Arts Rocket Friday Finds

image via http://www.ryojiikeda.com

• This installation looks unreal!!!!!!! Japanese audio-visual artist Ryoji Ikeda  at Carriageworks from the 7 June until 1 July.  Very excited about this one.
• Under 13, got big ideas - this your chance to take over Time Out Sydney and become Australia's youngest editor. 
• Love the $20 tickets at  Sydney Theatre Company - Suncorp Twenties. Family/youth performances coming up - Storm Boy, Romeo and Juliet and Laser Beak Man.
• Instagram fun.
• My Story - My Content - film competition open to students - "Why do I love movies" 

I, Bunyip

Yet another hugely entertaining show by Erth for the whole family.

An introduction to indigenous animals, with stories that have been passed down in communities for hundreds of years.

I, Bunyip is an opportunity for the kids to meet characters both cute and scarey from Australia’s oldest stories.

Puppets that bring these creatures to life.

At Sydney Children's Festival @ Carriageworks
Until 8 October
For 5 years +

Living Library at Sydney Children’s Festival

Carriage Works Living Library is looking for beautiful, interesting, inspiring books.

Many of you will remember that as part of the Sydney Children’s Festival last year, we ran a program called the ‘Living Library’. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, see below:

In a Living Library, readers borrow out books in much the same way as they would in a traditional library, with one important difference – the ‘books’ are real people. The idea is that readers (in this case, the children of the Festival) can ‘borrow’ a book for a short amount of time to hear their personal story, enabling them to hear tales of people with lives very different from their own.

Right now, I’m looking for people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and from all walks of life to be books. We’ll be enlisting kid’s ‘dream job’ people like firemen, doctors, vets and astronauts if we can find them, as well as people with quintessential ‘Australian Stories’ - people who have migrated to Oz and seen the times change; someone from a tattoo parlour in The Cross covered head to toe in ink; a blind person talking about how they experience the world; and actors and storytellers who can pull the kid’s legs with tall tales and jokes.

Simply put, everyone has a story to tell, and no-one knows how to tell your story like you do. It doesn’t have to be wild and wacky (although it certainly can be), just something from your life that you feel makes it unique.

Whilst it’s clearly not for everyone, volunteering to be a Book has the potential to be a distinctly rewarding personal experience, as well as a generous contribution to the young community. With your help, we can create a safe environment for kids to interact with a huge range of people who they normally wouldn’t cross paths with - and what better way to promote awareness and acceptance of diversity?

The time commitment isn’t huge - at least one of the Library sessions for a few hours on either the 2nd  or 9th October, as well as a short info session in the week prior - so if you think you’d like to be involved, contact me for more details.

If it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, PLEASE forward this to anyone else you know who you think might be interested.

This is the type of event that really needs personal recommendations to work, so I appreciate any assistance you can give me with that.

Thanks, and we hope to hear from some of you soon,

Kyra Bartley
Associate Producer of Sydney Children’s Festival
producing@carriageworks.com.au | 02 8571 9099
(in the office Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

More about the Living Library at Sydney Children’s Festival

CarriageWorks Winterland Giveaway - Sydney

This  school holidays we will be checking out the Winterland at CarriageWorks to do a bit of ice skating.  This year I am shedding my ice skating fears and joining my kids who will be whizzing around the rink. Tickets for this event can be pre-booked which is good for families who like to plan ahead on the holidays.

WIN TICKETS
Our friends at CarriageWorks have given us  2 double passes for ice skating to give away..To win email info@artsrocket.org with your name and postal address before  Friday 18 June 2010.

Winterland is Sydney’s coolest festival, at  CarriageWorks from 5-31st July. Experience all the magic of a glittering European winter in the heart of Sydney’s inner west!
The centrepiece of Winterland will be a dazzling indoor ice rink in the CarriageWorks foyer, surrounded by design and craft markets, a huge line-up of family live music and food stalls serving deliciously warming winter treats. Find all of the info at www.winterland.com.au.  

The Arrival - Sydney Festival -Review

Red Leap Theatre magically brings to life Shaun Tans graphic novel The Arrival during the Sydney Festival season.

In this wordless production we see a man leave his oppressive country to set up a new life for his family in an unknown country. We follow him on his journey where at first he is lost, wandering attempting to decipher new languages, foods and rituals. Along the way he meets other immigrants who befriend him and guide him in his new life and we also learn of what horrors have forced them to flee their own lands to this new one.

The Arrival is a beautiful piece of theatre that incorporates an ingenious set design, puppetry, dance and physical theatre to tell this universal story of overcoming hardship.

Some parts of the story may go over the heads of children under the age of 8 but they will still enjoy the visual beauty of The Arrival.

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Jan 10 -17 | The Arrival | Red Leap Theatre

CarriageWorks Bay 17

Bookings

Bring it on - 2010

Toumani and Symmetric Orchestra (Youri Lenquette) Paris

Lots of exciting theatre, music, art and film for kids and their families in the New Year.

The Kids in the House program has another eclectic mix of Australian and International performances for all ages to enjoy...the usual baby proms, Little Big Shots and other highlights include Helena and the journey of the Hello...from Terrapin Puppet Theatre directed by the talented Frank Newman, Hansel and Gretel from Danish Theatre Company - Gruppe 38 (we caught their beautiful production of The Little Match Girl), Salt Bush ( A journey through Aboriginal Australia) and so much more...check out the program for full details.

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The Sydney Festival also has a great program in January...Music Alive: Zeeko, One Small Step by David Hastings, The Arrival inspired by Shaun Tans beautiful book and a big favourite amongst families... Circus Oz

Exhilarating performances within the festival include> Toumani Diabate , The Manganiyar Seduaction, Bale de Rue...

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Masterpieces from Paris Exhibition opens at the National Gallery of Australia and runs until April 2010.

Showcasing 112 Post Impressionist masterpieces from artists including Van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Cezanne, Seruat and more, all from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

The gallery is also hosting a wide range of childrens activties to compliment the exhibition.

Check out the programs, see a few shows and enjoy what is going to be an exciting year.

Helena and the Journey of the Hello Highlights

Sydney Festival 2010

Image by John McDermott

Sydney Festival 2010 tickets go on Sale Monday 9th Nov....The family strand of the festival seems to getting better every year. I also discovered some other performances within the program that are also family friendly.

One of the highlights of the festival is The Arrival based on the illustrated book by Shaun Tan, a universal migrant tale set in a fantastical time and place presented by The Red Leap Theatre, New Zealand.

"The Arrival has no actual dialogue and combines a highly physical cast with music, movement, puppetry and shadow play."

Where: CarriageWorks | Jan 10 at 5pm, Jan 11, 14, 16 at 7pm; Jan 13, 15 at 11am and 3pm; Jan 17 at 3pm

For booking details visit: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/artist/1380238?brand=sydneyfestival2010

Other family performances include:

Barely Contained at Darling Harbour | Circus Oz

Music Alive Zeeko |Latest ensemble from Musica Viva

One Small Step | Oxford Playhouse

I will also be taking the whole family to see The Manganiyar Seduction.

For a full list of family performances at the Sydney Festival 2010 visit www.sydneyfestival.org.au

Sydney Children's Festival

Kick your heels up at the Sydney Children’s Festival Opening Party on Saturday 3 October. The celebration will be led by Georgie Parker and the Sydney Children’s Festival Choir, who will have every foot in the house tapping. The celebration will continue with a huge dance party where kids can go wild and parents can enjoy a flashback to their partying days. Plus, there’ll be a sneak preview of Erth’s Amazing Room for curious kids.

There are oodles of fantastic workshops, performances and activities to get involved in throughout the festival. See the amazing Circa perform 46 Acts in 45 Minutes, warm up your vocal chords in free morning singing workshops, or kick start your acrobatic career in a week of workshops with Legs On The Wall!
 
Visit www.sydneychildrensfestival.com  to find out more.

What would kids do if they could do anything?

Erth, the creators of the famous dinosaur Petting Zoo, are looking for kids to be part of the creation of the Amazing Room – a new component of the upcoming Sydney Children’s Festival.
Erth are busily designing this crazy, silly play space, and are seeking some input from kids .

This coming Tuesday 21st July at 6.30 pm, come down to CarriageWorks with your child, aged 6 – 12years, and take part in a 1hr workshop where Erth’s Artistic Director, Scott, will be asking "What would kids do if they could do
Anything?". 

Yummy pizza and drinks with be provided. Email scott@erth.com.au by Tuesday to participate.
There's room enough for 10 kids plus their parents to participate and you must register with Scott to attend.

Arts Rocket is loving lucky dips....

LUCKY DIP WORKSHOPS PRESENTED BY CARRIAGEWORKS

A series of fun $5 workshops every Saturday
Coinciding with the new Eveleigh Farmers’ Market, CarriageWorks presents Luck Dip Workshops - a new series of fun, creative workshops that anyone can participate in for only $5 a pop!

Every Saturday, the activity will be a surprise ‘Lucky Dip’ — a different arts-based activity each week including hula hooping, circus skills, dance, singing, drumming, visual art and much more.
Lucky Dip Workshops are a fun, out-of-the-box way for families to interact and kick their creative juices into gear.

No need to pre-book, just rock up and pay on the day!

DATES EVERY SATURDAY, COINCIDING WITH EVELEIGH FARMERS MARKETSTIME 10AM AND 11AM, APPROX 45 MINUTES DURATION
COST FREE UNTIL MAY, THEN ONLY $5 PER PARTICIPANT
BOOKINGS JUST ROCK UP AND PAY ON THE DAYMORE INFO

Sydney Children's Festival | CarriageWorks 27 Sept - 11 Oct

Sydney Children’s Festival is Sydney’s first official arts-based Festival for kids. It’s spans all artforms with contemporary and indigenous dance workshops, puppetry, visual arts and cartooning workshops, photography competition for kids, art exhibitions by kids, and a range of free, interactive installations and activities around CarriageWorks, plus two massive weeks of performances, special events and talks by popular children’s authors.

The focus of the festival is all on the child as artist and audience – it focuses more on encouraging the child to participate, rather than simply entertaining. Many aspects of the festival also focus on shared experiences between parent and child.

Festival highlights include
MEET DINOSAURS At The Petting Zoo meet Erth’s awesome prehistoric creatures, from cute baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants. Ancient life-like dinosaurs are alive and mostly friendly (!) in this fun, educational and unique performance event that will delight children of all ages.

THE MEGAPHONE PROJECT
An installation of 24 megaphones...They are large, move, make a sound and a re very red, but they need you to make them come to life! Find out what happens to your voice when you lose it, and follow the sound trail of the big red megaphones as they migrate through the space.

WORKSHOPS
Hip Hop with Nick Power - Contemporary dance with Kate Champion - ATYP Documentary and Television reporting - Cartooning with Matt Ottley - Circus and Aerial skills - Visual arts workshops with Bess O'Malley from Pine St

COMPETITION
Calling all budding photo-journalists! The Festival are searching for the most talented up and coming snappers to win the chance to be an Official Festival Photographer… win a workshop with leading Australian photographer, Lisa Tomasetti, and your images exhibited at the festival.
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27 September - 11 October 10am - 4pm Mon - Sat
CarriageWorks 245 Wilson Street Eveleigh http://www.carriageworks.com.au/
To see a complete schedule of the festival visit the Official Festival Website.