Multicultural Arts: Development and Change in Brisbane
It is fair to say that the development of multicultural arts and the recognition of cultural diversity in Queensland is still in its early stages. Photos (6) of an event at the Cafe Folkloric.
Cultural diversity is crucial. Film makers may be unlike (in terms of cultural background) but they are also alike (in terms of their value.) In the area of independent film, there are a number of films which deal with multicultural themes and/or give non Anglo film-makers the opportunity to express themselves. One hopes that mainstream film can take up on this lead, because, from all apparent evidence, it remains sorely imbalanced.
Looks at the 'National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia' launched by the Prime Minister in 1989 which included provision for the development of a plan for collecting institutions such as museums, art museums, libraries and archives to reflect Australia's cultural diversity in their activities and practices.
At times, life feels like a collection of unrelated events, a necklace without the string. Christl Berg writes of her experiences of leaving Germany when she was 25 and having lived in three different continents with three different cultures at varied stages in her life.
Cultural Iconographies is an exhibition of work by migrant and refugee artists who have been in Australia for a relatively short time. To take place in the Bondi Pavilion, Sydney during Carnivale October 1991.
With the exception of some programming on SBS and the ABC, artists receive very little exposure on television. The limitations of television, the need to maintain a wide audience reach, the difficult question of what is 'good art' in a televisual sense, all may help to explain the absence of living artists from this, the most powerful of all media.
Looks at the art practice of four artists in Western Australia - Patrizia Tonello, Alex Spremberg, Cathy Cinanni and Karl Wiebke. Illustrations of their independent works included.
How much marketability is immanent in the artist's cultural background is a matter of delicate negotiation between dealer and client. Just now, it may appear to some artists an unfortunate fact that for them, Aboriginality is not an option.