Manly Arts Festival 2011
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Fri 02 Sep 2011 - Sun 18 Sep 2011
Don't know your pastels from your pastiche or your charcoals from your chiaroscuro? It doesn't matter because
Manly Arts Festival has something for everyone, even the arts uninitiated. This explosion of visual arts, exhibitions, performance, workshops and special, literary and youth events hits the famous seaside town in September.
Full descriptions and contact details for all events can be found on the
Festival website and a free program can be downloaded
here . Below are some snippets of information to whet your appetite.
A free launch night will herald in the festival at
Manly Art Gallery and Museum on Friday evening 2 September. Special guest is Nell Schofield, Australian actor, artist and writer.
After that things really kick into action. Community "art for all" activities mean that you can draw, stitch, nail, sculpt, paint or print to your heart's content through the glorious Manly early spring. They include
Bin Your Art where residents are invited to attach a piece of art to their garbage bin on collection day for public (and possibly pongy) viewing, and
Art in a Jar where anyone can place photos, drawings or mini sculptures in a jar to join a colourful and personal display. You can even swap jars at the end of the day.
If you're a dab hand a with a stick of chalk then relive your childhood by drawing on the recycled-surfboards-turned-into-chalkboards that will be placed around Manly for your drawing pleasure. If craft is more your thing you might like to get stitching for the
Pillow on a Bench project.
Manly Art Gallery will be a festival hub. It's the venue for the major festival exhibition
Offshore: Artists of Scotland Island and Pittwater's Western Foreshore. This exhibition, curated by Katherine Roberts, will showcase the varied themes, styles and media employed by the members of this creative community. On Monday 5 September you can enjoy brunch and a guided tour of the exhibition. Also on show will be
On the Beach: Gems from the MAG&M Collection, displaying the history of beach and swimwear in Manly, and contemporary arts and crafts from Eramboo Artist Environment, Terrey Hills.
At the Gallery you can also find out
How to Buy Art:A Practical Guide or join in
Manly's Big Draw: Sea Mail where you can add to the art installation through text, paint or collage - whatever takes your fancy.
One of the festival highlights will be
Northern Beaches Open Studio Weekend on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September. If you've ever thought of the life of an artist as a lonely and penniless existence in a dark garret somewhere, then prepare to have your eyes opened. Travel to the delightful Northern Beaches where the artists themselves will throw open the doors of their studios and galleries, and give you an insight into life for an artist in the twenty-first century.
Kids haven't been forgotten in the festival program. Activities and events for young people include
Youth Art Cafe, an exhibition by young local artists; the
24/7 Youth Film Festival, a film-making competition for young people aged 12 to 25; and
Manly Library Youth Photography Competition where happy snappers aged 12 to 20 can submit works on the theme 'Bush to Beach" and win great prizes.
The festival isn't all about art. Musical events include the 6th Annual Manly Warringah Pipe Band Festival and Highland Gathering, the Sydney Vocal Arts Centre Showcase, and Jazz in the Kirk Cafe.
The Sydney Chamber Music Festival will present three concerts on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September.
If your tastes run more to the written and spoken word you haven't been left out either. Writers and poets of Pittwater will read from their works at
Offshore Creatives: Books & Writing on Sunday 18 September and
Saturday Storytime at Manly Library will feature local picture book authors reading their works for children.
The free
Lantern Parade and Family Picnic will be the festival finale on Saturday 17 September from 4 to 8pm. Manly Art Gallery will provide the backdrop for a range of performances, and people are invited to bring a picnic and lanterns or carnival masks to celebrate the festival's colourful conclusion.
Spring into spring this September at the Manly Arts Festival. If you can't find something to amuse, educate, entertain or inform you from this year's festival lineup then you're not really trying.
#art
#festivals
#exhibitions
#food_wine
#free
#art -and-craft-centres
#community_events
#craft
#galleries
#fun_things_to_do
#photography
#northern_beaches
#manly
!date 02/09/2011 -- 18/09/2011
%wnsydney
107903 - 2023-06-12 13:23:54