Cool Comes to College Street

When is a museum not a museum? Or more precisely, how does the stuff (ing) that perceptions are made of become effectively recast? A visit to Jurassic Lounge, the Australian Museum’s recent Tuesday night foray into after hour’s event making, answered that question many times over!

As an idea, J-Lounge was conceived by Museum Director, Frank Howarth, following a visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco where, on Thursday nights, a similar style of event was being held. Tweaked and readapted for Sydney, Howarth hired The Festivalists, a Sydney based company that specialises in the production of cultural events that feature the hottest new artists, performers and DJ’s. Together they envisaged that success would involve a spectacular rearrangement of the institutional mood, attracting up to three hundred paying guests per night. As it turned out, the first season averaged over one thousand people per session (@ $15 per head) and the place was indeed ‘altered’.

As we approached the museum a queue stretched from the main entrance, down College Street, to the corner of William. Inside it was jumping, live music, performers and artists created scenes more reminiscent of a club in Newtown, or some other piece of nightlife central. It was a remarkable transformation with in house Interpretive Officers and Front of House staff ensuring through clever programming that guests were still engaged and interested in the exhibitions and collections on show. Clearly the koala and other cute marsupials that caught my eye, were twitching to the beat of a new generation.

With such a success on their hand I’ve no doubt Jurassic Lounge will return. So stay tuned, subscribe to the Australian Museum’s twitter account or become a friend on Facebook – be the first to know when ‘nocturnal cool’ once again descends on a ‘happening’ College Street.

Michael Rolfe

Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Art + Culture Studio

Beside the native plant nursery, outside the Boolarng Nangamai studio (L-R): M&G NSW Manager, Aboriginal Sector Development Steve Miller with artists Bonny Brennan, Deb Callaghan and Codie Werth.

With its roller door open, Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Art + Culture Studio is a burst of colour at the end of a quiet industrial estate in Gerringong on the NSW South Coast.

Boolarng Nangamai (Boolarng = Together (Biripi language group) Nangamai = Dreaming ( Sydney Dhawaral language group) is an Aboriginal artists collective that is both cultural enterprise and not-for-profit. With some successes to date, it is a model that is attracting attention.

The nine core artists met while studying for their Advanced Visual Arts Diploma at West Wollongong TAFE in 1995. TAFE Visual Arts teacher and fellow artist Kelli Ryan saw the potential in the group both as artists and a bonded group that could survive and work together beyond the confines of coursework.

So much did she believe in them that she purchased some land with a small inheritance and on the advice of Roy Boy Stewart. The land straddles a part of the Union Creek and the reeds that grow wild there have been used by Koories for traditional implement making for thousands of years.

With the team’s commitment, Kelli borrowed to built the industrial sheds and the other sections are now leased to other businesses.

Boolarng’s strength as a community enterprise is the commitment of its artists. It’s strength as a cultural enterprise is the diversity of work they produce.

The splashes of bright colours you see as you approach the workshop reveal themselves as art and craft produce – paintings, wood carving sculptures, poker work, cane and woven sculptures made from the dried and prepared plant life on site, even beanies and scarves.

The latest addition is a series of cards from artist’s works, produced in conjunction with the Red Cockatoo artists collective in the Blue Mountains.

Other activities such as cultural awareness training and cross-cultural workshops in Australia and overseas have enhanced Boolarng Nangamai’s reputation.

Even so, the studio still struggles through periods without paid staff. When the orders come in, the studio is abuzz and the numbers swell. In quieter times artists drop in to work on their own projects or catch up on the news and latest developments.

Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Corporation also has DGR status and actively seeks philanthropic support in making a difference for NSW Aboriginal arts and crafts.

Website: http://www.boolarng-nangamai.com/

Unit 5/ 9 Bergin Street GERRINGONG N.S.W. 2534

Ph: (+61 2) 0414 322 142

If driving along the Princes Highway, take the second Gerringong turn off (if coming from the north) or take the first exit (from the south) into Belinda Street. This will take you under the railway bridge and towards the pub on the right hand side.

Turn left directly opposite the pub into Victoria Street and follow it until you cross the creek. Turn left into Bergin Street and we are immediately on your left. Boolarng Nangamai in the end studio within a big complex of five.

Steve Miller

Arts Funding Worshops

Image by angusf from Flickr

This year Arts NSW and the Australia Council for the Arts combined to do a presentation on the their grants programs. They have been rolling it out as a road show across NSW so if there is one near you I encourage you to go as it is a great opportunity to hear direct form the funders about their programs. 

Contrary to myth, both of these bodies do want you to apply and want you to have the best chance at winning a grant. In some ways the odds are against you: for applicants to the Australia Council it is a bout 1 in five applications are successful. But you do have to be in it to win it

Here are some of the key tips they gave to writing a successful application

1/ Choose the Right Grant.

Check your eligibility and talk to the relevant person. Do some research and check out who has been previously awarded grants and what it was for. IF your not sure, or cant find the type of grant you are looking for then give them a call.

2/ Write in Plain English

Be concise. Be Direct. They want to know what you want to do, how you intend to do it and who will do it. This last point is important - briefly describing why the people involved are the best people for the task gives an assessment panel a sense of if the task will be completed

3/ Don't wait until the last minute.

A rushed application reads like ...well... a rushed application. If you can't plan to get the application done in a timely manner then it doesn't give a strong indication that you can manage the time line of your project.

4/ Budget!

There is an old saying "look after the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves".  (For those of you who were born after 1966 - use Google for an updated version). In your budget make sure that it balances: ie expenditure equals income. Make sure it adds up. Add notes to make it clear. Show all sources of funding. Included any "non cash" contribution.

5/ Support Materiel

Don't drown the poor assessors - each assessor is reading hundreds of applications  . Included the most relevant and potent materials/images that you can that support your case for why this project is important to you and your organisation and that you can deliver the project on time and on budget.

6/ Cut and Paste your application into the online applications

When writing your grant application do it in a word document and then cut and paste that into the on-line applications.  That way you will have solved all of your word count issues, spelling , grammar and its just a matter of publishing. Also should the system crash - you at least have a copy of your work!

7/ Visit the Website(s)

Each of the main funders list all their grants on their sites and provided a lot of information about each of the grants. It really is the quickest way to obtain a lot of information before you start writing..

Arts NSW 2012 Arts Funding Program Guidelines http://www.arts.nsw.gov.au/index.php/category/funding-and-support/

The Australia Council's 2011 Arts Funding Guide is http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants

Finally don't forget that M&G NSW is also here help. Our friendly team is standing by to take your call! or you can visit our website http://mgnsw.org.au/grants/overview1111/

Michael Huxley