Diverse writers attending diverse offerings at #brisfest23
They are all gathered here for you to check them out, the reviews of Brisbane Festival 2023.
Hello Brisbane Festival, what have we here?
Brisbane Festival is back again in all it’s glory. Editor Nadia Jade has a good look at the program and gives you a rundown of what’s hot, what’s intriguing, what’s unmissable and what’s worth spending the big bucks.
New look who dis? What’s new at Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane
Check the all-new-look Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane. A bright and fun new space, you can expect to see our regular offerings of loads of reviews of all your fave events, plus a heap of new editorials and fun new opinion pieces. Plus, check out our exciting new What’s On in Brisbane Calendar.
The Elephant in the Review
Shows like The Bigger Picture have value whether a white reviewer approves of it or not. As much as I enjoyed it, my review is ultimately an incomplete understanding of the work, because I will never have the lived experience that would allow that level of depth in analysis.
Looking back and looking forward: Reflecting on the Meanjin arts scene in 2022
2022 was a massive year for the live arts scene in Meanjin / Brisbane. Art had helped the city cope with so much during the pandemic, and as the city emerged from COVID bubbles and restrictions last year, the arts scene returned to their old stomping grounds and creatives launched new shows, new venues, new festivals and a whole lot of excellent art.
500 Pieces of Arts Criticism
Arts criticism is cultural criticism. Our artists reflect the world around them, they choose a toothy issue or a personal one, one that affects millions or one that breaks a single heart, and they climb right in amongst it and thresh it out. It’s a vital service, it’s how a culture breathes, how it rebirths, how it discards the rotten and the dead weight, how it dances.
West End Film Festival promises a wildly innovative program for 2022
This year’s Festival is hyper local yet national featuring flicks from chilly Melbs to humid Darwin covering content on hot topics, music videos, animation, dramas, youth, other cultures and a wonderfully inspiring, provocative, yet diverse program from our own homegrown 4101 and SEQ filmmakers. Audiences will get to view an amazing talent of multimedia events across West End plus find unexpected popup film events in non-traditional film settings.
A fundamental guide to bullet proofing your grant process
Grants are something that are not for the faint of heart. They take grit, commitment, self-confidence, honesty and passion. I was not expecting it to become something that I really enjoy doing, like I love the learning, the process, the people and the projects and that’s why many writers do it. Although we are few and far between, we share commonalities and have similar experiences. There are definitely dos and don’ts along the way – for how we engage with you and how you engage with us.
An Origin Story
The name is a tongue in cheek statement about the art in Brisbane. I’ve lived here on and off and passed through town for nigh on thirty years since I was tiny. There is this pervasive myth, the myth of the Deep North, that nothing actually happens here. That because you can’t find it on the main street, it doesn’t exist. But Brisbane has a virulent, passionate artistic history.
"We are here to say yes to your ideas and to help bring them to life" - Katherine Quigley on a new era for Backbone Arts
“It takes a village to raise a child - and Backbone is just one part of that village for many children of all ages, we are here to say yes to your ideas and to help bring them to life. We are here to inspire creation. We are here to make sure that no matter what’s going on in your life, you have a place to call home, where you are loved and accepted for the complex and wonderful person you are."
"The artists should be at the centre" - Anywhere Festival widens it's scope for 2021
No other festival in Brisbane (Queensland? Australia?) is so supportive of indie artists, from facilitating production, to teaching marketing skills, to opening access to unseen corners of our city, to streamlining the festival administration to truly create an equitable access opportunity for independent creators. The end result? A line-up of fresh, innovative, and utterly original works performed by artists from absolute first timers to seasoned stars, presented across the length and breadth of Meanjin, extending up to the Sunny Coast. And we are pleased to find out, that this year the festival will extend into Ipswich and Moreton Bay as we
Fun times for bouncy kids at the Flipside Circus pop-up space!
On the morning I visit, there are a bunch of energetic small bodies bounding over an obstacle course made of foam blocks and gym equipment. The kids shriek with joy as they tackle the course, and their parents laugh delightedly as they help the smallest ones along. The biggest ones go in full tilt! It truly is a unique opportunity to blow off steam and develop great physical skills for the 200+ youngsters that pass through the space every week.
Pay the Dancers: Brisbane's Dance Community Takes on the AFL
“On average, I receive calls or email requests once a week asking for 'free' dancers in lieu of exposure. I understand they don't get it and it is my job to educate them,” notes Meg Cooper, CEO of Mad Dance House in Brisbane.
“For me if there is no budget, it's simple. It's a no. I don't want to be known as giving cheap gigs to the dancers. I am a proud advocate for dancers and I want them to be treated as professionals.”
Another parliamentary inquiry into the arts, or, who gives a f*ck about your opinion?
Public opinion is a significant force in the political realm. And whilst public opinion may not always markedly influence the nitty gritty details of public policy, it certainly shapes the boundaries that limit it. Like an artist whose prior experience and choice of tools influence the sculpting of a block of clay into something more meaningful, in Australia, a democratic nation, public opinion shapes government action to fashion public policy.
For my sins I live in Brisbane
Many a time a stranger to our sundrenched plains has cried, ‘but nothing ever happens in Brisbane!’ And I say woe unto you, for you are not getting invited to the right parties.