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“Where the Spirit
does not work with the hand there is
no art”
- Leonardo Da Vinci
History of the
Event
Seeking the Centre
celebrates art forms that embrace the
diversity of expression of spiritual
experience. Traditional faiths, beliefs
and intuitive responses are included.
Noosa Regional Art Gallery began to
explore this theme through an inaugural
art exhibition with linked events in
2003.
Seeking the Centre
2004
This year, ‘Ideals
and Images’ is the focus for
six weeks of events and an art exhibition.
It examines how we portray our spiritual
ideals through images.
The program includes:
- Exhibition of the contemporary Christian
art of Irene Barberis
- Performances and crafts by the Mornington
Island Dance Troupe
- Exhibition of work on ‘Images
and Ideals’ by local children/
youth
- Interfaith Forum
- Lecture Series
- Spiritual Heritage Tour
- Sacred Music Festival
- Religious art workshops
- Family Day multi-faith arts festival
Irene Barberis
Exhibition
The Gallery’s
main exhibition displays the work of
Dr. Irene Barberis, an internationally
renowned artist from Melbourne. Her
abstract work in plastics on themes
such as the Apocalypse, the Wandering
Jew and scripture have attracted much
comment here and overseas.
Ideals and Images:
Submissions by Schools (Community Access
Gallery)
The Access Gallery
will host a series of exhibitions of
local children’s art, covering
different age groups. Each has been
asked to create artworks expressing
their ideals (spiritual or otherwise)
through images of some sort.
Interfaith Forum
This is a chaired
presentation and discussion on whether
it is possible to portray our highest
ideals through images or even words
and symbols.
Lecture Series
Talks and visual
presentations connecting spirituality
and art:
1) Indigenous ideals and images: Lisa
Chandler (Uni of Sunshine Coast lecturer/
curator)
2) Clinical/ psychological analysis
of the origins of images: Dr Diane
Summer (therapist & artist)
3) From ideal to image- patterns and
tones of major faiths: Dr Ray Kerkhove
(comparative religious scholar/ cultural
historian)
Spiritual Heritage
Tour
Participants are
given the opportunity of visiting:
- Sacred Aboriginal sites
- Museum displays on religious heritage
- Major spiritual centres
- Religious artworks and architecture
(churches, temples) around the Sunshine
Coast.
The tour guides will
be local Aboriginals and an expert
on local spiritual heritage: Dr Ray
Kerkhove. This is associated with the
National Trust’s heritage festival:
‘Beacons of Faith.’
Mornington Island
Dancers (Woomera Aboriginal Corp.)
This troupe of Lardil
dancers and traditional songmen from
Mornington Island have been touring
Australia and the world since 1973,
when they were a key performance in
the Opening of Sydney Opera House.
They will be visiting schools as part
of their program, and also occupying
the Gallery Foyer with their crafts.
The Sacred Music
Festival
The Sacred Music
Festival performs in many parts of
Australia. They will bring to Noosa
an afternoon of exquisite sacred music
featuring Persian poetry, Indian classical
singing and Japanese flute playing.
Family Day Festival
Food, art, information,
literature, performances, displays,
crafts and activities from a wide variety
of spiritual groups, churches and individuals.
This was very popular last year, as
it includes art activities for children
and stalls offering items for sale.
Most of the groups and individuals
are from local (Sunshine Coast) communities.
Workshops
Additionally, there
will be workshops on religious arts
and crafts :
- Medieval book illumination,
- Celtic leather painting
- Neo-pagan mixed media collages.
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