Artist Talk with David Elliot and artists

As part of being an intern, we have to do a lot of random things, including helping to put out chairs for artists talks. Now carrying 70 chairs from one level to another and setting them out, and then taking them back upstairs, is not the most exciting thing in the world, nor is it great for your back! However, we did get to sit and listen to the talk and that is one of the bonuses of this job.

David Elliot was chatting to Newell Harry, Mikela Dwyer and Warren Fahey about their practice and their specific works for this year's Biennale. It was a chance to hear Elliot speak for the first time (and he's good to listen to, a pretty switched on bloke!) and to learn a little more about a couple of the artists. Helpful, as eventually, I will need to be leading tours around these artworks!

For me, the most interesting part of the talk was the discussion about invoking the spirits of Cockatoo Island. Fahey, a musicologist and collector of folk music (a connection to Harry Everett Smith, the patron saint of the BoS, who was, among other things, also a musicologist and collector of folk music!) is collating the ballads of people who would have worked on the island. By playing the music alongside images of those same people, he hopes to give the audience almost a presence of those lost souls. But Dwyer is hoping for a step further. She is hoping to actually call forth the ghosts of those lost souls. By playing a soundtrack of someone chipping away at sandstone blocks (one of the main activities on the island), she hopes that the ghosts will remember the sound and that their spirits will return to the Island.

Now this sounds a bit wacky, but the idea is kinda fun, pretty different, and imagine if it worked......

Pecha Kucha

Every Thursday night throughout the Biennale (preview on Sunday 16th May) Artspace will host PechaKucha Thursdays - what sounds like an awesome and fun evening that I can't wait for!

Pronouned 'pe-chak-cha', its Japanese for the sound of 'chit-chat' and the concept is that anyone can stand up and show the room their latest creative work, project, or anything they like really. The catch is that you have to talk to 20 slides of your choosing, but you only have 20 seconds a slide. Beginning in 2003 in Tokyo by a couple of architects as an opportunity for young designers to show their work and network, it has turned into a worldwide phenomenon (280 cities worldwide hold events!) where anyone can get up and tell the world their story.

Some of the topics are bizarre and some are hilarious, but their website www.pecha-kucha.org is well worth a look and come along Thursday nights during the Biennale to see what Sydney has to offer!

Website Link

The website for the Biennale is pretty cool and offers up heaps of info about what's on, the artists, the venues, the curator, the theme (there is alot going on with the theme but its super interesting!).

www.bos17.com/
(just click on the phrase 'website link' and it will take you straight there!)

Well worth a look!

Who am I and what am I doing?

My name is Kate, and I am currently in my final semester of my Masters of Art Administration. This blog is part of the internship component of my course, so expect weekly updates on what's happening with me. My internship is at the Biennale of Sydney, a major international art exhibition held every two years. I'm pretty excited about it actually, and so far, hearing about a few artists and what goes into setting up an exhibition has been quite educational and I'm looking forward to learning more. So stay tuned for more on the Biennale...