Category Archives: In Australia

Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2011

This year we had our second chance to be in attendance at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair.  We’d been to the second one, in 2008, and I have to say that this year’s far outshone the earlier one, as can … Continue reading

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Tjukurpa Anangu

Gallery visits that we made on our recent trip around Australia began and ended with shows from Tjala Arts in Amata, SA.  We opened with Anangu Maruku Mulapa (This is our real way) at Alcaston Gallery in Melbourne and spent … Continue reading

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Ngaruwanajirri: helping one another

In the Tiwi language, Ngaruwanajirri means, literally, “helping one another.”  In broader terms, it names a group of artists and the place where they practice in Nguiu (Wurrumiyanga) on Bathurst Island.  It is also the title of the first major … Continue reading

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The Art Award Revisited

I might as well say it straight out, up front, and get it off my chest: I was sorely disappointed by the showing at the 28th National and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards this year. Not that it wasn’t a … Continue reading

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Topsoil

Our flight home to the United States left from Sydney, so our last day was spent back in the temperate sunshine down south.  We ended our three-week residency by returning to the Sydney Opera House once more to see Bangarra’s … Continue reading

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There Is No Town Like Alice

Let’s backtrack a week or so to Alice Springs, although the memories seem tame now by comparison to the rush of Darwin’s events.  We arrived on the midday flight from Sydney, which gave us just enough time to drop our bags … Continue reading

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Full Moon in Darwin

Man does not live by (visual) art alone, so part of yesterday’s adventure was an evening at the Darwin Festival and a double dose of the performing arts. First on the bill was Cantina, from the Strut and Fret Production … Continue reading

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The 28th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards

Last time we spoke I was in Sydney.  Well, truth, I was in Alice, but I haven’t yet gotten around to writing up Alice’s adventures, much less the fabulous opening of Ngaruwanajirri:helping one another at Charles Darwin Uni’s Art Gallery on … Continue reading

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A Weekend in Sydney

We continue to hover between laziness and lethargy as summer temperatures make Sydney balmier than expected.  A couple of days ago, planning a visit to Colin and Liz Laverty, we decided to make our way from the CBD to a … Continue reading

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Applause

Of the many friends I’ve made in Australia over the years, there are none I cherish quite so much as Jonathan and Penny, who have opened their home to me, let me read drafts of sonnets on the occasion of … Continue reading

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