Students shine

Canberra Girls Grammar Year 12 students Kate Collins and Tara Dabrowski are an enterprising pair. As part of their International Baccalaureate diploma they’ve organised a project entitled Local Heart.

There’ll be an art exhibition and live music from high-school students around Canberra and they hope to raise money, through entry donations and an art auction, for Studio Artes, which provides tailor-made creative activities and life skills for adults living with a wide range of disabilities.

Collins said the pair believe that everyone, no matter their age, background or ability, should have the opportunity to express themselves through art and have their work recognised and appreciated.

The exhibition runs from 3-8pm on June 2 at The Fitter’s Workshop in Kingston.

Openings

PhotoAccess presents three new exhibitions opening in the Huw Davies Gallery: American Daydream by Samuel Townsend, Cultured by Josephine Cosgrove and Beyond Bestimmung by Ellen Dahl.

American Daydream is a series of photographic images of Canberra-based artist Samuel Townsend’s America and illustrate an ambiguous narrative that blurs the line between documentation and construction.

Cultured, a microscopy exhibition by Canberra-based photographic artist Josephine Cosgrove, explores the similarity of colours and patterns found amongst the microbiological world and the planets in our solar system and beyond.

Beyond Bestimmung by Sydney-based artist Ellen Dahl, uses photography and video to explore the environment as a complex site of political and cultural identification, while also existing as a site of reverie and inspiration. The title Beyond Bestimmung draws on the Kantian notion of pre-determination, where an encounter of the sublime becomes an ethical imperative.

All exhibitions run until June 24 when the artists will hold an in-conversation event at 2pm.

Through the lens

Nexus, the connection between the photographer and the surrounding environment as interpreted through the lens and manipulated by technology, is an exhibition mounted by 23 members of the Southside Camera Club.

It includes examples of portraiture, landscapes, flora and fauna, all subjects being chosen for their intrinsic visual qualities and their wider emotional appeal.

For 27 years the Southside Camera Club has provided a mix of photographic enthusiasts with many opportunities.

It will be launched by Jeremy Thompson on Saturday, June 2 at 4pm at Strathnairn Arts and will run till June 24. Opening hours are Thursday to Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Rapt in felt

Felt making and improvised theatre may seem to be worlds apart but Lynn Petersen’s take on this is that both arts require a sense of adventure, and the capacity to react quickly to surprises.

Her two passions have been brought together in her role as the coordinator of the Canberra Region Feltmakers’ new exhibition Rapt in Felt: Our Stories.

In collaboration with Chrysalis Theatre Company, the stories embodied in new felt works will be brought to life through improvised interpretations.

As well as felt making, the event uses written accounts, improvised poetry and song, in a way that will “slow down” the exhibition experience for visitors, building appreciation for the craft of felt making and the power of shared narrative.

Rapt in Felt: Our Stories opens on June 1 and the exhibition and bazaar continues from June 2-3 and June 9-10. Performances are on Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, at 4.30pm and 7.30pm and on Monday, June 4, at 7.30pm. At Textiles Work, 19/70 Maclaurin Crescent, Chifley.