City of Sydney

City of Sydney….

http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/venues/65-sydney-opera-house

SMASH PALACE

http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/17399-smash-palace

In the metastasising mega-cities where more than half of China’s people live, the only constant these days is change. As residential districts are bulldozed to make way for gleaming skyscrapers, social structures are being shaken by competition and alienation. As new possibilities emerge, old certainties are breaking down.

Under Mao, the Communist Party set out to “smash the Four Olds”: customs, culture, habits and ideas. Now the “new China” they built is itself under assault, and not only from growing wealth and freedoms. Greed, corruption, and government heavy-handedness are generating anger and anxiety. The immovable edifice of Party rule—symbolised by Wang Guofeng’s huge photographs of Beijing monuments (above)—is starting to show cracks.

Smash Palace, at Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery, showcases the reactions of China’s best artists to the shocks of the new century. Some question the solidity of the status quo; others look behind its façade and find monsters lurking. Some find reality so absurd that fantasy or mockery seems the only proper response; others again reach for anchors in the very Olds the Maoists were so determined to erase. Cheng Dapeng and Zhou Jie create surreal cities using, respectively, cutting-edge 3D printing and traditional ceramics. The giant black weather balloon of Zhou Yunxia’s Even in Fear inflates almost to bursting point, then shrinks to a wizened sack. Tu Pei-Shih’s teeming animations depict Chinese history as a path to confusion and chaos. Tzeng Yong Ning sees his furious scribbles of red ballpoint as a direct link between traditional calligraphy and contemporary chaos, while Zhang Tingqun’s intricate abstractions may evoke digital networks, but were inspired by patterns of cracks.

Smash Palace—spread over the Gallery’s four floors and drawn from the renowned collection of Judith Neilson—opens on March 1 and runs until August 4.

"Imprint" – Jewellery by Bethamy Linton

http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/18011-imprint-jewellery-by-bethamy-linton

Of particular interest to Bethamy Linton, is the human response to the natural world, especially during the age of enlightenment. “I’m fascinated by the relationships that emerged between science and mysticism in this period and the rigid social structures of western culture during this time.”

Reflecting on history, place and the distortion of memory, ‘Imprint’ will be Linton’s first solo contemporary jewellery exhibition. Taking inspiration from antique lace work and natural science illustrations, she references the elevation and preservation of experience through the creation of motifs that allude to her encounters with the world. The work itself is a selection of intricately detailed, hand cut titanium and embossed sterling silver jewellery that embodies ideas of perception and representation. The exhibition will showcase this fine hand-work through a series of bracelets and neckpieces. These pieces have a cultural and personal narrative that speaks not only of Linton’s background as a metal smith but also of her conceptual concerns as an artist.

Bethamy Linton

http://www.midlandatelier.com/contributors/jewellery/bethamy-linton

Bethamy Linton is a fourth generation West Australian silversmith. The Linton workshop was established in 1908 by James Walter Robert Linton (Beth’s great grandfather), a British trained painter and teacher of art. Since then, through Beth’s grandfather and father, the Linton family has continued its strong relationship with the West Australian cultural sector, championing a rare combination of traditional silversmithing techniques with modern applications. Many pieces by the Linton family, including Linton Silver - a range of cutlery which Beth and her father John continue to produce today - are represented in state and national galleries across Australia, as well as many important private collections internationally.

Beth started her training as a silversmith in the Linton workshop with her father John in the early 1990s, later working as an apprentice jeweller with Kailis Broome Pearls and with silversmith and jeweller David Cruikshank in New South Wales.

photos

http://www.google.hr/search?q=bethamy+linton&client=opera&hs=ImQ&channel=suggest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=W8OMUcuZOoWj4gSq7ICgAw&ved=0CEIQsAQ&biw=991&bih=651

ChorusOz - Sing Brahms' Requiem with Us

http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/17410-chorusoz-sing-brahms-requiem-with-us

ChorusOz gives aspiring singers the opportunity to sing glorious music in a great concert hall with 800 like-minded people. It is a soul soaring experience – You feel good, your brain gets a workout and in the end you have achieved something extraordinary.

Sydney Philharmonia invites singers of all backgrounds – whether you have experience singing in the shower, bedroom or the stage – to make up a choir of 800 singers and blow the roof off the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with Brahms’ German Requiem.

With no auditions required participants rehearse on the Saturday and Sunday morning and by the afternoon will be performing to an audience in the Sydney Opera House.

This year we will offer an online version of the score and teaching tracks for those who do not require a hard-copy to be posted out to them. For those who print off their own scores, please note that these must be covered in black paper or used with a black folder.

Come and push yourself to the limit with this challenging and rewarding work as we tackle Brahms’ German Requiem over a weekend of rehearsals in May finishing in a grand performance of the work in the Sydney Opera House!

VIVID Sydney

http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/18016-vivid-sydney

Sydney will once again be transformed into a spectacular canvas of light, music and ideas when Vivid Sydney takes over the city after dark from 24 May – 10 June 2013.

Colouring the city with creativity and inspiration, Vivid Sydney highlights include the hugely popular immersive light installations and projections; performances from local and international musicians at Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House and the Vivid Ideas Exchange featuring public talks and debates from leading global creative thinkers.

There are so many new ways the City will be dressed with lights this festival, chekc the website for full programming, special offers and more.

Sydney Opera House……photos