Volume 38 #24 22–28 November, 2023 Editor: Eve Jeffery Editorial/gigs: gigs@echo.net.au Copy deadline: 5pm each Thursday Gig Guide deadline: 5pm each Friday Advertising: adcopy@echo.net.au P: 02 6684 1777 W: echo.net.au/entertainment
A MEETING OF TRADITIONS
Metin Yilmaz (kaval) and Damian Wright (flamenco guitar) present a meeting of two distinct yet strongly rooted cultural and musical traditions. Kurdish Dengbej influences improvised with the meditative sounds of the kaval will dance with the sounds of captivating flamenco guitar. ARIA-nominated flamenco guitarist Damian Wright (Bandaluzia) and kaval/bilur player Metin Yilmaz (Kurdish/ Turkey) bring their unique styles and deep musical experiences together with their own compositions, alongside expressive improvisations as well as makams (musical scales from the East) and melodies from Anatolia.
EXIT EXHIBITION EXI THE LAST TWO WEEKS Local filmmaker Susie Forster’s extraordinarily candid documentary draws back the blinds to reveal the last two weeks of Victorian artist Lee Stephenson’s life, as she chooses to die at home with the support of her family. The gentle message of the film is dying at home can ultimately be a healing experience for the family, and that state-funded palliative care is available to us all, for free. Through the film we are granted a very intimate window into the last two weeks of the life of Susie’s previously robust and vibrant mother, Lee. Shot at Longlee, the artist’s home in the beautiful Goulburn Valley, we watch the artist navigate her own death with varying levels of grace, bad temper, clarity and humour. We meet: Roger, her devoted husband and now main carer, mobilising around his headstrong, dying wife; Susie, the dutiful daughter in a time honoured role-reversal with her mother; and Domini, Lee’s singer-songwriter granddaughter, who shares Susie’s feelings about seeing her grandmother dying at home. Assisted by the Victorian palliative home care service, accompanied by original music played in the house by Domini, surrounded by Lee’s art and in the thick of Covid restrictions, they work together to grant Lee her final wish – to die at home.
The Sydney Morning Herald says Damian Wright is a brilliant flamenco guitarist: ‘Wright showed what a captivating solo player he is on his own “In Time,” and elsewhere his articulation of complex lines was fluid and dripping with conviction.’
Susie will be joined by Byron Bay Nurse Practitioner Joshua Cohen, in a Q&A after the film to talk about end-of-life choices in the Byron Shire. The feature film is preceded by two awardwinning short films, The Fine Art of Being Zion and Meeting Mick. Chai and cakes available.
Sunday, December 3 at 7.30pm at Kulchajam, 1 Acacia St, Byron Bay.
Screening on November 30 at 7pm, at the Mullumbimby Drill Hall Theatre. Tickets: eventbrite.
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Byron School of Art’s (BSA) third-year students will be holding the opening for their graduate exhibition, Exit 9, on Friday from 6pm to 8pm. The exhibition’s title is a reference to the nine graduating students (Emily-Sarah Boldeman, Isabell Heiss, Anne Hicks, Greg Hughes, Victoria Rehn, Dean Stewart, Luke Thomas, Emma T Woodburn and Elizabeth Allen) and will feature a diverse selection of work, including works on paper, painting, sculpture, found object art, installation, video and multimedia. During the students’ final year, they have worked under the direction of BSA Directors and teaching staff including, Emma Walker, Christine Willcocks, Michael Cusack, and Travis Paterson. Exit 9 will showcase their collective works which demonstrate a willingness and determination to push boundaries while exploring materiality and contemporary concepts. All works will be for sale and this is a fantastic opportunity to support local emerging artists. BSA would like to warmly welcome the community and art lovers alike to the opening event on Friday, November 24 from 6pm to 8pm to celebrate this talented group of artists. The exhibition runs from 10am to 3pm, Monday to Saturday, until 9 December at 112 Dalley St, Mullumbimby. More at: byronschoolofart.com.
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