Shine a light!
Arts Thursday 29th January 2015 – an exhibition that lights up the everyday and how to plan your theatre-going in 2015.
There’s so many performances crowding our stages, it’s often hard to know what to see, or to plan for.
On Arts Thursday with Maisy Stapleton, we first talk to Deborah Jones, former arts editor of The Australian newspaper about performances of interest in 2015, ranging from classical ballet, to musical theatre and drama.
This fascinating discussion is followed by a visit to the current exhibition at the National Arts School Gallery, with Curator Judith Blackall. The exhibition Bill Culbert – The Light is in the Work features Culbert’s use of everyday and found objects and fluorescent tubing which connect to make the ordinary extraordinary.
Culbert represented New Zealand at the 2013 Venice Biennale and some of these works feature in the exhibition, including a version of Pacific Flotsam, which both captures the unexpected beauty of seemingly random objects in spatial collision and comments on the flotsam of a throw-away society.
Deborah Jones had a distinguished career in journalism, most recently as editor of the Review section of The Australian. She is now a freelance writer and editor, specialising in dance, musical theatre, theatre and opera.
She continues to review dance and musical theatre for The Australian, is a member of the Sydney Theatre Awards panel and reviews opera performances in Sydney for the London-based Opera magazine and writes a popular blog on her observations which you can find at https://deborahjones.me/ .
Judith Blackall is an independent curator and producer of contemporary art projects based in Sydney.
She was formerly Head, Artistic Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, responsible for the curatorial, registration, conservation and collections teams, touring exhibitions and off-site projects.
Judith has worked directly on more than 30 exhibitions and projects, international touring exhibitions and outreach initiatives for the MCA.
Prior to joining the MCA in 1997, Judith lived and worked in Italy for 15 years. She was co-ordinator of the Australia Council studio for Australian artists il Paretaio until 1990. She has worked in contemporary art galleries in Milan and Florence, the Museo Pecci in Prato and was exhibition coordinator of the first Florence Biennale Art/Fashion presented throughout the city in 1996.
Judith is currently working with the National Art School and has curated their new exhibition Bill Culbert – the light is in the work! Work over 35 years of his work, including works that were exhibited in the New Zealand Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2013.
Bill Culbert – The light is in the work can be seen at the National Art School Gallery until 7 March 2015 and you can find out more about the National Art School and its Gallery at https://www.nas.edu.au/experience/NASGallery
You can listen to the entire show again through this web site – just go to the Arts Thursday page and scroll to the progam on 29th January.
Arts Thursday, every fortnight with Maisy Stapleton on Eastsidefm