Arts Thursday 8 October 2015

Arms and the Man, STC, designed by Michael Scott Mitchell

Set Designer and Director, Undergraduate Studies and Head of Design for Performance at NIDA – Michael Scott Mitchell

Storm Boy, STC, designed by Michael Scott Mitchell

Arts Thursday 8 October with Maisy Stapleton, at 10:30am, deals with two very distinctive themes, reflecting the state of the arts and issues of relevance to the community.

The first part centres on the journey and working life of a leading Australian designer for the performing arts, Michael Scott Mitchell, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Head of Design for Performance at NIDA and a renowned set designer for theatre, opera, dance and special events.

Michael’s credits include over 30 productions for the Sydney Theatre Company, the Ring Cycle performed in Adelaide and the design of the Olympic Cauldron for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. He is multi talented, multi-awarded for his work and a great storyteller about his work, the many pathways that design takes and some of the pitfalls in designing for live performance.

It’s a lively conversation, that also covers the new course structure at NIDA, as well as the practice of set design.

The second focus of Arts Thursday is an extraordinary exhibition at Mosman Art Gallery, An Unending Shadow – works exploring dementia by Ann and Sophie Cape.

Ann Cape and Sophie Cape, mother and daughter and both distinguished artists, were invited by the Gallery to address and capture the long-term impact of dementia, which is a growing issue in the community and has an immediate and personal relevance to both artists, through their own family situation.

Both courageously tackled the task – Ann, drawing on her highly developed skills in figurative work and portraiture and Sophie, working from heart to hand, describing emotions and perceptions directly on the canvas.

This is a rare and special exhibition, driven by both issues and the practice of talented artists.

Tune in for a fascinating conversation with Gallery Director John Cheeseman and artists Sophie and Ann Cape recorded with me in the gallery. We explore how each artist addressed the theme and how, for the first time, Mother and daughter worked simultaneously on the overall exhibition, and jointly on one of the works in the exhibition – with the give and take such a situation requires.

For further information on NIDA and Michael Scott-Mitchell go to: https://www.nida.edu.au/courses/vet/our-teachers/michael-scott-mitchell

To see Michael’s work for the Sydney Theatre Company go to: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/magazine/posts/2015/august/archive-michael-s-m

For further information on An Unending Shadow at Mosman Art Gallery go to: https://mosmanartgallery.org.au/exhibitions/an-unending-shadow-works-exploring-dementia-by-ann-and-sophie-cape

If you miss this program in real time, you can listen to the whole program after noon on Thursday 8 October. Go to https://eastsidefm.org/arts/artsthursday/ and locate the program date 8 October 2015, to stream the program and interviews, and view the playlist.

Sophie Cape

Ann Cape