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There’s a lot to take in where this Making Space event is concerned, so it’s lucky that someone’s published a book to go with it.
The first thing to know is that Making Space is a festival of Victoria’s Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs). That’s 21 galleries featuring more than 80 artists in 50 exhibitions, running in Melbourne until June 15. Some people, at this point, are thinking about all the new art they’ll see, plus the workshops, performances, forums and various meaningful exchanges that are in store. Others are reeling at the prospect of a launch party marathon to rival a Black Sabbath tour but with better clothes. Whatever your perspective, now’s a good time to get on the ARI trail.
The event is being coordinated by the best, pinkest online ARI guide around, via-n. The book is a mammoth hardcover edited by Din ‘The Art Pimp’ Heagney and designed by Brad Haylock. It’s 272 pages of ARI info and histories. With pictures too, it transforms from a mere resource into a hangover companion.
By Penny Modra |
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What:
Making Space: artist run initiatives in Victoria
Where:
STICKY and selected ARIs
When:
Launching at Platform Fri Apr 27 6pm-8pm
How much:
Book $24.95
Launch free |
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Bloc Party may just have touched the dizzy heights of something rare and special here, making the ‘difficult second album’ syndrome seem like a complete misnomer. In bettering their debut (no mean feat considering Silent Alarm was possibly the finest product of 2005's post-punk glut) the Londoners have shown a remarkable ability to not only retain the sensibility that made them so popular the first time round, but to evolve as songwriters and musicians.
On a bed of busy guitar, complex drum patterns and pulsing bass, their thrilling hooks, broken atmospherics and pop choruses kick up great clouds of dust, manifesting as a boisterous, fearful and distrustful tale of modern life. Condensing a typical weekend of urban existence into 51 minutes of earnest and frantic echoes of love, memories and xenophobia, singer Kele Okereke’s lyrics plead for an escape from these darker and more desperate times. It’s heartfelt, heavy stuff.
Succeeding in their experimentation, they’ve pushed the limits of their imagination and technical scope. You’ve just got to wonder what can possibly come next.
By Josh Gardiner |
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What:
A Weekend in the City
Who:
Bloc Party
On:
Wichita/Shock
Myspace:
here |
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A picture is worth a thousand words. The recommended industry rate for freelance writers is $799 for 1000 words or less and 80c per word thereafter. Rolling with this logic, RMIT Gallery and the Emerging Writers’ Festival are offering up in excess of $9,600 from twelve Melbourne-based artists, writers, publishers and designers as part of Rich Text.
Featured artist Gabrielle de Vietri, who will be displaying the first two issues of the Ideas Catalogue and collecting contributions for the forthcoming issue, is not convinced by the maths. “Eight hundred dollars for a picture? Issue two of the Ideas Catalogue contains 37 ideas at 13,262 words. So its text value comes to $10,609.60. Therefore, one idea is worth $286.75, or 358.4 words, or a third of a picture. Although, in my opinion, that does not reflect the value of an idea. I think an idea is worth a thousand pictures - which leads me to the conclusion that I am massively under pricing the Ideas Catalogue and the ideas within!”
With opening night doubling as the program launch for the Emerging Writers’ Festival and including a quote-only performance by Danielle Freakley, Rich Text should be a goldmine.
By Maura Edmond |
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What:
Rich Text: Emerging Artists and the Written Word
Where:
RMIT Gallery,
Storey Hall, 344 Swanston St, Melbourne
When:
Until June 9
Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 2pm-5pm
Opening night Tues May 1, 6pm-8pm
How much:
Free
Exhibiting Artists:
Gabrielle de Vietri, James Dodd, Tim Fleming, Danielle Freakley, Is Not Magazine, David Keating, Antuong Nguyen, Pandarosa, Narinda Reeders and Kiron Robinson, curated by Tai Snaith and Helen Walpole. |
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Attention to detail at The Signet Bureau extends beyond the hand finished fabrics and sharp leather shoes. It glows from the street, where its logo, designed by Monument Art Director Stuart Geddes, hints at the entrance. It falls from the ceiling, in the form of 50+ steel hooks-come clothing racks. It’s in the sanded chipboard floors and felt change rooms. And, of course, attention to detail is in the featured clothes.
The store carries just three labels – Ess.Laboratory, Munk and Melbourne hand-crafted shoes Preston Zly - but as complete collections. “We showcase each label in full,” explains part storeowner and Ess.Laboratory designer Hoshika. “This way you can see the individuality in each collection.” This philosophy, combined with Munk’s butter soft knits, long layered skirts and standout pieces such as Ess.L’s 32 panel blazer, positions The Signet Bureau as a hallowed icon of not only fashion, but craftsmanship and design.
By Nadia Saccardo |
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What:
The Signet Bureau
Where:
165 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
When:
Tues-Thurs 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Closed Sun-Mon
Contact:
(03) 9415 7470 |
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Oh Captain my Captain! There are no victims in this classroom! Everyone complains about Hollywood’s love of remakes, but no one bats an eyelid at the exact same stories being told, year after year. A favourite? The struggling, idiosyncratic teacher who inspires a ragtag class of students by showing, for example, how Shakespeare is really just like Melrose Place.
But in the new American indie Half Nelson, the teacher isn’t encouraging his students to stay clean – he’s struggling ineffectually with his own drug problem. When he says that the kids keep him sane, you know it’s not true, but also that he desperately wants it to be. Ryan Gosling’s performance is remarkable, almost washing him clean of teenage sighs leftover from his romantic role in The Notebook.
Shot almost entirely handheld, in under a month, Half Nelson takes clichés and turns them back into poetry. It occasionally piles on unnecessary bleakness, but as Gosling’s history teacher strikes up an out-of-school relationship with a 13 year-old student, it is awkward, complicated, and genuinely touching.
By Martyn Pedler
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What:
Half Nelson
Where:
Cinema Nova, Kino Dendy, Palace Cinemas
When:
Released April 25
Watch the trailer:
here
Win:
One of 10 double passes, valid for the season. Just email the subject line TEACHER TEACHER to win@threethousand.com.au. Winners will be notified by email. |
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Melbourne label Pigeon Combine develops a strong sense of narrative in streetwear. The 2007 winter range pays homage to the macabre literature of Edgar Allan Poe. The dapper garments of the ‘Tails of Terror’ collection draw on gothic themes and the eternal battle between vampire and man. The sharp designs boast teeth, tails, hoods and a distinct air of Melbourne panache.
Pigeon Combine makes clothing with a bold edge for fashion enthusiasts who prefer locally made goods and don’t want their wallets sapped. While this range is limited, it’s exactly how Edgar Allan Poe would have liked it. As expressed in his literary theory, art should be created for art’s sake with emphasis on aesthetic. In short – quality over quantity.
Keep an eye out for Pigeon Combine’s spring collection, which takes inspiration from the online role-playing game World of Warcraft. As Pigeon Combine says, “It’s gunna be bulk Gangsta. Expect volume, big hoods and wool. Shit you can ride into battle with.” Who said gaming addiction breeds inefficiency?
By Isabel Dunstan |
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What:
Pigeon Combine
Where:
Kids In Berlin, Genki, Crimson Phoenix, Douglas and Hope
Contact:
info@pigeoncombine.com
Myspace:
here |
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Book-slash-magazine that it is, Dumbo feather pass it on could easily have been dubbed a boogazine. Luckily, founding editor and one-woman-publishing-house Kate Bezar coined the preferable term mook, which has stuck. Founded in 2004, this beautifully designed mook has been exploring the lives of inspirational people for almost three years.
With issue 11 just off the press, Kate Bezar is visiting Melbourne next week to meet our fair city’s mook readers. We who love good design and heavy, recycled paper stock. Kate is aware that this description pretty much sums up the whole inner-city population, so she has ticket sales in place. If you buy a ticket, you’ll be helping to fund one of the best new publications around and you’ll get to meet some of the people featured in Dumbo’s pages over the years. There will also be wine, music, film and food. And mooks.
By Penny Modra
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What:
Dumbo feather Melbourne meet up
Where:
To be revealed by Kate B
When:
Tues May 1
How much:
$50 general, $40 subscribers
Contact:
letters@dumbofeather.com
Win:
To be in the running, just email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject line 'I don't need a feather to fly' |
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What:
The Good Shepard’s Circus Pie Classic
When:
Sun Apr 29, 4pm
Where:
The Corner, 57 Swan St, Richmond
How much:
$15 + BF here |
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Description:
It’s a rock ‘n’ roll cook off competition for charity. But the iron chef won’t be suing because it’s for a good cause – the Good Shephard Youth and Family Service. Chefs include Scott and Andy from The Living End, Ally Spazzy, Rebecca Barnard and Macromantics. Judges include the John Lethlean (scary-food-reviewer-man), Cath Claringbold from Mecca and Andrew McConnell. There will be music too and if you go for no other reason then go for the incredible 6 Ft Hick and The Meanies, backed up by Little Red and more. |
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What:
Teenager album launch with Damn Arms
When:
Sat Apr 28
Where:
Bootleg, Geddes Lane, Melbourne
How much:
$15
Win:
One of five copies of Thirteen. Just email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject line ‘lucky number for some’
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Description:
At the tail end of an east coast tour of duty, Teenager are finally getting around to the Melbourne launch of their debut album Thirteen. Damn Arms will be playing as well and both are supported by Dance with Voices and Mission Control.
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What:
This is My Sound
When:
Thurs Apr 26, 8pm
Where:
Ding Dong Lounge, Level 1, 18 Market Lane, Melbourne
How much:
$6 |
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Description:
Featuring Plug-in City’s highly energetic drummer, I=It is a new electro / pop / 2-step outfit worth checking out. They’re playing as part of ‘This is My Sound’ tonight. Also featuring Tank, Transformers and the mystic/operatic genius of Oliver Mann, it will be an evening inspired by mice, Gorky’s Zygnotic Mynci, suicide, ancient deities and accidents. |
What:
Black Night Crash 1st Birthday
When:
Sat Apr 28, 8pm
Where:
Rochester Castle Hotel
How much:
Free |
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Description:
Black Night Crash has been heating up the Rochester Castle’s generally very good-looking dance floor for a year of Saturdays now. As usual it will be indie hits ‘of the past, present and future’. But to celebrate there will be drink giveaways, CD giveaways, heels, hearts and glasses broken. |
What:
Bollywood Fundraiser
When:
Fri Apr 27, 7.30pm
Where:
Rooftop Bar, Level 6 Curtin House, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne
How much:
$30
Contact:
9557 9193 |
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Description:
Get your benevolent pants on and join the kind people of the Hamlin Fistula Relief and Aid Fund on the rooftop of Curtin House for some nibbles, a few drinks and a screening of Bride and Prejudice. Did we mention there is going to be Bollywood dance lessons? Because there will be. Oh yes indeedy. It will be just like Liz Hurley’s wedding only cheaper. |
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What:
La Lola Salon at The Libertine Review
When:
Sat Apr 28, 9pm
Where:
Miss Libertine, 34 Franklin St, Melbourne
How much:
$15 with costume, $25 without |
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Description:
When they say a night of Vaudevillian excess, they mean it. Lola the Vamp and her Salon stars recreating Lola Montez’s 1856 Spider Dance (on the very spot it first happened), everyone dressed as street urchins and hustlers, an illegal casino, magicians, the Swing Patrol Dancers, Marawa hula hoping her booty, Melbourne jazz outfit VADA onstage, and on decks Ms Butt, Paris Wells, Joelistix (TZU) Manchild, Ooh-ee, CWD and more. |
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