Arts in a Multicultural Australia
Issue 11:1&2 | June 1991
Double issue examining the issues of arts in a multicultural context in Australia. Looks at the diversity of art practice, how it has developed and future possibilities. There are case studies, artists' profiles and snapshots of the various arts organisations involved in culturally and linguistically diverse arts practice.
In this issue
Ethnicity and Excellence in the Arts
One of the leading debates in Cultural Studies around the world deals with the issues of cultural difference or ethnicity in relation to concepts of a national culture.
Performing in Tongues
...Underlying this linguistic fertility is a migrant intuition of the relativity of language, of the lightness and mutability of its phonology, inflections and syntax. Less portentously there is no migrant to this country who has not experienced those punning co-incidences, echoic repetitions, mutual misunderstandings and mishearings which are the basis of my scripts. It may be no accident that in 1992 Australian voices evoke first contact with the New World.
Multicultural Artworkers: Sacrificial Anodes?
This is a new notion for me. I'm sure it is a term familiar to most readers. However, just in case, this is my version of what it means. To understand it you need to appreciate that there is an hierarchical order of metals determined by their 'nobility'. A sacrifical anode is less a noble metal which is used to attract impurities away from more noble metals that you do not wish to be eroded. Thus if you wish to avoid erosion in your copper boiler, you can put a sacrificial anode in the water which will attract the impurities in the water and keep them away from your noble boiler. The link between multicultural artworkers and sacrificial anodes is entirely my own!
Multicultural, Aboriginal or Just Plain Australian
A great deal of agonising has gone on since the 1988 Bicentenary about the nature of Australian identity and therefore the nature of our distinctive culture.
Art and Racism: Inter-National Issues
The way that I want to convey that meaning [racism] here is to use a small number of relatively random examples of current art/race = art/power debates from around the world. They give a flavour of the issues. They have obvious relevance to Australia's relationship to the rest of the world, as well as to relationships within Australia.
Visions in the South Pacific: The Immigrant Artist: A Twice Told Tale
Colonial Ghettoes: the possibilities and limitations of new identity as vision.
Understanding/Misunderstanding
A reference to Wittgenstein's Zettel.
Heritage Revealed
The Australian National Gallery's library has just completed a project which documented ethnic and immigrant objects in about 750 photographs. The bulk of these photographs show textile and ceramic craft brought with immigrants to Australia or made in Australia following traditional methods and designs. Nearly 20 ethnic groups from Europe, the Middle East and Asia are represented. Photos of textiles included.
Australian Contemporary Design in Jewish Ceremony
Ritual and ceremony enrich all aspects of Jewish life, its life cycle events and daily life. Jews give constant thanks for God's munificence - for the first fruits of the season, for the food on the daily table, for new clothing donned. Everything is inbued with significance and for all events there are rituals.
Interview with James Mollison
The Office of Multicultural Affairs talks for Artlink with James Mollison, Director of the National Gallery of Victoria March 1991.
Desultory Remarks from a NESB Museologist
It is evident we are trying to redress an imbalance in the cultural representation of our heritage and arts.
The Plan
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.
Cultural Diversity and Public Galleries
Written with Joseph Eisenberg. The National Association for the Visual Arts [NAVA] is currently sponsoring a project on 'Multiculturalism and the immigrant artist in Australian visual culture'. Part of the study focuses on the role of public galleries in appreciating, exhibiting, and acquiring the work of Australian artists from non- English speaking backgrounds [NESB].
As Australian as AMPOL
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.
Metaphors of Multiculturalism
Palimpsest...Vision of a multicultural Australia. An exhibition co-ordinated by the Multicultural Arts Trust of South Australia, December 1990 Chesser Gallery Adelaide. Great colour photos.
Sprirituality Aboriginality
An exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal art 'Aboriginal Art and Spirituality' opened at the High Court of Australia in 1991. The exhibition to tour after its opening in Canberra.....All of the works in the exhibition speak quite overtly about the highly problematic intervention of the missions, the politics of racism and the way in which Aboriginal spirituality will always remain linked to the land.
Under the Southern Cross
Exhibition Review Under the Southern Cross (survey of Aboriginal Art) Noosa Regional Gallery December - January 1991
Satellite Dreaming
Making a TV documentary about indigenous people's television in Australia. Photographs on location at Ernabella in the Pitjantjatjara lands of far north west South Australia.
Other Peoples' Stories, Other Peoples' Voices
Does anyone have their right to represent stories and cultural background not their own? Does anyone have the responsibility to do so? No, I don't think so.....
SBS TV Arts
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.
Some Cultural Baggage on the Australian Literary Scene
Above all we need new myths to suit the new Australian culture which is part of the Asia Pacific region. We can't live by Aboriginal myths alone, as some have suggested, in a land so changed by our coming. The unpacking of cultural baggage by writers of all cultural groups, old and new, has to continue until it gives rise to a myth which we all recognise as fitting the Australia to which we have contributed. Wrote David Malouf.
Bring Your Own and After...Migrant Publishing
It is the responsibility of Australian Collections to preserve this material - correspondence and manuscripts as well as printed texts - in many languages, not as exotic flowers of 'accented' literature, but as integral parts of the history and literature of multicultural Australia.
A Very Personal View
A very personal view. And finally there is a need for us to allow art and artists to develop from their own roots, regardless of their country or culture of origin.
Theatre Oneiron Crosses Cultural Bridges
Theatro Oneiron (Theatre of Dreams) a Greek Australian performance ensemble established in Adelaide in the mid 1980s is the result of dedication and vision. Photo from production of 'The Courtyard of Miracles' 1991 included in the article.
Beginning in the Middle
Reflections on an exhibition of abstract art at Linden Gallery St Kilda, Melbourne March 1991. An emigrant artists once said to me "I can never abandon the figure and make purely abstract art, after all I am Greek".
Realising Our Land of Promise
Looks at a number of community arts residencies undertaken in South Australia and the art practices of Andrew Hill and Eugenia Hill.
'...The Divinity of Optimism', Le Thanh Nhon at Acacia Centre
Le Thanh Nhon and the Acacia Indo-Chinese Children's Centre.
Ngura Kujara - Two Homes
Exhibition Review: Tandanya Adelaide South Australia January - June 1991. Interviews with curators Kerry Giles Kurwingie and John Kean. Images of inma at Ernabella included in the article.
How Clay Speaks for Neville Assad
The alphabet was invented, so they say, in Lebanon. To some Lebanese, their country represents an un-broken link with the birth of human history. Non-Aboriginal Australians, by contrast, share stories of interrupted family ties, of exile and forgetting. How then do these Lebanese relate to life in Australia?
Images from the Esperanto Suite
During the process of producing his artworks, George looks for ways of translating different philosophical ideas into marks and images.
Silvia Stansfield
The ceramic work of Silvia Stansfield draws on the cultural legacy of South America. Discussion of the work of this artist with good colour photographs.
A Letter from Berlin
Hossein Valamanesh writes from Berlin hoping that this issue of Artlink will help in the understanding of the multicultural nature of Australian Culture and not assist in any way in making pigeon holes to safely classify the issue.
Mirror in Mirror
Standing between the mirrors of East and West, my art always gets an inverted image and a double interpretation. This is me.....
Accelerate
"I used to boast about you, my son the painter. You painted trees, now you paint squares to humiliate me." Quote by the artist's father in the early 1970s Melbourne.
Karin Lettau
Brief article looking at the art practice of Karin Lettau. Good colour photographs of the work.
Artists of Malaysian Origin in Melbourne
Survey of five Malaysian artists living and working in Melbourne Australia. Great colour photos of their works.
Film Makers Davor Dirlic and Laszlo Dudas
Fortunately the artists are capable of overturning all the newly acceptable conceits about them, and they might deny most of the assumptions that multicultural academics make about them, whilst still giving a new window on our world, as indeed, all good art from anywhere will.
Milan Milojevic
The artist writes about his art practice. Good colour photographs.
Observations of a Chinese Painter
Tang Qizhong is a painter and Fine Arts educator from China. He writes about his art practice and the relationship between art practices and institutions in China and Australia.
The Odyssey of Salvatore Zofrea
Zofrea wrote "I want my work to sing forever."
Julia Ciccarone
The artist writes about her art practice, in particular her preoccupation with the Australian landscape and how people perceive it. Two images are included: 'Secret Self' and 'Blanket' both from 1990.
Elizabeth Gertsakis
Illustration of her current art practice. Includes images of her work 'The Boys in the Band' from 1989.
Diario per una Vita Nuova
A multi media installation by Dennis Del Favero.
Ginger Riley Munduwalawala: Working on a Heroic Scale
Looks at the art practice of Ginger Riley Munduwalawala, born in 1937 at Ngukurr in the Northern Territory. Good colour photos of the artist and some works.
The Studio in Deer Park
Paul Borg, an artist of Maltese origin, speaks of his unusual working arrangements.
A Matter of Representation
Since the birth of Australian television, non-anglo Australians have suffered from an acute case of foreign accent syndrome. Unfortunately 35 years on they are still suffering, not only from bad accents usually spoken by Anglo actors playing NESBs, but from the dearth of authentic storylines and subsequently the lack of accurate representation of NESBs on our TV and screens.
Alike/Unalike: Cultural Diversity in Australian Independent Film
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.
Zsuzsa Kollo
Looks at the ceramic works of Zsuzsa Kollo which refer to Pre-historic, Eastern, and Christian works. includes b/w photo.
Janusz Kozak
Looks at the art practice of Januzs Kozak, a painter who was born in Poland and who now works and lives in Wollongong.
Collaborative Impressions
Exhibition review: Works by Nola Routoulas, Helen Karpathakis, Nora Mantzioris and Alexandra Akritidis.
Artzone Gallery, Adelaide South Australia April 1991
Backyard Culture
Questions of memory, history and identity in the work of Leandro Salomone.
Unpacking My Cultural Bundle
I migrated to Australia from China in March 1983 with nothing but 60 kg of books and manuscripts plus a big cultural bundle - all the things; the Classical Literature, the History and the Philosophy that I had been taught over the last 24 years....
Srecko Radman "... In the 'Start' Position"
Discussion of the artist's practice as an artist from Croatia in Melbourne since 1971 - how is it affected by linguistic and ethnic differences.
Concept of Country
Looks at the art practice of Fiona Foley (Thoorgine Country), Terry Ganadilla (Mewenbi Country) and Dale Yowingbala (Gamerdi Country), three aboriginal artists who worked together on an unusual project in Maningrida during 1991.
4 Artists from WA
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.
Gunta Parups: A Latvian in Australia
Looks at the art practice of Gunta Parups who was and remains a displaced person. The experience of leaving one's homeland as a refugee at the age of thirteen during the war is etched indelibly into her being.
Arriving at a Sense of Position
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.
People's Cultural Action in Australia: The PACIN Experience
Looks at workshops organised by PACIN - the Philippines-Australia Cultural Interaction Network for Asian and Pacific communities in Sydney.
Community Arts in Fairfield and Cabramatta
The Fairfield Community Arts Network is a community - based organisation which aims to develop cultural awareness in Fairfield with particular emphasis on the multicultural nature of the area.
A Living Museum at Work in Melbourne's Multicultural West
Those who come to know Melbourne's western suburbs find many treasures in the region's history, heritage, environment and contemporary culture.
Mixing it in Broome and Darwin
The Broome Mix is useful to bear in mind when thinking on all things multicultural - cultural diversity. In Broome that's culture - a mix of Aboriginal, Asian and European.
BulaBula: New High Tech Arts Centre, Ramingining
The three storey facility looks incongruous in the ramshackle Aboriginal settlement of Ramingining which crouches along a dirt road in an Arnhem Land eucalypt forest 550 km east of Darwin in the Northern Territory. Photos of people in Ramingining.
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.
Crossing Cultures in Dance
Looks at the dance practice of the Bharatam Dance Company from Melbourne and at that stage in its 5th year of operation. Photos of the dancers in production included.
New Artist's Group: Dihedron
The tendency to pigeon hole 'ethnic' art as a second class art practised by minority groups is common in Australia too... Dihedron is a group of artists and supporters operating in Brisbane who share the common goal of helping artists in socio-cultural isolation.
Reflecting the Mix - Insights: Visual Resource Guide to Film and Video
If mainstream television is not our main source of accurate images, how do people gain access to programs which reflect our society in realistic and creative ways?
Cultural Iconographies
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.
Are You Being Served? An Open Invitation from MAC
Multicultural Artworker's Committee [MAC] aims to provide all citizens with equal opportunity to access and promote art in its various forms.
National Multicultural Arts Network
The Network links NESB, ethnic and arts organisations, sets up cross cultural and other training programs for artists, arts organisations and the media and lobbies governments and other funding bodies to reassess their policies and practices.
A New Multiculturalism-in-the-Arts Program for South Australia
In December 1990 the South Australian Government announced a new 'Multiculturalism-in-the-Arts' Program to encourage major arts organisations in receipt of government funding to increase their activities for people from linguistic and culturally diverse backgrounds.
List of Resource Material for the Arts in Multicultural Australia
A great starting point for more research in this area. List prepared by Dr Helen Andreoni, of the School of Aboriginal and Multicultural Studies, University of New England.
Juggling the Roles
Exhibition Review: An Art and Working Life Project
Hosted by the Working Women's Centre Prospect Gallery
South Australia
March 1991
Failsafe Opera
Exhibition Review: Performance Installation by Andrew Petrusevics and Chris Gaston
Adelaide Univsersity Union Art Gallery
7 - 21 March 1991
Luk Luk Gen!
Exhibition Review: Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Adelaide South Australia
November 1990 - June 1991
Archetypal Strategies
Exhibition Review: Josie Starrs, Margaret Worth, Fay Poole and Barbara Zerbini
Experimental Art Foundation
Adelaide South Australia
June 1990 and touring to regional galleries.
Festival of Perth Visual Arts Conference
Exhibition Review
The Emperor's New Clothes
March 1-3 1991
Emoh Ruo: Homage to the Art of the Home
Exhibition Review: Paula Hart, Paul O'Connor, Sarah Toohey and friends Crafts Council Gallery
Perth Western Australia
February - March 1991
Festival of Perth Exhibitions
Ehibition Review: Galerie Dusseldorf
Douglas Chambers and The Glick International Collection
Held February - March 1991
Setting an Agenda for the Arts in Tasmania
Review: State Arts Conference
Tasmanian Arts Industry Council
April 1991
Photographs of delegates to the conference included.