Australian Embassy and Mission to the European Communities
Belgium-Luxembourg
Embassy address: Rue Guimardstraat 6-8, 1040 Brussels - Telephone: +32 (0) 2 286 0500 - Fax: +32 (0) 2 231 07 88

EVENTS

► Australian Dance Theatre in association with Frans Brood Productions present 'G', November-December 2008

Internationally renowned Australian choreographer Garry Stewart’s latest work, 'G', is a sophisticated reworking of the classical ballet Giselle.

Drawing upon the emotive themes of the original story, 'G' is a masterful and engrossing analysis of the romantic psyche which clearly brings the past into the present with Stewart’s trademark style.

'G' is currently undertaking an extensive international tour through 26 European cities. Part of its tour will take Australian Dance Theatre to Luxembourg on 12 and 13 December.

“ 'G' is more emotionally and theatrically representational than some of my previous works. In this work there is a preoccupation with hysteria and loss as well as with failure - the failure of the promise of love as well as the ultimate failure of the promise of the technical virtuosity which forms the cornerstone of classical ballet. 'G' has been a unique challenge for the dancers as they not only have to engage with the depth of this drama but also they have to negotiate the formidable physical execution of 'G's arduous movement demands,” said Garry Stewart.

Australian Dance Theatre is now at the forefront of international contemporary dance with Garry Stewart’s uncompromising approach and distinctive choreography being sought by presenters around the world and acclaimed by audiences and critics as thrilling and breathtaking.

'G' has been co-produced by Théâtre de la Ville (Paris) and co-commissioned by The Joyce Theater's Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work (New York), Southbank Centre (London) and Merrigong Theatre Co. at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (Wollongong).

ADT wishes to acknowledge the generous support provided by Arts Projects Australia.

Full details on dates, venues and bookings can be found by visiting the ADT website – www.adt.org.au



► PAA EUROPE 2008 ANNUAL MEETING , Wednesday, 29 - 31 October, 2008, Belgium

The Pacific Arts Association (PAA), an international organisation that concerns itself with the study of the art of Oceania, will hold its annual conference in Belgium this year.

Two Australian researchers, Harry Beran and Edward Aguirre, will give a presentation on Wednesday 29 October at the Royal Museums of Art and History (Jubelpark/Parc Cinquantenaire, Brussels). Dr Michael Gunn, the Senior Curator of Pacific Arts at the National Gallery of Australia will also attend the conference.

The PAA generally holds a symposium in conjunction with an important exhibition, and “The Art of Oceania” exhibition in the ING Cultural Centre, Brussels, provides an ideal occasion for holding the conference in Belgium.

The presentations during the symposium will look at two themes. The first theme will be the cultural significance of the human body in the art of peoples from the region of the South Pacific. These peoples transform the body in order to represent ancestral or mythical beings. Exhibiting the body as a metaphor can be seen in sacred images, utensils and even in the architecture. By wearing masks or through dance, the human body itself can of course also change. Artefacts transfer knowledge. The second theme of the symposium is therefore the question of how indigenous knowledge can be transferred via artefacts within their own culture or to Western culture.

The symposium will highlight the colourful and expressive art of Oceania. The exhibition and academic studies also indirectly promote current indigenous art production, thus contributing to the preservation of cultural traditions that are important to the identity of the peoples of the South Pacific.

The conference is organised by both the faculty of Ethnic Art at the University of Ghent and the Royal Museums of Art and History.

General public is welcome to attend.

The Pacific Arts Association
The Pacific Arts Association is an international organisation that pursues studies of all the art disciplines of Oceania. Their aims are:
• To increase members’ awareness of the situation as regards the art in the South Pacific
• To promote serious study, interpretation and reporting on the art of Oceania
• To encourage interest within education for academic-level courses on the art of the South Pacific
• To develop co-operation between institutes and individuals involved in the art of Oceania
• To contribute towards the conservation and management of the material culture of Oceania
• To improve mutual understanding between nations involved in the art of Oceania.

 

► Bomb Harvest: An Australian feature documentary, 25 October 2008

The Australian documentary Bomb Harvest by Kim Mordaunt will be presented in Brussels on Saturday 25 October at 15hrs, at the Festival des Libertés in Flagey, in the presence of the film maker.

Over 35 years ago, during the Vietnam War, American bombs rained down on Laos in the ‘Secret War’, leaving it the most bombed country, per capita, in history. The deadly legacy of this destruction continues, with the country still scattered with unexploded ordnance.

A huge live bomb is found behind a village school, and Australian bomb disposal specialist Laith Stevens arrives to check it out. He is in the process of training a new ‘big bomb’ team, so reluctantly leaves the bomb’s disposal until the team is up to the task. Reluctant, because rural poverty has triggered a brisk illegal trade in bomb scrap metal and the local children are out hunting for bombs.

In order to find the right person to deal with the very dangerous bomb behind the school, Laith will take his team of fledgling bomb disposal specialists down to a remote area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail where they will test their new skills on live bombs for the first time.

Bomb Harvest explores how three generations of people, in a largely forgotten country, have been left to deal with the disorder of an air war long after it is over. It takes us into a post-apocalyptic world that reminds us of what is to come from the wars of today.

Bomb Harvest is a production of Lemur Films, the company established by director/writer Kim Mordaunt and producer/writer Sylvia Wilczynski. It won Best Feature - Children’s Advocacy at the Artivist International Film Festival and Awards in Hollywood in October 2008.

Kim Mordaunt will be available to exchange with the audience right after the screening.

More information on Bomb Harvest: http://www.bombharvest.com
More information on Festival des Libertés: http://www.festivaldeslibertes.be


► Dark Shades of Blue: Australian singer touring Belgium, 1-2 August 2008 

The Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd will be in Belgium as part of a European tour on Friday 1 August at the Festival Esperanzah in Floreffe and on Saturday 2 August at the Dranouter Festival, with his new album ‘Dark Shades of Blue’.

Xavier Rudd is well known for his virtuoso ability to play aboriginal instruments as well as lap guitar, foot boxes and harmonica. With his unique blend of folk, reggae, rock and world music, he incorporates not only instruments native to Australia, but also indigenous voices, giving expression to Aboriginal singers.

Though his latest and seventh album, ‘Dark Shades of Blue’, is to be released on 18 August, Belgian festival aficionados in Floreffe and Dranouter will have a chance to discover it. Produced and mixed by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age), that new album, though it keeps Rudd’s signature, is dusky and with a sound less of ‘world music’, maintaining the presence of the didgeridoo. In Europe, the album will be released on Anti Records, label home of artist such as Tom Waits, Michael Franti, Mavis Staples and Daniel Lanois.

In Australia, since his debut with ‘To Let’ in 2002, Xavier Rudd has collected a string of gold and platinum sales awards for his albums and DVDs.

The Australian performer has earned a reputation as a great Australian activist, advocating for indigenous rights and environmental responsibility.


For more information on Xavier Rudd performing at:

- Festival Esperanzah, Floreffe: http://www.esperanzah.be/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=27


- Dranouter Festival, Dranouter: http://www.folkdranouter.be/overzicht.aspx

 


► World Youth Day in Australia – July 2008

Time to register and to request a visa
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has called on prospective World Youth Day (WYD08) pilgrims from overseas to immediately lodge their visa applications. DIAC has already issued more than 30 000 visas to World Youth Day participants from around the world with the number of visas issued for pilgrims tripling in the past six weeks.

However, tens of thousands of applications are still expected. Strong recommendation is for pilgrims who haven’t yet applied for their visas to act. Although the department will do its best to finalise late applications in time, it would be disappointing for pilgrims to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity because they left their visa application too late.

World Youth Day pilgrims who are eligible for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) may choose to apply for their visa at the same time as registering to attend World Youth Day.

Overseas pilgrims also need to register for the event and, in addition, will need to complete a paper application form to be sent to their nearest Australian Immigration office (Please note that the Australian Embassy in Brussels does not have an Immigration office; information can be found on: http://www.eu.mission.gov.au/bsls/VisMigPerVis.html)
More details on how to apply for a visa are available through the WYD08 registration system or on the department’s website: www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/wyd_08/index.htm


Some tourist information
Tourism Australia has set up a facebook site on Australia for WYD08 pilgrims at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australia/11071120908 .The page is updated daily and contains useful information such as event listings, images from around the country and a list of top travel locations to help pilgrims make the most of their time in Australia for WYD08. More information is available on: www.australia.com/wyd08


For the media
Please direct all enquires from international media about the media facilities provided by WYD08 during the event to the media room on their website:
http://www.wyd2008.org/index.php/en/media__1 .This website provide also access to a regular WYD08 media newsletter
Email: media@wyd2008.org
Visa for the media: www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/wyd_08/media-wyd-08.htm

 

► Australian artists at the KunstenFestivaldesArts - May 2008

For three weeks in May (9-31mai), the Kunstenfestivaldesarts brings together some thirty works of art – theatrical and visual - created by artists from all over the world.  New works, many of which will be born during the festival. Remarkable works intended for an inquiring audience.

As part of the festival, there will be performance by two Australian artists:

William Yang – "China"
Somewhere between a travelogue and a lecture/performance, William Yang draws from his archive of photographs to produce, in his unique way, an intimate narrative. In his latest creation, China, the Australian is returning to a motherland he has never known.

Dates: 28, 29, 30, 31May at 20.30
Location: Théâtre 140

Meet the artist after the performance on 29 May.

Rebekah Rousi  - The longest lecture marathon
The Longest Lecture Marathon is one of the elements in this protean work: a 27-hour lecture-performance during which she endlessly breaks down language, giving a sense of straying into an inexhaustible flow of explanations.

Dates:
23 May at 19.00 - 22.00
24 May at 10.00 – 22.00
25 May at 10.00 - 22.00
Location: Erasmus Hogeschool

Free entrance. During the performance the audience can wander in and out of the classroom.

More info on the program: www.kfda.be

 

►Australian Choir performing in Belgium, 24–25 April 2008

The St Andrew’s Cathedral School Choir based in Sydney, Australia, will perform in Belgium as part of a European tour.

On Thursday 24 April the choir will perform at the Holy Trinity Church (29 rue Capitaine Crespel, 1050 Brussels) at 20.00.

On 25 April, on the occasion of ceremonies marking ANZAC* Day, St Andrew’s musicians will perform at Tyne Cot cemetery (Passchendaele) and Menin Gate (Ypres), in West Flanders. In the evening they will open the Amateur Arts Week in Kortrijk with a concert at the Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwe Straat).

St Andrew’s music tour to Europe in April 2008, where they will visit particularly Prague, Leipzig, Berlin and Brussels, follows a series of highly successful international music tours.

For more information on Saint Andrew’s Cathedral School Choir: http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/academic/music/overview.

For more information on the 2008 Music Tour by the Saint Andrew’s Cathedral School Choir, including Belgium: http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/academic/music/international_music_tours/2008_music_tour

* ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

 


►Australian circus in Belgium, 15-19 April 2008

Circa, one of Australia’s most exciting circus companies, is touring Belgium with its latest show “The Space Between” from Monday 15 April to Saturday 19 April. On 19 April Circa will perform in Brussels at the Cultural Centre of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, at 20.30 hrs. Tickets are 15 €, families of three pay 30 €. Other locations in Belgium are Arlon (15-16 April), La Louvière (17 April) and Ath (18 April). For more details on the company, their work and performances, check out their website: www.circa.org.au.

Win ticket for two, for Circa's performance in Brussels. In order to win, you must provide by Friday 18 April on pubaffs.brussels@dfat.gov.au, the correct answer to the following question: Which Belgian artist's music is used in "Space Between"?


►The Australia Day Charity Gala 2008
On 26 January 2008, on the occasion of Australia Day, the Australian Embassy Brussels, the Australia Society and Australian Business in Europe (ABIE - Belgium) organised the first Australia Day Charity Gala. The event, held at the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Brussels, brought together eminent Australian and international guests and was an opportunity to showcase a sophisticated Australia with a high-tech industry and a unique gastronomy and lifestyle.

As a charity gala, all profits of the evening went to two Belgian charity organisations: Centre Comprendre et Parler (www.ccpasbl.be) and VLOK-CI (www.vlok-ci.be), whose objective is to ingrate hearing-impaired children in the society and make them as autonomous as possible. Both organisations have a close relationship with Cochlear Technology Centre Europe and Cochlear Benelux NV, subsidiaries of Australian hearing-technology company Cochlear Limited, which we were proud to count as our partners for this gala.

Our artistic partner, Brenart Art Gallery, presented on the night a preview of the Australian aboriginal artwork exhibition “Great Masters of Australian Desert”, currently shown at the Brenart Gallery in Brussels (www.brenart.com), until 8 March 2008.

Entertainment for the evening included a mix of Australian and international music brought by the PDM Big Band and a raffle for which prizes included a Qantas Airways ticket to Australia, a Wallabies jersey signed by the whole Wallabies team, a special Radisson SAS Royal Hotel pack, and Australian wines. All proceeds from the raffle went to the charities.

The event would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors: Kreglinger, Meat and Livestock Australia, Clean Seas Tuna Ltd, Crush Wine, Mig’s World Wines and Antipodes.


► ANZAC Day 2008
25 April 2008 - ANZAC Day. For more details, please check this website closer to the date.


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