Art & culture stories - December 2011

Foreword

Now that summer is here and the holiday season is just around the corner, arts and culture events are being unveiled all over the country. There is literally a wealth of exhibitions, performances and activities to help fill the holidays over December and January.

If you are lucky enough to be in the Canberra area or visiting for your holidays, you can choose from the many summer exhibitions on offer including Renaissance at the National Gallery of Australia, Handwritten at the National Library of Australia and Impressions: Painting light and life at the National Portrait Gallery.

But the smash hit exhibitions of summer aren’t limited to our nation’s capital. In New South Wales you can take in seven decades of Pablo Picasso’s work at Picasso, masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. Victoria will host the The Mad Square at the National Gallery of Victoria which explores the art and creative forces to come out of Germany in the period following World War 1.

If you’re looking to escape the heat, I can highly recommend relaxing with one of the winning books from the 2011 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Both the shortlisted and winning entries are excellent examples of Australia’s literary talent with 20 books for adults, young adults and children there is something for everyone.

I hope you all have a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday and festive season.

Sally Basser
First Assistant Secretary, Office for the Arts

Diary

In this issue

Launch of 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

PMLA awards Australian authors, poets and historians are encouraged to compete for their share of a $600 000 prize pool, with entries for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards now open.

Cultivating creativity – supporting our artists with disability

Handprints Six talented artists have received funding for professional development through the pilot Cultivate, a program which will assist artists with disability to be better placed to pursue a professional artistic career.

Righting wrongs of the past: Indigenous ancestral remains returned home

Righting wrongs A delegation of eight Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owners has accompanied 19 ancestral remains back to Australian shoresfollowing a repatriation ceremony at the United Kingdom’s Natural History Museum.

What’s on this summer

Handprints Don’t just hide inside these holidays, get out and explore some of the amazing cultural exhibitions on offer and make your summer season a creative one!