
NORTHCITY 4 is a not-for-profit organisation encompassing a shared jewellery and object studio in a healthy and professional workspace and learning environment.
We are excited! Nc4 Is a Real Thing. We have been planning and meeting and discussing and raving over bottles of wine and, finally, celebrating over bottles of champagne as our ideas and plans have come to fruition. Northcity4 is the culmination of all our hopes and passions as makers and members of our community. It will be launched officially in the new year, towards the ends of feb. (we hope)
Northcity4 is not just about us, it’s about the community we live and work in and we hope to bring it all together into this one space and share it with you and your friends.
Over the next couple of weeks we will let you know more about Northcity4.
image by Ali Limb
We have an excellent website and blog that will be launched in the new year.
And also on the horizon will be a special fundraiser which we would like to invite you and your friends to.
We ( Anna D and I) will keep you posted!
image by Romani Benjamin
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image by Ali Limb
We have an excellent website and blog that will be launched in the new year.
And also on the horizon will be a special fundraiser which we would like to invite you and your friends to.
We ( Anna D and I) will keep you posted!
image by Romani Benjamin
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