The 2005 Riverlinks Season is Ready – Now All We Need is You!
31 January 2005
Riverlinks will officially launch its 2005 season with a special event at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 8th February at the Eastbank Centre.
Greater Shepparton’s Mayor, Cr Anne McCamish will officially launch the program, and said Greater Shepparton patrons had a great year of entertainment to look forward to this year.
“Local audiences in 2005 can expect an exciting line up of performances at Riverlinks. This year’s program aims to build on the success of previous years and really ‘lift the bar’ for audiences,” she said.
The launch will feature a presentation about the season and entertainment from a number of local performers including Bianca Fenn, Ryan Meeking, Dan Sexton and Catriona Rabl, and a special preview of this year’s Shepparton Theatre Arts Group musical, ‘West Side Story’. There will also be a feature performance by Australian guitarist, Matthew Fagan, and a presentation from special guest, Trevor Green, Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Finger food and refreshments will be provided on arrival, with the presentation to begin at 7.30 pm.
Mr Rob Robson, the Council’s Manager of Performing Arts and Conventions, said the 2005 season demonstrates a commitment to bringing together a program of highest quality, interesting diversity and expanding the community’s vision and perception of theatre in Greater Shepparton.
“Our program, again, is very strong in celebration and expression of the ‘Australian voice’ and the Australian perspective on the world, but it is not parochial and it also includes work that is international in quality and viewpoint,” Mr Robson said.
“In theatre, children’s entertainment, fine music and the very popular ‘Afternoon Delights’, this season offers Greater Shepparton audiences the opportunity to see Australia’s great companies, orchestra, musicians, dancers and actors.”
Please RSVP at the Riverlinks Administration Office on 5832 9865 to attend the launch, or for further information. A brochure of the 2005 Riverlinks program will be available free of charge from the Riverlinks Box Office at Eastbank, Welsford Street.
Contemporary Aboriginal Art on Display at Gallery
24 January 2005
The best contemporary Aboriginal art from across Australia has come to the Shepparton Art Gallery in a new exhibition titled “Places that name us – RAKA Award: Contemporary Indigenous Visual Arts #3”.
Ms Leanne Willis, Shepparton Art Gallery Director, said the exhibition displays new works by thirteen outstanding contemporary Aboriginal artists, all short-listed for the prestigious Kate Challis RAKA Award.
“Indigenous artists from across Australia have presented works in a variety of styles, including bark and canvas paintings, photography, prints, drawing and sculpture,” Ms Willis said.
“What results is an exhibition of a carefully selected cross-section of the very best contemporary Aboriginal art.”
The exhibition includes contemporary expressions of traditional culture and ancestral stories from Arnhem Land and the Central Desert.
Several works explore the political and social ramifications of displacement, while others give a unique insight into the strength of contemporary Aboriginal culture in the face of anthropological and political stereotyping.
“Places That Name Us – RAKA Award: Contemporary Indigenous Visual Arts #3” will be on display at the Shepparton Art Gallery until Sunday 13th February. The exhibition is part of a tour to regional Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
This touring exhibition is a partnership between National Exhibition Touring Support (NETS) Victoria and The Ian Potter Museum of Art. The tour is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria and the Community Support Fund and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Steinway Attracts International Performers
12 January 2005
Greater Shepparton and its Steinway grand piano are set to become one of the main attractions of an international music, food and wine festival later this month.
The Council’s Manager Performing Arts and Conventions, Mr Rob Robson, said he had been approached by celebrity chef Stefano de Pieri to include Shepparton in the initiation of a festival involving towns along the length of the Murray and its tributaries.
“After hearing about the Steinway, Stefano and his brother Sergio, an internationally renowned musician, organist, teacher and artistic director, invited us to be involved,” Mr Robson said.
Sergio and Stefano de Pieri have brought together some of Italy’s and Australia’s finest classical musicians to perform in a number of places along the rivers, and Shepparton will feature with performances at the Eastbank Centre and Wesley Uniting Church Hall.
“Concert pianist from Venice, Dimitri Romano, will perform a recital on the Steinway at the Eastbank Centre on Friday 28th January from 8.00 pm. His program will include pieces by Mozart, Chopin, Rossini, Faure and Strauss.”
“Sergio de Pieri will perform on the beautiful pipe organ at Wesley Uniting Church Hall in Maude Street, Shepparton from 7.30 pm on Saturday 30th January. He will be accompanied by vocalists Rafaella Benori and Domenico Menini in a concert titled ‘Sacred Music from the Romantic Period’, featuring works by Gounod, Verdi, Schumann, Rossini, Brahms and Mozart.”
“He will also perform an original piece dedicated to the ‘Grande Fiume Murray’, composed by de Pieri himself,” Mr Robson added.
“It would be great if Greater Shepparton could be part of this major festival initiative in the future, and it fits very well with other tourist and cultural development opportunities,” Mr Robson concluded.
For more information or to book tickets, please contact the Riverlinks Box Office on 5832 9511, or visit the Eastbank Centre in Welsford Street, Shepparton.
Shepparton Art Gallery Receives Special Grant
4 January 2005
The Shepparton Art Gallery has received a funding boost with a Museums Australia (Victoria) Building Better Regional Museums grant of $3,623.00.
The Shepparton Art Gallery has received a funding boost with a Museums Australia (Victoria) Building Better Regional Museums grant of $3,623.00.
Ms Leanne Willis, Shepparton Art Gallery Director, said the grant will benefit the gallery by enabling the digitisation of the gallery’s collection, making public enquiries easier to answer and collection management more efficient.
“To assist with this project, the gallery has also arranged a series of internships with students who are currently completing a Master of Art Curatorship from Melbourne University,” Ms Willis said.
“Funding for these kinds of small projects can be hard to find and raising the funds in other ways can take gallery personnel away from more hands-on work behind the scenes, so it is very exciting to have obtained these funds.”
The 2004 Building Better Regional Museums (BBRM) grants give financial assistance to regional museums and galleries for small projects that draw on recognised museum standards. BBRM is an initiative of Museums Australia (Victoria) funded through the Arts Victoria Regional Arts Infrastructure Fund.
“BBRM 2004 provides assistance to regional galleries in meeting immediate costs for items such as conservation materials, improved storage and display facilities, environmental control measures and collection management tools and equipment.”
Participation in the Museums Accreditation Program (MAP) has enabled the Shepparton Art Gallery to better identify their own needs and more easily meet the requirements to be invited to apply for BBRM funding.
MAP is a program that supports Victorian museums in preserving and presenting our unique and varied cultural heritage. The Shepparton Art Gallery has been MAP Accredited since 1998.
Admission to Shepparton Art Gallery is free and it is open seven days a week from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. The gallery is located in the Eastbank Centre,
70 Welsford Street, Shepparton, phone 5832 9861.
The Shepparton Art Gallery is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria and the Community Support Fund, and through the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments
Riverlinks Brings Some Summer Fun to the School Holidays
4 January 2005
Please note that the Riverlinks’ Family Fun Days which were to be held on Wednesday 12th January and Thursday 13th January have had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Riverlinks and the Eastbank Centre apologise for any incovenience.
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Youngsters in Greater Shepparton are being treated to some free family fun at the region’s premier entertainment venue, the Eastbank Centre.
Greater Shepparton City Council’s Manager of Performing Arts and Conventions, Rob Robson, said Riverlinks would hold free family fun days on Wednesday 12th January and Thursday 13th January.
“Families can look forward to a great range of activities, beginning at
11.00 am,” Mr Robson said.
“The school holiday entertainment will include special performances of a pirate show and a clown show each day at 11.00 am and 2.00 pm.”
“There will also be face painting from Sprytes Face Painting from 12.00 to 2.00 pm in the Eastbank function rooms.”
“Kids will be able to join in with games and songs, all the activities are very interactive,” Mr Robson added.
“The Eastbank CafT will be open from 9.00 am serving special holiday treats for the kids, and coffees for the mums and dads.”
“Riverlinks prides itself on catering to families at its entertainment venues, and we’re very excited to present these free performances and activities for the families who continue to support us,” Mr Robson concluded.
For more information, please contact the Riverlinks Box Office on 5832 9511. The Box Office is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on weekdays and 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on weekends.