Australia got its first look at the new 5 dollar note design, and the initial reviews aren’t great. The Reserve Bank has released the new Australian $5 design. We came up with a few ‘alternative’ designs, and asked UOW students what they thought of the options. Roger, the Buff Kangaroo How better to combine the beauty of the Australian environment, with our love of getting ripped at the gym, than this fully-stacked kanga-bro? One thing that we know for sure is that he never misses leg-day… Leigh Sales Queen Elizabeth may be the head of state, but we wondered:…
Author: Oliver Chaseling
A group of musicians and curators, in partnership with the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital (RBWH), have launched The Stairwell Project. The project incorporates public art and well-being initiatives that bring music into the lives of hospital staff and patients via weekly performances in the hospital’s stairwells and public spaces. The Stairwell Project echoes the research of renowned neurologist, the late Dr Oliver Sacks. In his book, ‘Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain’, Sacks said: “The power of music to integrate and cure… is quite fundamental. It is the profoundest non-chemical medication.” Principal curator of the project, Peter Breen, who a masters in arts…
Aboriginal woman and University of Wollongong Associate Professor, Bronwyn Carlson has outlined complexities facing Aboriginal people in contemporary Australia in her new book, ‘The Politics of Identity.’ A/Prof. Carlson examines how a narrow definition of what it means to Aboriginal has affected Indigenous Australian’s self-identity. She said Australian society still operates under a racist-colonial mind-frame by focusing on aspects such as skin colour to define a person’s Aboriginality. A/Prof. Carlson’s research asserts white Australia’s undue scrutiny of what is Aboriginality has gone together with a denial of Australia’s racist past, specifically pointing to Australia’s past eugenics programs. The personal experience of people like…
The “everyday” Instagram phenomenon began in 2012 with @EverydayAfrica, a platform for photographer Peter DiCampo to showcase documentary footage of the African continent. Since then, a number of “everyday” accounts have been founded in countries across the globe, including Australia, which showcase the everyday events from a professional documentary perspective. @EverydayAustralia by contrast is an open, non-curated platform where emerging photographers can, using the hash-tag’s collative properties, include their work in a collaborative and ever-evolving catalogue of imagery. #EverydayAustralia a compelling insight into the hidden side of Australian life, through the lens of social media.
The discussion of contemporary art often revolves around successful, wealthy artists who’ve enjoyed decades in the spotlight. As a celebration of the new and emerging talent in Australia’s art scene, here’s a list of young Australians producing new and exciting work, and who are simply put, killing it. Ashley Ronning, Melbourne Risograph Printing, Illustration ashleyronning.com @ashleyronning Ronning’s practice is a playful exploration of everyday objects and anxieties, made with expertly rendered ink drawings in her self-published zines and posters. Her work has been featured in Mous, Frankie and The Thousands, and she also runs a Risograph publishing house called Helio Press.…