Ghostly forests
There was something here before us. It seems an obvious, trite thing, but it's easy to forget when the trees are so green and so immovable. Local artist Jonathan Webster has been struck by the introduced forests of Canberra, and has examined them in a new exhibition opening at ANCA Gallery this week. "Scattered across the grey Canberra bush are streaks of dark-green groves, spirits of foreign experience transplanted into Australian soil. They are spaces of imagination. The walker is briefly immersed in the presence of a surrounding forest, only to emerge again into the bush," he says. "For a long time I have been aware of these spaces as integral to my own personal sense of home. I love the Old English Gardens, I love the Redwood Grove, I love the pines that were burnt in 2003. And yet these places I see as so inherently Canberran have supplanted the forests, stories, histories that came before." He hopes to resolve this tension through his works. Ghost Forests, by Jonathan Webster is on at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, until April 27.
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Hannah in Canberra
There's been talk about this amazing movie about the German political theorist Hannah Arendt - she who first coined the phrase "the banality of evil" - and it's been screening at various Australian cinemas for the past month. And it's finally coming to Canberra! Hannah Arendt will be screening at Greater Union in Manuka from April 24, and we have 10 double passes to give away, to the first 10 people to email arts.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Just include a line about why you want to see the film, although I'm already sure the reason will be that you read Simon Weaving's fascinating interview with Pam Katz, who wrote the screenplay.
Ceramics, textiles and installations
Three shows opened this week at Craft ACT, as usual showcasing the city's best design talents. In White Heat, an eclectic blend of artists take a long look at the notion of "ceramic wearables". In Prospect, Craft ACT member Antonia Aitken explores the environmental impact of mining, as well as the personal sense of loss she felt while visiting Queenstown in Tasmania, with works encompassing wood, printmaking, and multimedia. And in the Crucible showcase, Jemima Parker presents Curiosities, a collection of hand-printed three-dimensional textile objects that can be worn on the body or viewed as objects in their own right. These three shows are running at Craft ACT, first floor, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Civic, until May 17.
Playing Field residency
Applications are now open for the Playing Field Studio Community Arts Residency Program, running in July and September. "We are looking for Canberra-based individuals or community groups who want to explore or develop work using film, music, performing arts, photography, visual art, digital media or art therapies," says the studio. The residency includes unlimited access to a studio space for seven days, and a budget of up to $500 for materials and equipment. The sessions for residency one and two run from July 7-20, and three and four from September 29-October 12. To apply, email playingfieldstudio@gmail.com or call 0402 597 959 for an application form and more information. Submissions close on May 16 at 5pm.
Art and travel
Contemporary representational painter Rick Everingham has spent most of the past 20 years travelling and living in Europe, and Travelling On, at Paintbox, records impressions and memories of his time in the Mediterranean, a continuing series created in Tuscany and now in Sydney. "Wherever I go I find certain images, or certain situations, or subtleties, or colours that strongly appeal to me. I see wonderful connections between these things, and they seem to have a resonance with something inside me … The aim of my painting is simply to communicate these feelings to others as clearly as possible," he says. Travelling On is showing at Paintbox Fine Art, 32 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, until April 27.
Fresh Voices from America
For your weekend classical music fix, this from the Wesley Music Centre: "Pianist Edward Neeman will perform Paul Schoenfield's toe-tapping Peccadilloes, Joel Hoffman's tuneful Amethyst Variations, and Reinaldo Moya's sensual Preludios de Rayuela in a concert featuring some of the best music coming out of America today. The concert will also include classics such as the Partita in G Major by J.S. Bach, Fantasie Op. 28 by Mendelssohn, Paganini Variations by Brahms and selected Etudes-Tableaux by Rachmaninoff.'' Tickets online at trybooking.com/DWXL, and at the door. Adult $30, concession $20, and full-time students $10.
Rituals, bigots and castles
What a confusing headline! But the three exhibitions currently showing at CCAS at Gorman House are so different that there's no other way to sum them up. What did the rest of the world think when our attorney-general assured people that they could be bigots if they wanted? Pat Hoffie examines this notion in her show named after the controversial comment, taking bumper stickers sold in Bali to Aussie tourists and transferring the text onto kitsch "traditional carvings" often found in the same shops. It's funny and sobering all at once. In Scars of a Ritual Past, Mariana del Castillo has created an installation that is "an imposing spectacle consisting of works that reflect her first impressions of Australia - Sydney's blinking neon lights blend with memories of religious fervour, guilt and visions of hell in her native Ecuador". "There is a depth of displacement that children of migrants carry, and religious standings and convictions can often stand in opposition to the new secular society," she says. In Sour Castles, Samantha Small looks at the nondescript places in which we often find ourselves, by means of a generic hotel/apartment corridor. "Doors off the hallway offer access into many different worlds and yet we are denied entrance. The doors are locked while the corridor itself closes in, generating a claustrophobic experience that is uncomfortable but totally fascinating.'' People Do Have the Right to be Bigots You Know, by Pat Hoffie, Scars of a Ritual Past, by Mariana del Castillo, and Sour Castles, by Samantha Small, are all showing at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gorman House, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon, until May 10.