Voices of the Wheatbelt photography Exhibition in Ravensthorpe

2014 Premier's Australia Day Award Winners for Community Group

Below is an excerpt from the Ravensthorpe Progress Association's successful nomination of The Ravensthorpe  Regional Arts Council for a 2014 Australia Day Award.

The Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council continue to deliver a range of quality arts and cultural activities that engage, excite and bring together families and communities.

2013 has been a particularly exciting year, with the RRAC offering a challenging and diverse program of events, presenting new experiences in unique locations.  Whilst there have been a number of musical, dance and staged performances brought in for our enjoyment, it was the locally produced events, which had a significant impact both here and in outlying regions.  These events demanded long hours of planning and much hard work, enthusiasm and commitment, by the RRAC members, to bring to fruition.

Ravensthorpe Shire President Mr Ian Goldfinch presents the award to representatives of the Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council; Sue Leighton, Fay O'Brien, Madeleine Norman and Jen Chambers.

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2014 Annual Artistic Program Overview

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council

2014 Planned Annual Artistic Program Overview

*Inquiries for all events to Mel Daw on 0427 381 530, please note some events, dates and venues are yet to be confirmed (TBC) and subject to change.

Date	Event	Venue	Information
Feb 17 – 24 Daily from 9am to 4pm	Voices of the Wheatbelt Photography exhibition	Dunnart Studio Gallery.	A touring exhibition from Art on the Move and Community Arts Network WA. Gold coin donation to the gallery on entry is appreciated. Gallery shop open during exhibition.
Mar 2 TBC as waiting on funding notification.	Flak   Theatre	Hopetoun Town Hall	Based on his two best-selling books, Flak and Fly, well-known writer and performer Michael Veitch presents 'Flak - True stories from the men who flew in World War Two' -  in which he takes on the roles of former airmen, recounting their extraordinary, true and largely untold stories of combat in the air war of 1939-45.
Mar 21	Get Hypnotised   Hypnotist	Ravensthorpe Town Hall	Turning the traditional hypnosis show on its head, Get Hypnotised! The Matthew Hale Comedy Show will highlight the talents and creativity of the audience volunteers. The entire audience will be laughing at this multi-award winning show that is now a regular on the UK and Vegas performance scenes. (Country Arts WA)
May 2	Harry Potter Pantomime	TBC	From the crazy crew who brought the Canterbury Tales to Hopetoun last year; sure to appeal to adults and children alike.
May 24	Calendar Girls	Ravensthorpe Town Hall	From the Tim Firth movie of the same name and based on the true story of eleven Women’s Institute members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund. Also includes exhibition of the Pink Thread Portrait Project and Community Calendar of Events compiled by the RRAC and RCRC.
July 26th	Squaring the Wheel	TBC	Following the hilarity with the quirky and unexpected is Jens Altheimer in Squaring the Wheel. This show brings together circus skills, puppetry, magic, wacky mechanisms and a little tomfoolery in a high energy and clever blend of entertainment. Taking out the 2013 Adelaide Fringe Award for Best Presentation for Children, this theatrical and whimsical performance is bound to delight the whole family.
August 4 to Sept 14 TBC	Dust of Uruzgan	Jerdacuttup Hall	In a powerful and heartwarming combination of songs, narrative and photo projections, Fred Smith delivers an important offering to the Australian public in The Dust of Uruzgan. Skillfully combining his larrikin spirit, wry humour and touching songs, this masterful storyteller eases the audience through the complex and fascinating terrain of a war he has experienced first-hand.

 

To keep updated with various workshops and activities throughout the year, connect with the Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council on Facebook by liking our page, by following the BlogSpot at www.raveaboutarts.blogspot.com.au and by emailing your details to rraccoordinator@westnet.com.au to be included on the mailing list.

Chairperson's Report AGM 8th February 2014

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council Inc

Chairpersons Report

Annual General Meeting 8 February 2014

Our Vision - A sense of belonging and community cohesion through the arts and culture as an integral part of everyday life in our region.

 

In considering RRAC’s activities in 2013, I think the organisation has really delivered on its Vision statement to the fullest extent.

 

2013 saw RRAC commit to a major change in how the organisation has been run. The Management Committee appointed a part time paid Coordinator to enable us to better manage our Annual Program. This role involves among many things - administration, marketing and promotion of events, seeking sponsorship and  completion of funding applications and acquittals.  I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Melissa Daw firstly for taking on this new role and for the professional and capable manner she has demonstrated in fulfilling it. This has relieved our volunteers of a lot of work, however they have more than compensated by their leadership and involvement in projects throughout the year.

 

At our 2013 AGM we viewed some examples of community dance projects from other towns in preparation for our involvement in a nationally funded community dance project, Future Landings 2013. The dance project was a major commitment for RRAC and a brave step into the unknown. Three of our committee set off on a three day conference with all the other dance project participants from the other towns involved. This excursion obviously set the creative juices flowing and gave time for brain storming some of our other planned projects and the seed was sown for Homespun.

 

In April, Historian Lyn Dale was invited to  Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe  for three days of story telling and sharing of family memorabilia under the theme of women in the armed forces and preserving family history. This residency was hugely successful with participants using quilt making to record family stories and learning ways to preserve and display special historical mementos and documents. Many family stories and recollections of life experiences were shared.

 

The community enjoyed touring shows in Jane Germain and the Lazy Boys, Canterbury Tales and Wintering. Wintering being a further intro into the world of contemporary dance and warming the community and potential writers and dancers for involvement in Wheel of Fortunes – the Ravensthorpe component of Future Landings 2013.

 

The pace quickened with taster dance and writing workshops for Wheel of Fortunes and the commencement of the Homespun project. Homespun culminated in the launch, a beautiful High Tea,          giving away the flowers and display of the panels during the Wildflower Show.  Homespun welcomed new and old community members and had incredible take up across the district.  It has been acclaimed across the country with people still asking to be sent flowers and requests to display the panels in other areas. This was community art at its best.

 

The Farm Gate Art Trail project saw more workshops, with sculptures completed and the winning entries announced at the Wildflower Show Gala Dinner.  Shots of the vocalist group Slap my Thighs and Call Me Barbara gallivanting in the giant Tea Set at Blue Vista gave RRAC even more promotion along with a radio interview about the Art Trail. 

 

The Wheel of Fortunes workshops and rehearsals continued and then on October 12 the performance in the Jerdacuttup CBH Bin outshone all expectations with two performances and a celebration at the Jerdy Hall.  Another extremely successful community art project and a huge task for all involved.

 

During the year RRAC also supported Friday Night Art at the Dunnart Gallery, the annual Art Exhibition and the Wildflower Show.  Behind  the scenes there was much paperwork seeking funding and updating our Strategic Plan.

 

Recognition was received at the Australia Day Citizen Awards this year with RRAC being presented the award for a Community Group. A well deserved acknowledgement and a badge we will be proud to wear.

 

We have been successful in achieving increased funding through CAWA for our 2014 program.  This funding was very competitive and again is recognition of our diverse program and integration with the community.  The continuing commitment from Shire of Ravensthorpe is also a very important part of our success and I thank council for its ongoing support.

 

Thank you to all the committee and our Friends of the Arts and local communities.  I look forward to being involved in the 2014 program.

 

 

Jen Chambers

Chairperson




Ravensthorpe  Regional Arts Council is supported by the Shire of Ravensthorpe, Country Arts WA and the Department for Culture and the Arts.