SYN Media

During the COVID-19 isolation period, Melbourne has had to learn to adapt to new regulations and restrictions to ensure the welfare and health of Australians is looked after, and this is no exception to the arts world.

Despite growing challenges such as vacant galleries and empty seats in auditoriums, the arts has continued to thrive in this under pressure environment and as a result, has brought many assets to life by all kinds of art makers and creators.

Team Art Smitten take a moment to further investigate what is going on in the arts world and plan to report back on a fortnightly basis to keep everybody’s artistic hunger nourished.

ACCA: Think Tank #1 – Who’s Afraid Of Public Space?

Public Movement, Training Ground, 2015. Photo: Zan Wimberley

The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art is holding it’s first Think Tank session in advance of their 2021 Exhibition, Who’s Afraid of Public Space, which will be the first of six forthcoming sessions hosted via Zoom, where contributors will be providing their research and insights that are being utilised in the exhibition.

The question Who’s Afraid of Public Space? seems more pertinent and more complex than ever. Initially posed as a point of enquiry for ACCA’s forthcoming research, publication and exhibition project, in this rapidly changing pandemic landscape, this subject has taken on a new dimension as we have seen the nature of public space and public culture shift, and the flooding of the ‘digital square’ replace that of the public square.

The conference will be held on Wednesday 19th April, 3pm.

You can register to be apart of the Zoom conference here.

NGV: Drop-by Drawing

In addition to their virtual gallery tours, the National Gallery of Victoria have had a big focus on their online resources that are available via their website.

There is a vast catalogue of education resources that have newly been uploaded for schools and teachers who are currently working and learning from home.

One of their successful projects has been the “Drop-by Drawing” video series, featuring artists providing some how-to drawing videos.

In this video, local Melbourne artist Kenny Pittock shows the viewer how to draw a coffee cup, trees and a pear-shaped world.

You can find more resources from the NGV here and Kenny Pittock’s art here.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s biggest musicals are streaming free on YouTube for a limited time 

The isolation period has taken a huge punch into theatre world, Broadway especially, leaving many actors and creatives without work.

In light of this, Andrew Lloyd-Webber has announced that each of his musicals will be available for streaming for 48 hours only on the YouTube channel, The Shows Must Go On

With Joseph And The Technicolour Dream Coat and Phantom Of The Opera having both streamed and been major success, the channel will continue to stream musicals every Friday for people to watch.

Podcasts… Podcasts Everywhere!

As we remain behind closed doors, now is better than any other time for prime storytelling and podcasts are the perfect medium.

Isolation has become a topical trend, and many content creators have tapped into this.

All The Best Radio have broadcast two isolation-themed stories aptly named… Isolation.

The first episode, Isolation 1 – Home Roller Disco, sees the creative team getting together to share their personal experiences of being separated apart from the world.

Bafflegab Productions have released a new audio-drama story of The Scarifyers, a series of rip-roaring tales of comedic supernatural intrigue set in 1930s Britain, distilling the likes of Quatermass and “like Tin-Tin, but with lights out.”

The two protagonists in this story, Professor Dunning and Crowley, find themselves in their own sort-of lockdown, where their sanity is tested as the days and weeks pass.

This story can be downloaded for free at https://shop.bafflegab.co.uk/album/the-scarifyers-cold-call

Big Finish Productions have found themselves performing a similar approach to the audio-drama medium by releasing a free story in their original series, The Confessions Of Dorian Gray, which carries on from Oscar Wilde’s famous tale, The Picture Of Dorian Gray.

Featuring Alexander Vlahos as Dorian Gray, in this particular story, he finds himself in London 2020 on a train ride home, he finds himself reflecting on the world around him…

The story is free to download at https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-confessions-of-dorian-gray-isolation-2250

Keep an eye on the SYN Website and Art Smitten’s social media for more arts updates in the coming weeks!