DENMARK ARTS ANNUAL REPORT

2015-2016

Photo credit:

clockwise left to right

The Creation of Now, part of Brave New Works #22

Central Aboriginal Women’s Choir, Denmark Festioval of Voice 2016

Denmark Arts Markets stage

Denmark Arts Council Inc

Annual Report

1 July 2015 - 30 June 2016

Denmark Arts, 2a Strickland St., PO Box 300, Denmark WA 6333Tel (08) 9848 3623, admin@denmarkarts.com.au

www.denmarkarts.com.auwww.facebook.com/denmarkart

CHAIR’S REPORT

Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem.

Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

Kurt Vonnegut,

‘A Man without a Country’

This is my fourth and last year as chairperson, and Denmark Arts has finally moved into the Lodge. I remember thinking we would be moving into the Lodge four years ago. Little did we know? Over time new furniture and fittings will grace these spaces to compliment the updated IT equipment that is being installed. Thanks are due to the Shire and Lotterywest for funding the refurbishments in addition to our own contribution, and to all those who helped hold the project including architect Graham Kershaw who drew the plans, Alison Kershaw who was our chief representative over many meetings, and to the vision of Christine Ritter all those years ago who first flagged the idea.

It is wonderful to see this building being used as envisaged: office space (and I emphasize the word space) for everyone, meeting spaces, and the studios and the Artists in Residence rooms in use as we head into another Brave New Works in

November. Along with the new IT we have a new revamped website thanks to Tim and Sumit – check it out if you haven’t done so already.

As usual there has been a wealth of occasions to celebrate and participate in artistic and cultural endeavours within our community: The multifaceted Brave New Works last November, a very special community Christmas event down by the river in December, another successful Market season, and a record breaking Festival of Voice.

The Denmark Arts initiated ‘Kwoorabup Park public art project’ is nearly complete. Cindy Poole, the successful artist, has completed her sculpture. It is ready to be installed as soon as the park dries out.

I extend a very big thank you to Vivienne for all her hard work, for her ability to reach out into fascinating corners of creativity and bring that to us here in Denmark, and to her strategic vision. Vivienne’s holidays are certainly well deserved.

Really Vivienne you are amazing.

To all our other staff, Tim, Jennie, Jane, Dorothy, Kira, Dawn, Shiralee, thank you. I know you work hard and at times it isn’t easy – so thanks for hanging in there (especially in the cramped old work place). I really appreciate your dedication and enthusiasm for the work that Denmark Arts does – that you all work together to make happen. During the year Alison Kershaw,

Patricia Roux and Matt Andrews all moved on to take up new challenges. We value your contributions to Denmark Arts during your time with us and we wish you well for where ever your future takes you. Thanks to Anala Linckens who filled in while Kira was on leave and capably handled things during a busy time.

To all of the participants, creative directors, performers, audience members and volunteers – it is you that gives the work of Denmark Arts meaning – so thank you - and keep on engaging with the arts. It is good for all of us and enriches our community so much.

To my co-Board members Nigel, Sandra, Steph, Ian, thank you all for your invaluable experience you have brought to Board deliberations. It has been a pleasure working with you all.

Without our funding bodies Denmark Arts just couldn’t do a fraction of the creative work that we do. We really appreciate their confidence in Denmark Arts. Thanks to the Shire of Denmark, Country Arts WA, the

Department of Culture and the Arts, the Community Arts Network, Australia Council for the Arts, Healthway and Lotterywest.

I encourage everyone to step out of your comfort zone and put your creative soul on the line, you could be surprised just how much fun it is. I know I have had a wonderful time doing just that.

Janine McCrum

The Creation of Now, credit Hazel Blake

The Confidence Man, credit Hazel Blake

BRAVE NEW WORKS #22November 6 - 8, 2015

This exciting weekend showcased two original theatre productions, seven art exhibitions, two concerts, four public conversations with writers and project coordinators, a film launch, and community events that had something for everyone. More than 1500 individuals of all ages attended these Brave New Works, and over 200 people took part in the varied program.

FESTIVALS

THEATRE

The Creation of NowDenmark Youth Centre

The ancient child, Omo, was asked by the elders of his world to undertake a quest to seek ‘Now’ in order to bring the colours of the world alive. Working with over 70 locals of all ages, creative director/choreographer Annette Carmichael produced a magical performance weaving story, dance, haunting violin and visual animation into an immersive experience for the audience.

The Confidence ManDenmark Civic Centre

Created by Zoe Pepper and Adriane Daff of Side Pony Productions, The Confidence Man was an audio-tech murder mystery performance. Brave audience volunteers were invited to take part in a new form of interactive live theatre using smart phone technology. The Pepper sisters, Zoe & Gemma, returned to their childhood home town of Denmark as writer/director and producer of this innovative production that went on to tour nationally.

EXHIBITIONS

Flight of FancyButter Factory Studios

In her deft hands, old bound volumes became inventive three-dimensional paper cut works as Julie Nayda gave new life to ‘thrown away’ books.

Brave New DrawingsButter Factory Studios

The artists at the Butter Factory Studios each created 20 drawings over 20 days with 50% of the sale proceeds being donated in support of refugees and detainees.

Loss of InnocenceButter Factory Studios

Denmark Artist Bob Mills presented his first solo exhibition for some years with paintings evoking the burning, bomb-swept streets of London during his childhood.

CONCERTS

A Night in the LabCWA Hall

Sarah Turvey and Jeremy Hicks von Kobra AKA Allison Labs presented a night of electronic music performers: mad priests, technocrats and refuseniks. An experimental electronically enhanced musical theme park that attracted a young and enthusiastic audience.

Intonarumori Chilli Lime Salt Café & Under-ground Car Park

James Gentle and friends, including one 4 year-old performer, introduced Denmark to 27 Intonarumori instruments invented by Futurist Luigi Russolo as a celebration of industrial sound. James’ Intonarumori were made from found containers including trunks, suitcases and other objects found at the Tip Shop, which when played, made a wonderful range of droning sounds.

EXHIBITIONS cont.

It is what it isButter Factory Studios

Nikki Green & Janine McCrum drew inspiration from their expedition into the Western Woodlands and the desert environment of the gold fields to create works from natural materials.

Art Not WasteRSL Hall

In the inaugural Art not Waste exhibition, established and first time artists from the local community produced wonderful works made from Tip Shop waste and found objects.

Wetland ReflectionsDenmark Wetlands Centre

Stunning art mosaic mirrors by the late Ivor Bell were exhibited amongst the ancient paperbark trees together with community sculptures created from mirrors, coloured glass and other reflective materials by children from the Spirit of Play School, and youth working together with Green Skills. \

Green Dinosaurs & Mega FaunaGondwana Garden next to Denmark Sanctuary

Sculptures of Australian dinosaurs and megafauna, made by Phil Brenton, Noelene Berndt and Fred Pearce from recycled metal materials, were placed amongst the ancient flora of the Gondwana garden.

Art Not Waste, credit Hazel Blake

A Night in the Lab credit Hazel Blake

Intonarumori, credit Hazel Blake

BNW #22 ‘It is what it is’Butter Factory Studio Panorama,

credit Matt Andrews

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Festival Lounge

The Festival Lounge was home to the Brave New Works’ conversations and a festival finale with a performance by Messers Lore. The fantastic atmosphere of the Festival Lounge at the Butter Factory Studios was created by Chrissie Gregory and Peter Usher, and was enjoyed by all who attended.

Local ’N’ Vocal Film LaunchThe Festival LoungeButter Factory Studios

A choral performance of “Kwoorabup Sings” helped to launch the documentary of the inspiring community singing project led by choir leader extraordinaire Rachel Hore. “Local ‘n’ Vocal” was a project created for the DFoV 2014.

All Souls River ServiceBerridge Park

Rev Sue Lodge Calvert, community choirs, musicians and the Denmark Dragon Boat Club led the annual

community gathering to remember loved ones who have gone before us in the brave journey of all souls.

Brave New ConversationsButter Factory Studios

Throughout the Festival, Dawn Atkin engaged a number of the participating artists in conversation at the Festival Lounge. It was entertaining and illuminating hearing about their various creative journeys.

• The Confidence Man - Zoe & Gemma Pepper. Zoe and Gemma discussed with Dawn the thinking and creation of The Confidence Man.

• Creation of Now - Annette Carmichael, Linda Bradbury& Jude Iddison. The conversation from the creative team of Creation of Now which also included a violin solo by Jude Iddison.

• It is what it is - Nikki Green & Janine McCrum discussed their

Brave New Conversations, credit Hazel BlakeLocal ’n’ Vocal Film Launch, credit Hazel Blake

creative expeditions into the desert of the gold fields.

• Local ’n’ Vocal - Jennie Newman & Tim Maisey about the inspiration, creation and making of the documentary of ‘Kwoorabup Sings’.

The Denmark Festival of Voice 2016 was a moving feast of 82 acts, including 28 local acts, over 3 days across 12 venues in Denmark. Over 3 000 people attended the Festival which included a record number of 18 participating choirs and 26 artist-led workshops for festival goers.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:

SPECIAL PERFORMANCEDangerous Song – a multimedia performance piece by Linsey Pollak, Lizzie O’Keefe, Bonnie Jenkins combined the human voice with the sounds of endangered and extinct animals. This sonic world was mirrored by the visual superimposition of the natural world onto the human using live projection.

VISITING CHOIRSThe 35 strong Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, conducted by Morris Stuart, sang haunting Gospel songs in 6 languages, and demonstrated the ancient artistry of Central Australia Aboriginal painting in an interactive workshop.

Poco Tutti, Australia’s only disability choir, and The Sisters of Invention, the world’s only disabled girl band, were amongst Festival guests. The Sisters offered a free community workshop to the disability community

in collaboration with the Community Living Association.

It was a joy for the annual Big Sing, conducted again by Rachael Hore, to have the presence of these two wonderful visiting choirs.

ACAPELLA The Giovanni Consort presented concerts of exquisite unaccompanied choral Renaissance masterpieces including Victoria’s sublime ‘Missa O Magnum Mysterium’.

The joyful tradition of barbershop singing was presented by Lockout, Tangent Quartet and Tuxedo with the first two groups engaging in the 2nd annual Battle of the Barbershop.

WORLD VOICES AND VOICES OF THE FIRST PEOPLESSouth Sudanese refugees Abe Nouk and Ajak Kwai rapped/played with local musicians and told heart-rendering stories.

Equus, featuring Bukhu Ganburged the Mongolian throat singer, blended Middle Eastern strings, wind and rhythm.

Accompanied by guitarist Leni Philippe-Janon, Carolina Cordeiro performed melancholy songs of love and longing in the Fardo tradition of Portugal.

Red Sea Pedestrians returned again to offer Klezmer soul-tapping, toe-joyful music to keep the crowds

Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir credit Kirsten Sivyer

Poco Tutti, credit Kirsten Sivyer

Dangerous Song, credit Kirsten Sivyer

Ajak Wkai with local musicians,credit Kirsten Sivyer

DENMARK FESTIVAL OF VOICEJune 3 - 5, 2016

dancing.

A strong ‘Voices of the First Peoples’ program ran throughout the Festival, with the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, Leanna Shoveller, Moombaki Ensemble, George Walley, Kankawa Nagarra and Mixed Mob.

YOUTH PROGRAM60 young people from Denmark Senior High School were given workshops with three Festival acts: spoken word artists Candy Royalle and Mathas, and The Baden Street Singers. They were all gifted complimentary weekend Festival tickets to encourage young people to participate fully throughout the weekend.

Denmark Senior High School teacher Meghan Webber wrote afterwards:

“What a marvelous weekend!! It meant the world to hear so much beautiful music. Reminded me why I become a music teacher. Singing in choirs and conducting is my ultimate passion and I LOVE that I could share that with my gorgeous students. Anyway the fact that you had us perform on Friday meant the world to our kids and their parents. They worked SOO HARD and loved the process. What a sense of accomplishment for them and what a positive experience. I’ve already had one student announce that he wants to do music at Uni and wants to sing accapella. FINALLLY haha!!! I’ve waited a year for ONE person to say that!! Maybe we’ll have an all male barbershop ready for next year!“

120 voices of children from the

Candy Royalle, credit Hazel Blake

Abe Nouk, credit Hazel Blake

Equus, credit Kirsten Sivyer

Strickland Street, credit Tim Maisey

Spirit of Play, Golden Hill Steiner and Denmark Primary Schools joined in the sell-out Youngest Voices concert.

STORY-TELLING IN THE MONGOLIAN YURTThe story-telling program was led by award winning social justice peace-worker and story-teller Donna Jacobs-Sife, and a full yurt program of adults and children’s tales wove magic through the weekend.

SPOKEN WORDHighlights included performance artist, activist and vulnerability advocate Candy Royalle who wow’d the crowd with her forthright and lyrical manner; hip-hop artist Mathas, rapper Abe Nouk, comedians Jones of Ark and writing and poetry from a number of poets such as Lucy Dougan, Yann Toussaint and Virginia Jealous.

OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS Included the amazing Gregorian chant of Lucy Ridsdale, Lexie McGee’s burlesque Club act, experimental musician Aphir, the Libby Hammer Jazz Quartet, George Walley’s Aboriginal-Celtic fusion ‘Knotwork’, Walmatjurri woman Kankawa Nagarra and an acoustic feast of local soloists, duos, groups and bands.

ART PROJECTSThe Cultural Heritage public art project continued its journey toward completion during this financial year with installation planned in the coming months.

The Resurface mosaic public artwork was completed and will be installed at the new home of Denmark Arts in the following year.

ARTIST’S TALKANDREW CARTERButter Factory StudioJanuary 28, 2016

Renown local artist and designer of stage sets nationally and internationally including The Australian Ballet, WA Ballet, Sydney Dance Company and London Olympics, Andrew Carter spoke about his life as an artist and designer.

BREATH Denmark Arts was delighted to be able to assist the Breath film, directed by Simon Baker, to be shot in Denmark during March-April 2016. We were able to facilitate connections for the film crew, introducing them to local creatives who then went on to play a part in the overall production. The production offered the local community a chance to be exposed to the process of how a large-scale film is made, with a number of local people having roles in front or behind the camera.

Making of Resurface - mosaic public art projectcredit Victoria Castiglione

Carols by candle light, Berridge Park, credit Hazel Blake

Bells under the bridge, credit Hazel Blake

DENMARK COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS On request of the Shire of Denmark, Denmark Arts stepped in to organize the town’s Community Christmas in Berridge Park. The event included Santa in his jeep, a wildflower faerie queen arriving by a dragon boat who led the children in a lantern walk, children’s choirs and bands, classical guitar, singers, carols by candlelight, a bouncy castle, bubble soccer, local food and information stalls, a contemporary soundscape using recycled metal and bells under the bridge and, finally, a lively fire and music show. The event was an outstanding success, with around 1000 people attending, and marked a return to the original ‘Christmas by the River’ from earlier days.

After 35 years the Denmark Arts Markets are a stalwart of South Coast summers and a thriving event in the Great Southern, drawing thousands of locals and visitors to Denmark for our four market events each summer. The markets are a celebration of creativity in our region with live music, entertainment, arts, crafts and culinary delights. These events are an important way for local and visiting creators to showcase their craft.

The Denmark Arts Markets are also an important economic contributor, not only to the creative industries but to the Denmark economy as a whole. There were more than 20 000 attendees across the four events from the 2015-16 season. This is a huge economic stimulus for both stall-holders and local businesses, in a town with a population of less than 6000.

Our markets season began as usual in December, with what is affectionately known as “the locals market” before the peak tourist season begins. Our two January markets at the height of the tourist season were strong events as usual, drawing 4000-5000 people to each event. We have a local saying ‘it never rains on Markets day’, but this season was the exception that broke the rule! The Easter Market was unusually wet this year with

torrential rains falling most of the day. Despite the rain we still had thousands through the gate, although numbers were understandably down on previous years.

The on-stage entertainment, a major attraction for many market goers, brought together a mix of local and touring artists. As a showcase for local musicians and performers, the Denmark Arts Markets are an important breeding ground for our home-grown talent, young and old. The markets stage, presented by Act-Belong-Commit, also plays host to a number of touring and well-established artists, providing world class entertainment for our events amid the beautiful backdrop of Kwoorabup Beeliar, the Denmark River.

The Denmark Arts Markets remain a cornerstone of the Denmark Arts calendar and after another wonderful season we look forward to their continuing success in the years to come.

DENMARK ARTS MARKETS12 Dec 2016, 7 Jan 2017, 21 Jan 2017, 15 April 2017

Denmark$354,375

71%

Other Great Southern$36,213

7%

National$73,308

15%

WA$37,099

7%

Denmark Arts Expenditure by Location July 2015 To June 2016

Denmark$138,882

27% Other Great Southern$11,691

2%

National$89,735

17%

WA$285,081

54%

Denmark Arts Income by Location July 2015 To June 2016