Fraser Coast Scene - July 2022

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THEATRE • ARTS • HERITAGE • CULTURE

JULY 2022

CONNECTED TO COUNTRY ARTIST PROFILE: AUNTY JAN WILLIAMS Despite her travels all around Australia, Butchulla artist and elder Aunty Jan Williams has always called the Fraser Coast home.

Born in 1955 to a Butchulla and Yugambeh Mununjali father and South Sea Islander mother, Aunty Jan grew up in Pialba which she recalls was “just sugarcane, pineapple crops and bush back then.” Childhood days were spent on Pialba beach or playing in ‘Rookie’s Paddock’ (where the Hervey Bay Library now stands). “All the kids used to play together – South Sea Islander, Punjabi, white kids, black kids – it didn’t matter!” she recalls.

Aunty Jan’s most memorable artistic experience dates back to the early 1980s, when elder Shirley Foley organised a group of senior Mutitjulu women from Uluru to travel to K’gari to give workshops to local Butchulla women on woodworking skills.

“I made a very special carving of a serpent out of Black Wattle wood. It was a very meaningful experience for me.”

COVER IMAGE: Jacinta-Rai Ridgeway-Maahs, Dreaming 2021, acrylic on canvas © The artist.

Photo: Alistair Brightman.

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au /ourfrasercoast

When asked who her greatest inspiration is, Aunty Jan wastes no time in naming her father, Les Williams. “He passed away in 1999, but he still inspires me. He had a strong sense of justice. Pialba had a large South Sea Islander population as a result of blackbirding. In the late 1930s, as a form of compensation the local landowners gave plots of lands to the South Sea Islanders along what was then known as Fraser Street. Les successfully lobbied the council for the street to be given a more suitable name and as a result it is known to this day as Islander Road.”

Speaking of her art practice, Aunty Jan says “weaving is something that came naturally to me.” Jan has contributed two sets of weavings to the current exhibition at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery – Land, Sea and Sky. Being a part of this exhibition is significant for Aunty Jan, not just because it is a survey of works by Indigenous artists connected

STAY INSPIRED! This guide shares a taste of our program and was correct at time of printing.

To keep up to date with the latest arts and cultural scene visit our website.

We welcome contributions from our creative community. For more information email ArtsCulture@frasercoast.qld.gov.au

“I have had many exhibitions all over Queensland but never with my kids. Deleece and Aaron are my two eldest.

It’s a good feeling showing artwork alongside them.”

See Land, Sea and Sky at the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery until Sun 21 Aug

Photo: Jessica Cook

to Butchulla Country, but because it is the first time her work will be exhibited alongside that of her children.

Fraser Coast Scene is distributed free as a marketing and engagement initiative of Fraser Coast Regional Council. It’s about promoting our programs and services by sharing stories of our arts and cultural community and their connection to our spaces.

Contents are subject to copyright and my not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.

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Fraser Coast Regional Council acknowledges to the east, the Butchulla (Badtjala) and to the west, the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) People, their connection to Country (land, sea and sky) and recognises the many places of cultural, spiritual, social and economic significance in the community. We pay respects to their Elders – past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge other First Nation Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander people, who reside in the Fraser Coast region.

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au

Kate Ceberano Sweet Inspiration Tour 2022 Thu 7 Jul | 7.30PM The HITS + songs from latest ARIA top 5 album ‘Sweet Inspiration’. An electrifying live performer. The voice of a generation.

Queensland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Mon 27 Jun | 1pm This world class youth orchestra sees 10 to 24 year olds play popular classical repertoire from the baroque period through to current day.

Turandot - Met Opera

Mon 18 Jul | 1PM Zeffirelli’s production returns with Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska making her Met role debut as the legendary cold-hearted Princess Turandot.

Prima Facie - NT Live

25 Jul | 1PM & 29 Jul | 7PM Jodie Comer makes her West End stage debut in Australian Suzie Miller’s award-winning play - a gripping, empathetic look at how the law routinely fails victims of sexual assault.

Morning Melodies Tenori in Beyond the Sea

Thu 28 Jul | 11AM Join these classically-trained Aussie larrikins on a musical journey around the world.

WHAT’S ON | JULY 2022 5 Walker Street, Maryborough

The TEN Tenors Highway Men Tour

Tue 12 Jul | 7PM Brontë’s gothic tale of a spirited orphan in search of love, family and a sense of belonging, blazes the country in 2022.

The Australian Bee Gees Show

Sun 14 Aug | 8PM Over 3000 shows on the Vegas strip, the Australian Bee Gees Show will be heading Down Under for the Australian leg of their 25th anniversary tour!

4122 6060

Sun 17 Jul | 2PM Following a 40 city return tour to the United States, The TEN Tenors are coming home.. with a new show – featuring new songs and fan favourites!

Lucia di Lammermoor Met Opera

Mon 15 Aug | 1PM Australian film and theatre director Simon Stone’s new staging of Lucy Ashton’s story of family feuds, set in the Rust Belt of present day America.

Amy Shark: See U Somewhere Australia Tour Thu 18 Aug | 7.30PM Amy Shark is embarking on her biggest tour EVER!

166 Old Maryborough Road, Hervey Bay 4197 4206 FREE ENTRY

EXHIBITIONS: SAT 11 JUN - SUN 21 AUG

Land, Sea and Sky A survey of works by Aboriginal artists connected to the Fraser Coast region. The title refers to the country that belongs to the Butchulla people.

Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality ‘that land ... I still got it on my mind’

School Holidays

The Fraser Coast comes to life during holidays with extra activities and workshops.

Find out more at: www.ourfrasercoast.com.au/school-holidays-1

311 Kent Street, Maryborough 4190 5818 FREE ENTRY

EXHIBITIONS: FRI 17 JUN - SUN 31 JUL

EXHIBITIONS: FRI 5 AUG - SUN 18 SEP

OPENING NIGHT: Sat 18 Jun

OPENING NIGHT: Fri 12 Aug

38th Hervey Bay Annual Competitive Art Exhibition Hervey Bay Art Society

We’ll be celebrating and recognising the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during NAIDOC Week.

Visit our website to find out more www.ourfrasercoast.com.au/NAIDOC

Maryborough Regional Art Society Annual Art Exhibition Maryborough Regional Art Society

Brolga Live @ Gundiah FREE live music from Dust, Sam Maddison and Emma Newman.

Gundiah Community Hall Sat 6 Aug | 1-4PM ourfrasercoast.com.au/brolga-live-1

in the birthplace of her author PL Travers

Join us for a magical experience Photo: Paul Beutel

We’ll be hosting supercalifragilistic activities, performances and events during the school holidays and the popular Mary Poppins Festival on Sunday 3 July. Visit our website to find out what’s on and book.

4123 7221

Kent & Richmond Streets, Maryborough

23349 Bruce Hwy, Maryborough West 4122 3584

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au /ourfrasercoast

Hervey Bay Bird Club Show

16-17 Jul

Fraser Coast Caravan & Camping Expo

22-24 Jul

Caravanning QLD VANSafe

28-29 Jul