NCWQ Arts Report: March-April 2022

By Jennifer Ann Davies, NCWQ Arts, Letters and Music Adviser (gramunicorn75@gmail.com)

Is it too early to remove MASKS in Queensland?

“Removing masks is a risk with high numbers,” says Professor Morawksa.  ABC News: Mark Leonard 22 Feb 2022. Queensland is moving too soon to ease mask restrictions at a time when the state is still recording thousands of new COVID-19 cases a day, according to the world-leading expert. Premier Palaszcuk’s decision to lift the mask mandate in most indoor venues from March 4, is supported by Chief Health Officer, John Gerrard. This means masks will no longer be required at workplaces, schools, shops, cafes, restaurants or pubs. Of immediate  concern to experts is the fact that NO other measures have been taken to protect people, like improved ventilation in indoor spaces, for example. Masks, though, will remain a choice for those who still feel vulnerable – and who doesn’t? SDG 3 Please also read the Reports from our NCWQ Health Advisor , Dr Kathryn Mainstone – particularly Feb 2022 Advisor Report. Masks and Boosters are stated to be useful against infections of yet another variant, the BA.2. The Age March 18, 2022. www.theage.com.au

Women OUTPACE Men returning to the workplace after COVID Lockdowns! SBS World News 20/2/22

CONTACT: Alumni and Community News – University of Queensland: Explore THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINE CONFLICT, looking at many aspects of the invasion and its effects, both for the Ukraine and  the broader balance of international security. SDG 16/10

Our close neighbour, INDONESIA, is building a new master-planned capital city to address the congestion and sinking challenges in Jakarta. UQ planning expert, Dr Dorina Pojani explains how Indonesia can avoid mistakes evident in other planned capital cities. uqalumni@uq.edu.au SDG 11

UQ Film Critic Matt Toomey recommends five ‘must-see’ films for this OSCAR season. All these are on the website if you are a movie buff.

 

A TOAST TO LOCAL ART!

– FNQ Contemporaries is current in Cairns, offering creative works from three artists who were presented with Artist Fellowships. These artists are: Simone Arnol, Jason Wegger and Naomi Hobson.  The artist fellowships were generously sponsored by Cairns RSL and will assist the artists in extending their practice and holding solo exhibitions in Cairns Art Gallery.

An Exclusive Opening Event for ARCHIE 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize will welcome guests on Friday 18^th March 2022. Cairns Art Gallery is housed in a Queensland Government Heritage building and will be following all Queensland Government mandates in regard to visitor restrictions.

Applications for ARTNOW FNQ have just closed. This is now a nationally recognised biennial event that showcases the most innovative and outstanding art from Far North Queensland. The guest judge for this year is Ellie Buttrose, Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia. Exhibition dates: 11 December 2022-5Feb 2023. info@cairnsartgallery.com.au SDGs 3/4/8/10/12/17

 

DEAD PUPPET SOCIETY

“The Wider Earth”

WOW! What a wonderful treat in chaotic times! Dead Puppet Society is a design led theatre company based in BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia! QUT graduates, David Morton and Nicholas Paine are the founders of this group and they have worked long and hard to integrate a wide range of performance forms and technologies to expand the possibilities of what could be offered on stage! – The Cairns audiences were happy recipients of the success of such expanded aspirations!

On one international tour in 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa, David and Nicholas, Creative Designer and Executive Producer of the Dead Puppet Society stumbled on the fact that Charles Darwin was only 22 years of age when he joined the HMS BEAGLE on its surveying voyage. This ignited ideas of creating puppets to represent some of the most exotic and iconic encountered by Darwin on this long voyage, and workshops on “The Wider Earth” proceeded at St. Ann’s, New York, with a unique  presentation at the Natural History Museum, London, the custodian of Darwin’s legacy, where the contemporary adventurers created the first ‘purpose built’ theatre within the Museum. Souvenir Programme/Dead Puppet Society p4 2022

Producer, Trish Wadley, who had been producing theatre in London for just over ten years, was thrilled to return to her home city, Brisbane, for this production. In a brilliant collaboration, the ‘team’ even “…filmed a puppet invasion in the Great Entrance hall of the Darwin Centre, under the gaze of the statue of Charles Darwin!” Trish Wadley/Producer/Trish Wadley Productions p.4 “The Wider Earth” 2022. All Puppetry is creative but the art itself is about FOCUS.  The artists in “The Wider Earth” were the finest puppeteers with the ultimate FOCUS on their wonderful puppets I have seen in our entire world! The Puppets were crafted after careful discernment of the original specimens in the Museum.

A Brilliant performance – wonderfully enjoyed – bringing sheer Joy, Wonder and Delight to audiences! SDGs 4/3/14/15/17

 

LETTERS – The World of Literature, Language and Literacy – Variety and Vintage

The World of LETTERS continues to thrive, with variety and vintage evident in reading materials throughout our State. This trend developed with the earlier ‘swap’ centres for all sorts of books and reading materials, colouring books and other puzzle, poster and popular exchanges, in the Covid assault of 2020. Some of the titles available during this time have already been published, and include: JACKDAWS, THE GENESIS CODE, THE ROSIE EFFECT, TWISTED THINGS, COLD SHOULDER, LOST LIGHT, DARK SACRED NIGHT, UNNATURAL EXPOSURE, THE PARIS INHERITANCE, DAYLIGHT, and PRIVATE MOSCOW. Some ‘swaps’ were shared by QUOTA CALOUNDRA CLUB in a community scheme which involves Quota, police and volunteers reading with Year 2 children at three schools in that area. www.thesenior.com.au SDGs 4/10

Two American authors who constantly encourage reading and literacy are James Patterson and Davida Baldacci. Patterson co-authored PRIVATE MOSCOW with Adam Hamdy. www.adamhamdy.com www.penguin.co.uk 2020. Strong characters populate the texts of Patterson/Hamdy and Baldacci, show-casing remarkable females! Baldacci’s ATLEE PINE is impressive. www.panmacmillan.com DAYLIGHT. SDGs 5/4/16

FOREVER ODD – Dean Koontz  Harper Collins Publishers London 2013. A wonderful character whom we have met before …humour, humanity and horror… “When the constellation of CASSIOPEIA is here…I feel less alone. This isn’t a reasoned response to a configuration of stars, but the heart cannot flourish on logic alone. UNREASON is an essential medicine as long as you do not overdose.” p.45 SDGs 4/8/10/3

DARK FIRE – Chris d’Lacey Orchard Books, London 2009. www.orchardbooks.co.uk This is the fifth title in the fantastic Lost Dragon Chronicles series to be enjoyed by readers young and old. “I saw that in its depths there enclosed/ Bound up with love in one eternal book/ The scattered leaves of all the universe.” Dante, Paradiso “Substance and accidents and their relations, as though together fused in such a way that what I speak of is a single light. The universal form of this comingling…” SDGs 3/4/17

LEAH ON THE OFF BEAT – Becky Albertalli Penguin Random House UK 2018 …a warm and humourous story of first love and senior year angst. Leah is a large girl…”She hugs me and its like hugging a flower. It’s like that with skinny people. I’m always terrified I’ll crush them.” p.167 “My phone buzzes a few times. Sometimes I think texting is the single worst technological advancement in history.” P.174 SDGs 4/3/5

ELEVEN HOURS – Paullina Simons Harper Collins Publishers London 1999 An unforgettable novel of kidnap   and suspense. A giddy ride of emotions…could so easily occur! A tour de force of storytelling indeed! SDGs 4/3/16

BEFORE I FALL OVER – Lauren Oliver Hodder & Stoughton UK 2010 A brave and complex novel about the territory between life and death…astonishing and luminous, this will make you want to live every day as if it were your last. SDGs 4/3/16

THE PEARL THIEF – Fiona McIntosh Penguin Random House Australia 2018. www.penguin.com.au Fiona is not only  an internationally bestselling author for adult and children, but co-founder of an award-winning travel magazine with her husband whilst she was raising their twin sons. Brimful of well researched history, moving from the Louvre to the British Museum; from Prague to Paris and Yorkshire, readers will confront heart-stopping mysteries and revelations that explore whether or not love and hope can ever overpower atrocity in a time of war and hate. SDGs 4/1/2/3/16

WIN – Harlan Coben Penguin Random House UK 2021 www.penguin.co.uk www.harlancoben.com A case that has baffled the FBI for decades. Very interesting psychological and philosophical perspectives and depth. “Two of our biggest delusions are that LOYALTY and KEEPING PROMISES are admirable qualities. They are NOT. They are often an excuse to do the wrong thing and to protect the wrong person because you are supposed to be ‘…a man of your word…’ p.308

“I had no children because I wanted no fears.” p.286

“I don’t deserve this relationship with Ema. Ema is magnificent in every way ……I do not have the right to bask in the parental glow of her greatness.” p.287 SDGs 4/3/17

 

GIFTS OF MUSIC and SONG

2018 NCWQ Bursary Recipient Leah Lever was identified as musically gifted at a young age. At 15 years old, Leah was the youngest student ever accepted to study music at one of Queensland’s leading universities, graduating at 18 years of age with Distinctions. She polished her performance skills at The National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in 2021.

Leah is the ultimate performer who creates an unforgettable musical experience for her audience. As part of this year’s Queensland Cabaret Festival, Leah will be performing her show “Sweet Life” at Metro  Arts. www.metroarts.com.au SDGs 3/4/5/12

Candlelight Concerts by fever A host of concerts illuminated by candlelight and performed by   musicians in some of the most iconic venues in Brisbane will include Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Candlelight Ballet: Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” at St John’s Cathedral; “The Best of Aretha Franklin” and “From Bach to the Beatles” will be performed at The Lush. Beautiful, uplifting experiences for Brisbane audiences! www.stjohnscathderal.com.au

 

OUR COLLEAGUES, SISTERS AND FAMILIES IN THE UKRAINE

…worked so hard to produce Posters, Possibilities, Protests, Printed matter and Parental advice and  education throughout the assault of the COVID-19 Pandemic! Our colleague and President of NCW Ukraine, Lyudmyla Porokhnyak advised,  in her May 2021 report, the nature and volume of the effects of jobs lost overall and home job losses because of poor and/or severed communications in rural villages.

Figures demonstrated the rise of domestic violence, particularly against CHILDREN (girls and boys), in  homes in the cities, where parents had little space and were not usually responsible for their children for so many hours, days, weeks and months. 24,000 Boarders were returned to their homes during the engulfing wave of the virus, generating further abuse! Booklets, leaflets and posters generated by NCW Ukraine, worked hard to raise awareness about and to address horrifying  rise in abuses. The Ukraine Council has always been open and well spoken about the NATURE  domestic abuse and has always indicated the differences between city and rural communities, throughout any crisis.

Throughout difficulties and abuses accelerated by the spread of the Covid infections, the National Council of Women Ukraine still distributed 30,000 booklets and leaflets, 5,000 Posters and they and delivered to schools, rural areas and villages.

That was just the tip of the ice-berg, but in the current time of crisis, war and more horrors and pain, I just wanted to SALUTE these wonderful women and families and ensure they KNOW that we have not stopped using our voices, positions, relationships, heads and hearts, to try to provide further  informed ways of preventing more death, pain and waste and to try to induce and generate more effective pathways to Peace.  Nashi naykrashchi pobazhannya vsim vam.  

Just a few hours after I had typed the above, we received another email from Dr Lyudmyla Porokhnyak who is a highly respected medical doctor and expert in radiation health/medicine in the  Ukraine. Continuing her work to try to improve the health and wellbeing of women and children, Lyudmyla will proceed with her event at CSW66. She wrote in response to Elisabeth Newman: “I’m home in Kiev. Planes and rockets are flying over me, but I’m not afraid anymore. At CSW66 on March  25 I have our event, to which I invite everyone…..I want to remind everyone every day about our misfortune, which can become a common misfortune of the world. I’m sending a sample of my post to the chat for the first event today.” Lyudmyla Porokhnyak in dialogue with Elisabeth Newman: 14 March 2022 19:32 Salut! SDGs 3/2/1/10/11/12/16

 

I will bring you relevant news of the CSW66 and the 36^th General Assembly planned for Avignon in May 2022 in my next report.  It is important in these times to share as much information as possible to remain  connected, active and to achieve our overarching goals which are humanitarian and educational. An absence of information and absence of acknowledgement of communications creates division, questions, and inhibition to fulfillment of goals and Arts/Letters/Music are vital components of the Standing Committee, at an international level, of COMMUNICATIONS. Voila!

 

 

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All Good Things – Stay Safe and Well

Jennifer Ann DAVIES
National Council of Women Queensland Inc.
International Council of Women/ Conseil International des Femmes

gramunicorn75@gmail.com