There really are so many ways to remember the Great War, and thankfully so many creative people are taking in the Anzac centenary from so many different angles. Katy Mutton's postwar project is about the struggles of returned Anzacs who suffered trauma and injury while building lives on the land through the Commonwealth settlement scheme. Her solo exhibition, which opens at ANCA on April 22, examines settlement mapping, reinterpreting block maps to "examine the historical layers of the allocations and the relationship between the physical state of the men and the physical state of the land". She also "encourages a shift in focus from the outer layers of the image of man as soldier to the damage present in the man as survivor, particularly highlighting the damage not seen". Post-War: Thousand Mile Stare, by Katy Mutton, will be opened by author Nigel Featherstone at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, on April 22 and runs to May 10.
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Anzac radio play
A new radio play by Bart Meehan will be broadcast by Art Sound at 1.00pm on Anzac Day. Featuring local actors Emma Wood, Christopher Zuber, Elaine Noone, Geoffrey Borny, Gabrielle Hyslop, Will Wang and Tony Turner, the play "tells the story of two men from their first meeting on the docks in Sydney, through their training in Egypt, to the landing at Gallipoli and subsequent hospitalisation on Malta". Visit artsound.fm for more information. The play will also be made available nationally through the National Community Radio Network.
Don't mention the war!
Hard to believe, but life was not entirely consumed by war in Australia in 1915. Sarah Engledow, historian and curator at the National Portrait Gallery, will be giving a fascinating overview of 1915 through the gallery's collection, featuring more than 50 portraits (none of soldiers) without mentioning the war. Instead, she'll focus on "personal stories that illuminate Australian art, business, politics, entertainment and social infrastructure in the years around the First World War". Don't Mention the War will be presented by Sarah Engledow on Thursday, April 23, 2pm at the Comfort Inn Airport International, 57 Yass Road, Queanbeyan. Members and visitors welcome. Members free, visitors $25. Contact Lucy Costas on 6299 1105 or lucyjvc@gmail.com for more information.
An etching or not?
Ceci n'est plus une gravure à l'eau forte. Don't worry, I haven't just accidentally pressed Google Translate. This is the name of the latest show by master printmaker (he doesn't like being called that, but he is) John Loane. It translates as "This is no longer an etching", echoing "one of art history's most celebrated sentences – the famously contrary caption to René Magritte's 1929 painting of a smoker's pipe,This Is Not a Pipe". In this show, Loane has "vigorously reworked his own (and in one case another artist's) etchings by dripping, scraping and smearing large quantities of black, silver and coloured etching inks directly onto their surface until the prints are no longer recognisable". Ceci n'est plus une gravure a l'eau forte, by John Loane, is showing at Megalo Print Studio and Gallery, 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston, until May 2.
Callouts
M16 is calling for exhibition proposals for its 2016 Program. Curators and individual artists from Canberra, interstate and overseas are encouraged to submit proposals for consideration for the 2016 gallery program across M16's three gallery spaces. The application form and information about M16's galleries can be downloaded at m16artspace.com.au. Applications close 5.00pm, May 15, and applicants will be notified by June 12.
Entries are open for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award at the National Portrait Gallery. "Now in its fourth year, the Award seeks to extend the traditional notion of portraiture to the digital realm. In 2015 the Award is moving in an exciting new direction … The gallery is now offering two award categories for the most outstanding screen-based digital portraits: a $10,000 cash award for entrants aged 18 and over, and an artistic residency for entrants aged 18 to 30, valued at $15,000." Entries close July 30. Visit portrait.gov.au for more information.
And DESIGN Canberra, the local design festival that successfully premiered last year, is now calling for expressions of interest for participating creatives. The festival will run for two weekends, from November 21-29, and is now inviting entrepreneurs, galleries, organisations, businesses, cultural institutions, educators, curators, students, artists, designers and more to be part of the event. Visit designcanberrafestival.com.au/get-involved/ for more information.
Franki Sparke in Braidwood
The Left Hand in Braidwood is open for business, with Franki Sparke's new collection of prints. "Franki is a well-known Canberra artist whose inventive prints are improvised using her own handmade stamps, stencils and collage. Some artists follow their own path regardless of fashion and Franki is naturally one of these, building her complex pictures like a kid at play, but with an adult's sophisticated manual skills." Franki Sparke's exhibition will run for three weekends – 18-19 and 25-26 April and 2-3 May, or by appointment, at 81 Lascelles Street, Braidwood.
Scab
Not as gross as it sounds; artist Jacob Potter is inspired by ephemeral sources like colour and sound, whichform the basis for pushing his painting and drawing to a sculptural level. "Potter's process is a live and physical experience, as he makes works in response to the blasting noises and synth squeals that come through his stereo," says CCAS program manager Alex Boynes. Scab, by Jacob Potter, is showing at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 19 Furneaux Street, Manuka, until April 26.
WeatheRED in Belconnen
This show sounds pleasingly creepy. Artist Karyn Fearnside feels a strong connection to her red-haired mother, who died when she was 10, through her own two red-haired daughters. Using photographs of her daughters, she explores "the idea of the veil between our world and the world of spirit, alluding to something/somebody coming/going through the veil. Something catches your eye and you see an image in a stain, rust or watermarks. This is known as pareidolia, seeing what appears to the individual to be a face, figure or form in non-homogenous surfaces." She also uses her mother's wedding dress evoking a sense of timelessness … and "a series of small containers or bowls made out of hair, connecting the family together in an unusual sense of intimacy". Shivers! WeatheRED, by Karyn Fearnside, is showing at Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, in the Arts Lounge until May 10. There will be a chance to hear the artist speak on Saturday, April 18, at 1.30pm.
