Ekphrasis Workshop - Elsewhere: Drawings through Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Uzbekistan​

Please join us for this Ekphrasis workshop focused on the travelling exhibition Elsewhere: Drawings through Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Uzbekistan​

This touring exhibition will be launched in the HR Gallop Gallery on the evening of Thursday 23 August. It will then travel to Griffith, Dubbo, Port Macquarie and Tamworth with the support of CreateNSW and a Charles Sturt University Compact Grant, curated by Dr Sam Bowker of the SCCI. The artworks include sketchbooks, unfolding scrolls, paintings, and drawings.

These drawings and paintings by Wendy Sharpe (Archibald Prize winner and former Official War Artist) and Bernard Ollis (Former Director of the National Art School) are vibrant critiques of Orientalism.​ The exhibition reflects upon how we understand each other when we are geographically separated. Their exquisite sketches record perceptive journeys with people and through places that have been clouded by misapprehension, fear, and cliches.  Their practice acknowledges the histories, limitations and initiatives of travelling artists.

This exhibition is motivated by the challenge of communicating shared experiences across place, politics, culture and history, for these are stories in which both parties are located 'Elsewhere'.


The Booranga Writer's Centre is warmly invited to a travel writing workshop on Saturday 18 August, in which participants may choose to submit their writing for publication in the accompanying exhibition catalogue (with ISBN). In this workshop we will tour the exhibition, respond to the artworks, reflect on the ways in which we describe travel, and critique the idea of 'elsewhere'.


Ekphrasis Workshop
Saturday 18 August
2 to 4pm
H.R. Gallop Gallery
Building 21,
Darnell-Smith Drive,
Wagga Wagga
Free for members
$10 donation for non-members payable on the day.
Refreshments provided.
Workshop RSVP

Full Exhibition Details 

Wendy Sharpe and Bernard Ollis

Elsewhere

Travels through Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Central Asia

13 August - 7 September 2018

Booranga Writer’s Workshop

Saturday 18 August 2-4pm

H.R. Gallop Gallery, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU

Wagga Wagga

Exhibition Launch

Thursday 23 August 6pm

H.R. Gallop Gallery, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU

Wagga Wagga

Seminar: ‘Art after Orientalism’

Thursday 30 August 1-2pm

HR Gallop Gallery, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU

Wagga Wagga. Open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm

Lili Wilkinson Residency

Lili Wilkinson had a very busy time during her residency at Booranga in May. 

The members-only soiree held on 1 May was a very pleasant social evening as we gained an insight into Lili's YA fiction and got to know a bit about her background as a writer. 

At her public reading at the Historic Council Chambers on 3 May Lili read from her new novel When the Lights Go Out which is being released in August. She followed this by reading from the novel she is working on now at Booranga. The writing workshop on 12 May focused on the structure and key components of writing fiction.

Lili Wilkinson and David Gilbey

As well as her writerly duties Lili immersed herself in the local cultural scene. David Gilbey took Lili to the SoACT production of Design for Living on Friday night, and on Saturday she delighted in the vast array of second-hand books at the Rotary Book Fair. This was followed by the live, local and original music at Fitz Live Wagga Wagga City Council event.

Lili was interviewed on ABC Radio, along with David Gilbey, and spoke to a CSU Literature and tutorial group.

Writers at Lili's Booranga workshop

"CSU's LIT124 - The Oral Tradition tutorial group had a great chat to Lili yesterday afternoon, and we are all very thankful to Booranga Writers' Centre and their Writer-in-Residence program (supported by the NSW Government) that enabled this valuable learning experience to occur.

Lili discussed the conception and writing of her earlier novel 'Scatterheart' and the development of her upcoming unnamed novel, which both draw on the fairy tale traditions and characters to explore new meaning in both the historical and contemporary worlds.

The students were keen to discuss various aspects of the characterisations particular to the fairy tale genre, in particular the role of women and step-mothers, and the awakening of agency in the children in the stories and how this may be interpreted by the child reader. It was an informative and enjoyable discussion."—Monique Shephard

CSU's LIT124 - The Oral Tradition tutorial group with Lili Wilkinson

Booranga Writers' Centre is supported by the  NSW Government through Create NSW.

Booranga Writers' Centre gratefully acknowledges the financial and in-kind support provided by Create NSW, Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University.

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Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 18 April at the Historic Council Chambers and the executive positions and committee vacancies have been filled with David Gilbey returned for another term as President. Welcome to our three new committee members Ian Stewart, Kate Allman, and Ruby Foxlewin and to our continuing committee members from 2017.

A change in structure sees Sandra Treble filling the role of Treasurer and Kathryn Halliwell, as Secretary. These positions are titles which are taken on in line with their paid positions.

David Gilbey and Julie Montgarrett

Thanks to Dr Julie Montgarrett for being our guest speaker on the night and presenting a portion of her PhD titled Messy Resistance: the artist as doubtful writer?

"Julie Montgarrett spoke of the nuanced values of writing as a visual artist. She drew our attention to how the processes of creating text-like forms (asemic writing) and her research into archival written, visual, and archaeological sources informs her creation of artists' books. 

These complex, layered, intricate and challenging artefacts present 'fraught fictions and fragile facts'. Each page explores, both directly and indirectly, our understanding of colonial Tasmania (Van Dieman's Land) and the displacement of indigenous and familial knowledge from that region. Her use of writing - both found and made - provides one of several means of guiding speculation about the past while tentatively informing the present, particularly regarding historic events and the influence of absent individuals upon identities today."—Dr Sam Bowker

Jacob's Book from the Tideline by Julie Montgarrett     Photo: James Farley

Booranga Writers' Centre is supported by the  NSW Government through Create NSW.

Booranga Writers' Centre gratefully acknowledges the financial and in-kind support provided by Create NSW, Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University.

Ellen van Neerven: Writer-in-Residence in July

Ellen van Neerven

July brings our third writer-in-residence to Booranga and we are honoured to welcome award-winning author Ellen van Neerven to Wagga Wagga. Ellen will be in residence from 8 until 14 July and will deliver the ASAL Patrons Lecture at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on Friday 13 July as well as conduct a writing workshop on Saturday 14 July at Booranga.

Ellen van Neerven is a writer of Mununjali Yugambeh and Dutch heritage. Her first book, Heat and Light (UQP, 2014), was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize. Heat and Light was also shortlisted for The Stella Prize, the Queensland Literary Award for State Significance, and the Readings Prize. Ellen was named as a Sydney Morning Herald‘s Best Young Australian Novelist in 2015. 

Ellen’s second book, a collection of poetry, Comfort Food (UQP, 2016) was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize and Highly Commended for the 2016 Wesley Michel Wright Prize.

Until 2016 Ellen was the Managing Editor of black&write! Indigenous Writing and Editing Project at State Library of Queensland. She received the 2017 Queensland Writers Centre Johnno Award and the 2015 Express Media Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Young Person in Literary Arts. She currently lives and works in Melbourne.
https://ellenvanneervencurrie.wordpress.com/

Patrons Lectures are hosted by ASAL with funding from the Copyright Agency. These lectures support emerging and distinguished Australian writers to travel to locations around Australia to present a public talk or lecture on a topic of his or her choosing for a broader public.

By bringing Australian writers into a wide range of communities, Patrons Lectures aim to stimulate broad interest in Australian writing and facilitate deeper understanding between writers, the academy, secondary teachers and the reading public.

Ellen's events are as follows:

Our 'members only' event is a Meet-the-Writer soirée to welcome Ellen to Booranga. This is being held on Tuesday 10 July, 6pm at Booranga. 

To register your attendance please RSVP booranga@csu.edu.au

Also available to 2018 financial members is a limited number of one-on-one consultations with Ellen. 

To submit a piece of writing for consideration for one of these consultations please email booranga@csu.edu.au

ASAL Patrons Lecture:

When: Friday 13 July, 6pm to 8pm

Where: Wagga Wagga Art Gallery

Baylis St. Wagga Wagga

Cost: Free, bookings essential as seating is limited. RSVP

Writing Workshop

When: Saturday 14 July, 2pm to 4pm

Where: Booranga Writers’ Centre, Mambarra Drive, Wagga Wagga

Cost: Free for members, a $10 donation is requested from non-members. RSVP

Booranga Writers' Centre is supported by the  NSW Government through Create NSW.

Booranga Writers' Centre gratefully acknowledges the financial and in-kind support provided by Create NSW, Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University.