Artists
Ross Byers: Dino Chair, STOP Talking Bin, Traffic Graffix
Ross is a professional artist with a quirky nature who loves creating and is widely known for his sculptures constructed from cardboard. His works vary in scale, most notably the suspended candelabra in the Academy and the giant coffee cup for Café Day in Launceston.
In 2006 Ross designed the GO Sculptural Talking Rubbish Bin installed at Sacred Heart Primary as a trial to the STOP Bin which will be sited outside the Studio at the Inveresk Railyards for Streets Alive 2010 along with the Dinosaur Chair which Ross designed with artists from the Access Arts Link. Ross was also involved in painting the Cinema Bus for Streets Alive 2006 and the Queen of Tasmania Arts Bus which toured nationally in 2008.
For Streets Alive 2010 Ross will be working on the project Traffic Graffix which will transform traffic signal boxes around the Launceston CBD into a gallery of bright and fun coloured images.
Ralf Haertel: Visual Art, Arts Trail
Ralf is a Launceston-based visual artist, freelance curator and project manager. His arts practice incorporates textiles, installation, film and multimedia. He has worked extensively on site responsive and environmental installation projects, and in community based arts development roles for various Tasmanian organisations.
For Streets Alive 2010 Ralf is curating the visual art elements in all the projects in the Arts Trail and creating his own art works and installations.
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects- Out of the Blue : Hip Hop to the top
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects (IHHP) celebrate the fusion of traditional Indigenous culture and hip hop. Executive Jen Sharman worked with this amazingly positive crew at the last Castlemaine Festival and with the support of Beyond Blue have enticed them to the shores of Tasmania where they are promoting self-expression through the facilitation of hip hop workshops with various schools, colleges and community youth groups. They will also be working with the coordinators to develop a mass community performance for the Streets Alive Closing Event, Umbrella Momentum.
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects (IHHP) is a unique team of talented artists in all elements of hip hop, media, entertainment and performing arts, who have been working extensively in indigenous and non indigenous communities around Australia for the past three years. In 2007 IHHP worked extensively with over 20,000 students from every state in Australia. The most recent communities IHHP have visited are Yiylli WA, Noonkanbah WA, Kalumburu WA, Kununurra WA, Wadeye NT, Karama NT, Bachelor NT, Kempsey NSW, Walgett NSW, Shep Vic, Port Augusta SA,
Sonja Hindrum: Umbrella Momentum
Sonja's fashion work has appeared in Australian Gown of the Year, the Dupont Awards and has graced the catwalks of numerous other fashion events. As a costume designer Sonja has designed and created costumes for several TasDance and local theatre productions. She has contributed wearable art pieces to several exhibitions and reviews of her work have appeared in the journals Textile Fibre Forum (Queensland) and Echoes (UK), the journal of the International Felt makers Association. Sonja has contributed work to Design Island: New Horizons organised by Arts Tas to showcase the work of Tasmania's emerging contemporary designers. Her work has been selected for exhibition in the annual Material Girl competition. She is currently coordinating a community arts project, Pleiades, for the Junction Arts Festival.
For this years Streets Alive, Sonja is working on developing artworks under the Umbrella theme to be placed in the Mall.
Andrew Shepherdson: Umbrella Momentum
Andrew has worked on numerous art projects in the area of metal fabrication, industrial design and has completed numerous large-scale murals including for Kings Bridge and Office Works, the Graffiti Log Sculpture in Royal Park, the 100's of Flags colouring Launceston city and a car in Monoxide Monologues for all previous Streets Alive Youth Arts Festivals, where he has also acted as an art tutor and mentor, in addition to working with the Arts Roar accessible arts project.
For 2010 he will interpret the umbrella as a form of protection and will work with students from colleges to make 3 D works on this theme. He will also be creating sculptures to be placed on the Levy wall behind the skate park/ log sculpture.
Alan Taylor: Stop Talking Sculptural rubbish bin
Alan is poet-in-residence who inspires the work of Access Arts Link through the recital of his quirky poems. As a musician Alan performed his composition, Peter Cundall's Garden, as the solo guest performer at Peter Cundall's 80th Birthday Celebrations for ABC Radio, and his composition, The Tasmanian National Anthem, has been performed by many artists on recordings and at festivals - as well as himself on ABC Radio and 7EX.
During 2008, Alan performed a recital of his own poems in the Nuala O'Flaherty Auditorium at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery and four poetry readings - all his own work - to open art exhibitions at private galleries in Launceston, and the Henry Jones Hotel Gallery, Hobart, as well as guest readings to open Disabilities Week and National Depression Week during 2007. In 2006 and 2005, as writer-in-residence at Launceston College, he presented papers on creativity, illustrated by readings from his own poetry. Most recently Alan has begun volunteering his services as a Living Library Book at the Launceston Library and will be workshopping with us to devise and record a series of anti-bullying messages for installing into our Stop Bin.
Joseph Pickett: White Box
Joe is an emerging arts producer based in Tasmania. One of the projects Joe initiated in Launceston is Manic Productions which Interweave Arts oversee and auspice. Manic Productions have presented a range of arts projects and events targeted at providing opportunities for emerging artists in Launceston. Joseph has also worked for organisations Including Queensland Theatre Company, RedHot Arts (Alice Springs), The Tasmanian Circus Festival and Tasdance. He was recently the Director of a small regional festival in Tasmania ‘The Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival' and produces and supports a range of community arts events both in Tasmania and elsewhere around the country. He is currently the Artistic Associate for Junction 2010, the Regional Arts Australia National Conference.
Jay Watson: Body Spaces, Umbrella Momentum
Jay is a professional contemporary dancer who has worked extensively on educational projects, various festivals throughout the state and professional performances both locally and nationally where has had the opportunity to work with several leading Australian choreographers including Graeme Murphy, Paul Mercurio and Chrissie Parrott. Jay has more recently ventured into the Department of Education where he has held positions in several schools: 2004 dance and drama teacher at Kings Meadows High School; 2005 special aid and dance teacher at West Launceston Primary School: and dance and drama teacher for Scotch Oakburn College during which time he has choreographed Story Lines, Passion fruit, the Poetry and Dance Festival, the Amalgamation Arts Festival and more recently Shine for the Queen of Tasmania Arts Bus tour at the Awakenings Festival.
This year Jay is choreographing our Body Spaces dance-video and will also be contributing his skills for our Closing Event, Umbrella Momentum
The Knit Militia crew
Amy Shipway: Amy's year overseas has turned into two years in Tasmania as she has been swept up in a love for life in Launceston. She is a Scot, Retail Assistant by day and leader of Launceston's Knit Militia by night. She has more projects and ideas than time, and a passion for creativity in all areas of life: cooking, crafts, dancing and gardening. For Amy Knit Graffiti, Access Arts and Streets Alive are food for the creative soul. She is weaving the Knit Graffiti project together for this years festival for which she has even postponed her departure from Launceston back to her homeland.
Isis St Pierre : Isis is a twenty-something creative living on 'the Apple Isle", exploring the grey area between art, craft & design, and trying to lead a simple lifestyle. She loves vintage, nana naps, sewing, bushwalking, meeting people from foreign lands (hopefully in a foreign land), music festivals and all things indie. She is currently studying to be an Art & History teacher.
Jemma Gardam: Local gal Jemma is a cautious and careful knitter. She is renowned in the Knit Militia for her chai tea and sparkly knitting needles. When not knitting, Jemma enjoys good food, folk music and wearing fake beards. This year she is excited about yarn bombing Launceston's CBD with textures and unbelievably ugly yarns.
Abigayle Tett is a 25 yar old student at UTAS Academy of the Arts and a committed Knit Bandit. Currently studying Textiles and Visual Arts and exploring the exciting world of low-brow art, DIY culture and craftivism. "I was raised by the CWA and learnt to knit in a very domestic and restrictive way. The LKM reclaims the traditional boring knitting I gave up years ago and and transforms it into something that is fun and engaging, creatively and socially. We then take the warm, quirky vibrant art we create and colour up our harsh urban environment in a cheeky, non-detrimental way. What's not to love?" says Abi about the Knit Militia
Jude Walsh: loves the creative space , a space where you can feel the energy of people who are fullfilling their most primal urges by making art,concentrating on the task at hand , and enjoying each others company. There should be a shared art space in every community , it would make a lot of life so much sweeter.
Sam Butler is a 19 year old student from Launnie, studying Architecture at UTAS. "I was initiated into the knitting cult..ure and the LKM through meeting the best people I know, no surprises I've stuck around! I love street art, lamp, and the feeling of when you pull a woolen jumper over your head, and it covers your eyes, and you can't see for a second, and you pretend you are a tiny tiny little man in a big land of knitted rolling hills... just me? okay. I love tea and Gracie".
Access Arts Link Artists
Steve Colwell, Stuart Back, Gerard Smith, Kaylene Barnard, Louisa Jones, Rita Case, Becci Riedl, Jordan, Liz Pinner
Kitty Taylor : Pavement
Kitty is an emerging North West Coast artist who now resides in Cygnet Tasmania. Painting since age 9 when she won her first art prize in NSW. Kitty has just completed a 6 month tenancy at the Balfour House Arts Centre in Cygnet. She is also currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Tasmania's School of Art located in Hobart. Kitty has exhibited in many group exhibitions and performances. Her first solo show THE KITCHEN SINK DRAMA was a huge success and her second solo show A POUND OF FLESH is exhibiting in October 2010. Her current works include a photographic project called "A Pound of Flesh" which documents Tasmanians in their workplace.