Night Market Festival

Column: Bit Parts | Date Published: Tuesday, 12 June 12 | Author: Ashley Thomson | 11 months, 2 weeks ago

WHO: Cultural Enthusiasts & PuppetOOdle
WHEN: Fri Jun 15
WHERE: National Museum of Australia

The Silk Road remains the greatest trading route in history. For centuries goods and ideas moved along it. The Silk Road Night Market Festival will transform your senses with traditional music and dance, market stalls, children’s entertainers, crafts, artist demonstrations and more. The Canberra Astronomical Society will turn their telescopes to the heavens and answer questions about the stars. PuppetOOdle have been asked to perform their Silk Road Puppet Show again so if you missed them you have a chance to see what everyone was raving about! The festival also includes jewellery, delicacies, teas and spices, storytelling, poetry and free entry into the NMA's exhibition Travelling The Silk Road. 6.30pm-9.30pm. Free.

	MAY’S: The May Lane Street Art Project: WHO: Renowned graffiti artists WHEN: Fri Jul 6 – Sat Aug 11 WHERE: Belconnen Arts Centre MAY’S: The May Lane Street Art Project is a survey of the artworks created at May Lane in St Peters, Sydney, between 2005 and 2010. Tugi Balog, Director of the May Lane Arts Association, has been documenting the project since he turned the walls of his business into an outdoor gallery. Consequently May’s has a collection of over 100 panels by celebrated Australian and international street artists incorporating all those who have created work there. “With street art gaining ground as a legitimate contemporary art form… the MAY’S tour is prescient,” says the Director of Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. Talented local Canberra street artists will be artists-in-residence at the Belconnen Arts Centre during the Mays exhibition. Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm.

	Winter Solstice Film Night: WHO: Arctic/Horror Filmmakers WHEN: Fri Jun 22 WHERE: National Film and Sound Archive To mark the Extreme Film and Sound Exhibition, the centennial of Australia’s engagement with the Antarctic continent and the traditional polar explorer’s Longest Night festivities, the NFSA will become the ultimate chill-out zone for one night only – and it’s the longest night of the year (in a good way). From 5:30pm their theatrette will screen a selection of filmic experiments from the Antarctic and the Arctic. From 7pm the courtyard will hold the Australian premiere of Monolith – a new work by Austrian artist Werner Dafeldecker featuring live soundscapes captured in Antarctica. And from 8:30pm in the Arc cinema there’ll be a screening of the chilling and sublime, featuring The Thing From Another World (1951), the classic Arctic paranoid horror thriller. Admission to the film is $5/$3 for those wearing tuxedos or a penguin suit! Otherwise free.

	African Culture, dance/drumming workshops: WHAT: Dance/drumming workshops WHEN: Mon/Tue/Wed evenings WHERE: The ‘burbs Canberra is extremely fortunate to have two incredible, world renowned artists here on our doorstep. Mory Traore and Mohamed Bangoura are famous in their respective fields and are masters of their amazing disciplines: African dancing and drumming. They are a dynamic team that bring an amazing energy and light with them wherever they go. Mory and Mohamed are utterly passionate about sharing their heritage with anyone and everyone and now they’re here to teach and perform a craft they know to be challenging, exhilarating and confidence building. Want to get involved? Dance and drumming workshops are held at various inner north and inner south suburbs. For more information see their website (www.africanculture.com.au) or email admin@africanculture.com.au

	Kids In The Shed Day: WHO: Children & Children At Heart WHEN: Sun Jun 17 WHERE: Old Bus Depot Markets Canberra's Old Bus Depot Markets will be bustling with excited littlies at the special ‘Kids in the Shed’ theme day. With lots of entertainment, face painting, yummy things to eat and stacks of products especially for kids, the place will be teeming with little ones having loads of fun. ‘Kids in the Shed’ will include an additional 30 stallholders focusing on things just for children: bright, funky, wearable handmade clothes for boys and girls, handcrafted toys, art works for kids’ rooms, specialist gear for newborns and more. Plus there’s Milo the clown, pony rides and a jumping castle. For more information visit www.obdm.com.au. 10am-4pm. Free.

	Fragments: WHO: ANU School of Art Graduates WHEN: Thu Jul 5 – Sun Jul 15 WHERE: CCAS Manuka Fragments are incomplete or isolated pieces of something. They are essences which are detached from an original context and given new meaning. Fragments represent an undercurrent uniquely translated in each of the artists’ work and by using a system of identically sized work the theme is brought to the surface in this exhibition. Fragments is a group exhibition of local artists Alex Lewis, Jake Silvestro, Marty James, Rebecca Stapledon and Elaine Camlin. The artists involved in Fragments graduated from the ANU School of Art in 2011. They explore the various possibilities of printmaking and drawing, through their investigation reflecting on the notion of fragmentation within their own and each other’s practices. Wed-Sun, 11am-5pm. Free.