I went to hear the Prime Minister of Australia (Kevin Rudd) speak at the Adelaide Festival Centre as part of the OzAsia festival symposia program -- early last Saturday morning -- very very early for most arty types I have to say.
The Premier of South Australia Mike Rann attempted some Chinese in honour of the occasion, much to the amusement of the very large audience of arts peeps, Asia enthusiasts, interested members of the public and the odd political apparatchik..The Prime Minister revealed that the expressions used by the Premier of South Australia were in a previously unheard of dialect and related to exploding ears, before going on to discuss the importance of developing the habits and structures of collaboration and cooperation in our region. These are, according the the PMs address, vital to our ability to deal with large scale issues such as climate change and the current economic situation. The PM also spoke about how important it is to be comfortable and at home in the cultures of our region -- truly at home with languages, awareness of cultural meanings etc. In other words -- respect for cultures can be the connection in challenging times. The most moving speech was that of the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia Hiue Van Le's vote of thanks to the Prime Minister was the hit of the morning, as he spoke very movingly and powerfully about his experiences and about South Australia.
The most revelatory moment for me however, was more about Kumar & Gus -- Gus Clutterbuck and Pramod Kumar's exhibition Confluence which is u at the Festival Centre foyer-- a wonderful series of works pulling together ancient & modern, Australia & India and Gus & Kumar. I found them fresh, strong and vibrant -- and I desperately want to know how they put giclee printing onto banana paper. Well worth checking out.
till next time
Alison Dunn
image shows: Fish with a Lotus Pattern, Artists: Gus Clutterbuck and Pramod Kumar, Medium: Bone China, body stains, ceramic ink; Dimensions : (set of 2) 260 x 180 x 10mm each ; Photo Gus Clutterbuck
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