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the Kursk: An inspiring true story of hope, courage and love.

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The Kursk on at The Q next week

Winner of Best New Australian Play, Best Direction, Best Independent Production (2007 Matildas Awards)

"One of the best productions of 2007…a compelling and highly theatrical script…exceptional." William McBride, Rave Magazine

"…probably one of the best pieces of Independent Theatre I have had the pleasure of seeing…a fast paced piece that will have you on the edge of your seat." Nigel Munro-Wallis, 612 ABC

On August 12 2000, the Russian nuclear submarine The Kursk went down taking its crew of 118 men with it. This is the thrilling true story of those mariners and their final hours leading up to this global catastrophe. The story follows the rescuers urgent mission to save the submarine and its crew, the political games that were played out behind the scenes and the loved ones that the mariners left behind. In the meantime the whole world waited desperately for the survivors to be rescued.

Playwright Sasha Janowicz, who also performs in the show, is a Russian born Australian whose passion for the subject matter has led to extensive research and several trips to Russia to seek out the truth behind the controversy. Sasha was also sent an anonymous package. In it he found a submariner captain’s uniform complete with medals. The Russians donated their time, artefacts and pieces of uniforms for the project. It was clear that the true story of The Kursk had to be told.

The Kursk is a haunting and chilling theatrical experience; it is an edge of your seat thriller. This extraordinary and inspired play is the true and human story behind the ill-fated Kursk. This unique production magically captures the submariners’ claustrophobic world and the terrifying ordeal that the trapped sailors endured as they awaited rescue.

WHAT: The Kursk
WHERE: The Q Performing Arts Centre, Queanbeyan
WHEN: 22 – 26 September 2009
TICKETS: $27 – $47
BOOKINGS: 02 8298 0290 OR www.theq.net.au
 

Daydream yourself to a happier life!

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What a day for a daydream - a special book to show you how to use your daydreams powerfully

Creative Flowdreaming: Manifesting Your Dreams in the Life You’ve Already Got

by Summer McStravick
AU RRP $24.95 ISBN 9781401920234
AT ALL LEADING RETAILERS

Summer has uncovered a brilliant method for using intention with beauty and precision. A wonderful guidebook on the art of manifesting’ – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

When Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser coined the phrase ‘life wasn’t meant to be easy’, he certainly didn’t understand the power of daydreaming!

Some think of daydreaming as pleasure-filled fantasies while others think of daydreaming as a powerful tool for envisioning goals, plans and strategies.

Acclaimed author Summer McStravick says it’s letting your mind go of limits on outcomes. In other words, letting our imaginations run wild!

Imagine if you knew how to harness the power of daydreaming to allow your life to flow with ease, perfection, and bubbling potential.

In Creative Flowdreaming, McStravick reveals that life is neither a mountain to be conquered nor a forest to be battled through. You can wake up every morning feeling that your life is in the process of unfolding exactly as it was meant to—just like your daydreams!

In McStravick’s book you can discover…
• How to become the artist of your life.
• How to sculpt the events and opportunities in your future not merely through physical action, but by using a far more powerful and subtle type of energy.
• How to lay the blueprints for everything that erupts in your physical existence.
• Better yet, learn to use this energy to your full advantage!

Summer McStravick is the Network Producer/Programming Director for HayHouseRadio.com®, where she and Dr. Wayne W. Dyer co-host the weekly radio show Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Inspiration.

 

Powerful play sears our hearts at The Q

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Embers offers insight into the heroism and agony of the 2003 Victorian bushfires

EMBERS by Campion Decent
Presented by HotHouse Theatre & Sydney Theatre Company

Winner of the 2007 Queensland Premier’s Literacy Award for Stage Script

"A toweringly important new Australian play that speaks to our hearts from the hearts of our countrymen." The Daily Telegraph

"The best things in this show, a great and emotionally powerful piece of investigative documentary theatre, are the traces it has of the people who were there." The Australian

"There were strings of fire. I’d say 50 to 60 metres long just racing across the ground. You know, 46 years fighting bloody fires I’ve never seen anything like it." – A firefighter

With Australia still reeling from the February 2009 fires, this play, based on the January 2003 fires in Victoria is a riveting expose of the courage and endurance of communities put to the test.

Overnight on 7 and 8 January, in the year 2003, a dry storm ignited over 80 fires in Victoria’s North East and Gippsland. From exhaustive interviews with residents of the region, Campion Decent has fashioned an extraordinary account of the fires; the heart-stopping tales of survival, awe-inspiring courage and spine-chilling evocations of the wave of heat that roars through pristine valleys – and the mountains of sandwiches volunteers anxiously prepared.

Gripping, lyrical, comically overwrought when it seems tragic, and deeply moving when all appears lost, Embers is the story of a fire – and the people who conquered it.

WHAT: Embers
WHERE: The Q Performing Arts Centre
WHEN: 16 – 19 September 2009
TICKETS: $27 – $47
BOOKINGS: Q Box Office on 02 62980290 or www.theq.net.au
 

Bell Shakespeare's Shrew at The Playhouse

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All girl cast in Bell''s Shrew

Australian audiences will be treated to a talented ensemble of actors in Marion Potts’ not-so-classic, all-female take on Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew, presented by Bell Shakespeare Company.

This new gender-twisting production sees women playing men, dressed as men in conflict with women playing women, dressed as women (phew!)

In tackling what is often labelled Shakespeare’s most chauvinistic play, the politics of marriage are under the microscope in this comical look at the dubious sexual politics of Kate and Petruchio’s Padua.

Is Petruchio nothing more than a vain, uncaring, greedy chauvinist who treats marriage as an act of domination and attempts to train his wife as he would a hawk? Is Kate a spirited woman who is cowed into abject submission by the violence of a blatant bully? Does Kate start out as an independent and vital woman, only to become a Stepford wife?

The Taming of the Shrew is the tale of two eccentric rebels who must fight and challenge each other before they will admit to being deeply kindred spirits.

Jeanette Cronin (who received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Holding the Man) is in the blue corner as the mercurial and witty Petruchio.

Lotte St Clair (Homebody/Kabul, Macbeth and All Saints) is in the red corner as the challenger, Kate. Both are ably supported by a bevy of talented and acclaimed actresses (including Sandy Gore) in this fast and fiery examination of the psychology of relationships.

 

WHAT: The Taming of the Shrew
WHEN: 6 – 17 October
WHERE: The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre
BOOKINGS: 02 6275 2700
or canberratheatre centre.com.au
 

Spring Clean Clothes Swap – At the Inner North Community Fair

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Clothes Swapping Fun

Sustainable fashion collective Green Threads, in conjunction with ACT otherWISE will be holding their next public clothes swap this Sunday, September 20th at the Inner North Community Fair.

This is the perfect opportunity to spring clean your cupboard and swap some unwanted clothes (that are still in good condition) for some new and wonderful wardrobe finds for this lovely spring weather.

Everyone is welcome, girls, boys, ladies, men, fashionistas and otherwise. This swap is about giving unworn clothing a new lease on life, and reducing the impact of our lifestyles on the environment so our system is pretty casual. You can take more than you give, you can give more than you take, and if you have nothing to give at all then make a donation to ACT otherWISE and support youth led sustainability in canberra.

We’ll be there swapping from 11am to 3pm at the Banksia Street Wetlands O’Connor (next to the tennis courts). For more info comtact Michele on 0411 095 165 or [email protected]

The Inner North Community Fair will also feature food, stalls, entertainment, wetlands displays, and organic gardening advice. And hopefully sunshine, it should be a beautiful day for all!

Dangerous liaisons with cruel intent end can only end in pain

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Adrian Flor and Duncan Ley rehearse the duel scene in ''Liaisons''

Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Review by Shanna Provost
 

‘Liaisons’ is a dire story of seduction, revenge and malice—a morality tale that shines a jaundiced light on French aristocracy not long before the French Revolution. The script is a grand endeavour in that it is Peter Hampton’s clever adaptation of a 1782 French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

What impacts immediately in this production is Ian Croker’s impressive set. Finding time to create such a stunning housing for Rep’s play while rehearsing the lead in another is admirable. The emergence and retreat of his three enormous paintings in heavy gilt frames at critical times during the play are a clever distraction from the cumbersome scene changes. The period paintings, with their lascivious themes, add a significant mood and a third dimension to the unfolding play.

Hannah Ley deftly plays Ice Queen the Marquise de Merteuil with the marked restraint required of the role. Her husband, Duncan Ley, who plays opposite her as the malicious Vicomte de Valmont has surely met his professional match. There is a familiarity there that adds intimacy and depth to their characters. Ley’s impeccable timing adds a further layer to the ruthlessness of Valmont.

Despite its malicious intent, Hampton has stayed true to Laclos’s biting wit and there are some funny moments when we laugh with or at the plotting and scheming characters.

Strong performances from the supporting cast, particularly Helen McFarlane as La Presidente de Tourvel and Adrian Flor as the affable music teacher Le Chevalier Danceny. Lexi Sekuless lights up the stage as the beautiful, naïve (for a time) Cécile Volanges.

The duel choreography is cleverly crafted, with Ley and Flor throwing themselves into the scene with commitment. So much so that I felt a nervousness for their safety, for the props with which they fight are potentially dangerous.

The nude scenes were quite demure for what is purported to be a window into the decadence of the French ruling class; perhaps this was done in deference to audience sensitivities?

Costumes were extravagant and kept to Period, and keeping actors in the one costume throughout the play helped ease distraction from the core of the play (the interplay between characters). This approach could have been used to tighten the links between scenes. Rolling beds in and out and moving settees became tiresome by the end of the first act—the interscene business almost overshadowed the fine scenes between.

Leaving the beds on set throughout (it is a play about seduction after all) and using light only to reflect the change of scene would help the audience to stay on top of the plot. Canberra Rep audiences are sophisticated enough to understand the inference of scene changes without actors and crew having to drag bits of furniture around continuously.

Minor annoyances aside, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is yet another quality production from Canberra Repertory.

What: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
Where: Theatre 3, 3 Repertory Lane (off Ellery Crescent) Acton ACT
Season: 11 September – 3 October
Director’s Q & A: 19 Sept, following matinee performance
Tickets: $35, Conc $27, Members $25, Preview/Mat/Twilight $27
Online bookings: www.canberrarep.org.au
Phone bookings: 6257 1950, Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm,
Tickets also available at the door 1 hour before scheduled performances.
Please note: this play contains nudity.
 

you never know when you may need them

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and can’t feed your pet or water your pot plants? What a loss of freedom if you can’t go away, and if you can’t rely on the good will of your neighbour to watch out for your place while you are away! What about in times of crisis- a fire, an accident, a burst water main, or electricity pole down in the wind? Friendly neighbours will always take the trouble to check how you are going, and will help you out or share information where possible. Goodwill can be lost easily by believing or repeating stories or gossip Good will is easy to lose, and takes a little effort to create and keep. Knowing the person in good times is always an insurance against a mistake, accident or misunderstanding in rough times. Treating each other with respect, and listening to another point of view is vital. Gossip involving neighbours often spreads quickly, and as is often said, bad news travels faster than good. If we do not know a person first hand, it is much easier to believe something said by others, or even to make assumptions about their motives when something happens. It is too easy to develop suspicions without proof For instance, the bin is tipped over. There are young people in the house next door, who have been seen hanging out in the driveway at night. Of course it was them. We may never test the truth of this belief. But next time something happens, eg a letterbox is damaged, we are more than likely to believe the same young people are responsible. If people are wrongly accused, they can become anti-social. Find ways to build social connection among neighbours Street parties are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they are a great way of getting to know people in your street. Sometimes people even find they have skills to share, or information to pass on. Even chatting at the local shops can be helpful. The potential for hearsay to

Take time to get to know your neighbours;

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It takes time to create a sense of belonging and connection. Many of us nowadays think time is a scarce commodity. We may complain that we hardly have time to spend time with family, so why would we bother building bridges with neighbours… That may be a policy that works in fair weather when all is going smoothly in our street. What about a time when a crime is committed, or a public nuisance? A flood, a burst water main or fallen power-line? Not to mention a fire- who has a ladder or a hose? There are many good reasons to take the time to know your neighbours, at well least enough to know who is in their household, and if they go away for a significant period. We may value our privacy because we are so busy, but others in our street may value an occasional kind word because they may be isolated or unwell. Whilst we cannot legislate for kindness, we will all benefit from it when the need for community solidarity arises. The Chair of the Social Inclusion Board noted in his Introduction to the ACT Government Report on Open Forums 2005 that: ‘Canberra has been through a period of social, cultural and economic transformation…there has been a significant growth in the number of households of one or two person(s)….In the past, many cohesive neighbourhoods were based primarily on larger families, and children provided some of the social ties of a community… There is also evidence that…Canberra in particular has a transient population, with approximately thirty per cent of Canberrans moving house each year.’ The people who have lived in a neighbourhood longer are in a good position to introduce themselves to new arrivals. Never under-estimate the power of a friendly greeting from an insider to an outsider coming in. Establishing a friendly and supportive neighbourhood is not difficult, but it takes good will and a decision to make that effort. Don’t wait till you have a problem before you talk to your neighbour If you let time go by without meeting your neighbour in a friendly natural way, something they do may begin to annoy you. It is after all easier to be annoyed with the neighbours than with your boss, the government, your own children, dog, garden, or heaven forbid yourself! Bad-mouthing the family next door may be a nice easy way to let off steam, but how easy is it in the long run if there are tensions between you and the neighbours? Chickens come home to roost! The lost opportunities when we don’t trust our neighbours The down side of not being able to talk to your neighbours Do you want to live in a stand-off situation where you avoid coming across them near the front gate, or worse, in a virtual war zone where you are nervous about one them or their kids deliberately damaging your plants, letterbox or car? Who will watch my place or water my pot plants? On the lost opportunity list, what about when you want to go away become rumour and social division is less if people are able to chat and find out first hand how their neighbour ticks. If you don’t want to hold or attend a street party, just be friendly when you cross paths, see them working in their garden or collecting the mail. A neighbour may hold the key to something valuable you want to know…ah yes, I can recommend a reasonable plumber. If there is a problem between neighbours that concerns you, contact Conflict Resolution Service on 6295 5998 If a misunderstanding or annoyance has arisen between neighbours, and you don’t feel able to express your concerns face to face, contact Conflict Resolution Service for advice, referral, conflict resolution strategies mediation, or counselling Appreciate your neighbours as a friend in times of need Remember to value your neighbour, as there may very well be a time when you need one another. Not to mention positive feelings are better for your health than negative ones, and social connection is the best medicine. This project aims to educate the community in ways to prevent, manage and resolve conflict in their neighbourhoods. The Conflict Resolution Service is a community organisation funded by ACT Government to provide a free and accessible mediation service to the Canberra region for neighbourhood disputes; parenting couple and family disputes; and community disputes which may include charitable organisations or sporting organisations. Mediations will also be provided on a fee for service sliding scale basis for disputes involving property settlements exceeding $30,000; corporations and workplace disputes. Conflict Resolution Service is now located on Level 3 Griffin Centre Genge St Civic. Call us on 6162 4050 for advice or information on resolving disputes or visit

Invest with confidence

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This column answers questions I’m frequently asked about investing in property. Should I buy in Canberra? Invest where the fundamentals are right, to gain strong capital growth. Canberra has steady growth in some areas, but it’s not ‘hot’. And with the right property manager you don’t have to live where your investment is. Why specialise in Brisbane? Experts agree that SE Queensland is outperforming the rest of Australia — strong population growth, excellent new job creation, affordable real estate, and a tight rental market. Now’s the time to invest, before prices skyrocket like in Darwin and Perth. How fast do properties sell? Fast — so fast many Brisbane agents complain they have nothing to sell. What if I have problems renting my property? Rents in SE Queensland are regularly setting new records. There are more renters than properties. How much do properties cost? Boutique developments of units, townhouses, and house and land packages are available at all price points, some under $300K.

The Bookworm that turned – Goyder Library

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When announced in October 2006 that the Griffith Library would close on 1 December 2006, people in the community were stunned, angry, devastated, furious and more. With no consultation, there was little time to do anything about this unpopular decision. A couple, regular patrons to the library, went there the following Saturday armed with a pile of template letters asking other library users to explain why they wanted the library to stay open. The letters which delivered by hand the following Monday morning to Mr Hargreaves and copies circulated to other ministers. Energy levels ran high that morning as the community rallied, completing and signing over 200 letters on the first day. The same operation was carried out the following Saturday and just as many letters, as well as a petition, were signed and delivered to Mr Hargreaves. Mr Hargreaves was very dismissive about the hundreds of protest letters, writing that they were not ‘letters’ but merely templates, despite being personalised content. Ironically, his response letters to the protestors were all copies. After many more letters and e-mails which were directed at his office, he refused to take calls, was not available for any meetings from concerned citizens. He voted against allowing extra time to debate the issue, and effectively gagged the Assembly, reiterating his views that there was no point in consulting with the community as he already knew that we would vote against closing the Griffith Library because the community wanted the Griffith Library to stay there!! Many people joined in letter-box dropping information about a rally and the community support for this venture was nothing short of amazing. At the eleventh hour, Mr Hargreaves agreed to attend the rally and take questions. ABC News estimated that 1,000 attended the Rally. Speakers flawed the closure arguement, hailing it as one of Canberra’s most unpopular decisions, inconsistent with the Government’s policies on improved services for the ageing, improving literacy rates and life long learning, or regard for social justice. It was clear that the closure of the library would impact adversely on significant numbers of people in the inner south including the elderly, school children and various disadvantaged groups. In all these cases, most would consider ready access to a library vital. It seemed such a retrograde step to take away a facility that from a user perspective was working so well, especially against relatively minor savings. The extent of concern and anguish this has caused cannot be over emphasised The Lunn report conveniently ommitted some of the library’s catchment suburbs such as Forrest, Yarralumla, Queanbeyan, Oaks Estate, and Jerrabombera. Addresses of the letter signatories demonstrated the widespread use of the library. Children from nine schools in the area regularly drop in on their way home from school for homework or leisure purposes. Young mothers with their toddlers came for Story Time. The elderly and people with a disability would not be able to readily travel to the libraries put forward as alternatives such as Woden and Civic. So started the South Side Community Library Taskforce, from a handful of people who banded together to address this unacceptable situation. Four women started meeting on Friday mornings under the trees outside the library for Story Time. They brought chairs, ground sheets, books, some cordial and biscuits. A large banner was hung between the trees. After Story Time each week we would sit in the sun (and sometimes the bitterly cold wind) brain storming what we could do. Numbers were dropping off; it was just too cold to bring little children out now that Autumn was on the way. It seemed a disgrace that here were little children rugged up in warm clothes and sitting outside when the library was still being used by admin staff – we were not even allowed inside to use a toilet. We came up with many vague ideas, but nothing concrete. We wanted to start a modest library with books, newspapers, magazines, computer access to the internet. We would need shelving, books, computers, insurance and above all MONEY. We were just four ordinary people, plenty of heart, energy and enthusiasm. Somebody was looking after us. After attempting to rent various venues we were put in touch with the people at Boomanulla Oval – they had a demountable on their premises no longer being used. They were so supportive and although needing some work, we rented the place for six months as an interim measure. When our story was published in one of the local papers, offers of help rolled in. Weekly meetings moved to daily. Fears were aired but everyone stayed positive. What could we lose? What if nobody came? What if we didn’t get enough books? What if nobody joined or donated to our cause? At least we could say we saw a great need for our South Side community and we did our very best to achieve a solution. The Griffith Library was the heart of our community. We plan to make the Goyder Street Library that heart. This exercise will hopefully demonstrate to the Government that the decision to close the library was wrong and if we can get enough people to join our library and use it, perhaps the need for a permanent library for the Inner South will be acknowledged. Annual membership fees $20 for a family, $10 for a single member, $ 5 for a child or concession member. People can also become life founding members. We hope you get behind this wonderful initiative. Congratulations to the Goyder Street Library and grateful thanks to Boomanulla Oval, Col Williams and Noel Ingram from Ngunnawal Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Coming soon – an exciting new public art project

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Soon the revitalised building will feature a stunning re-creation of the old smokestack, turning it into a tower of glass and light. This project will be made possible thanks to the generosity of ActewAGL, a major sponsor of the project. Visitors who don’t pre-book classes will not miss out. The innovative ‘Off the Street’ program will provide them with opportunities to walk straight in and make under the guidance of a highly skilled glass-maker. Workshop participants will be able to feel the heat of the furnace and experience the movement of molten glass in the ‘Hot Shop’, enjoy designing and assembling glass elements from a range of coloured sheet glass in the kiln forming area, or simply create their own wearable art through flameworking a glass bead with a hot torch. World-class glass art The Canberra Glassworks will be home to two unique and exciting gallery spaces. ‘Gallery One’ will host major survey and cutting-edge contemporary exhibitions, including in August 2007, the prestigious touring exhibition Ranamok Glassprize, which showcases the very best of Australian and New Zealand contemporary studio glass art. When not supporting larger exhibitions like Ranamok, ‘Gallery Two’ which is located in the base of the former Powerhouse smokestack, will host contemporary project exhibitions and installations. Canberra’s international reputation as a centre for contemporary studio glass will be a focus of the Canberra Glassworks’ inaugural exhibition, Heartland: Imagination Creation Inspiration, curated by Barbara McConchie, Executive Director of Craft ACT. A survey of 21 years of the Australian National University’s, School of Art Glass Workshop, the exhibition “will celebrate the artistic vision and strength that has defined this region, which is now recognised globally in the field of studio glass,” Ms McConchie said. Artists at work Canberra Glassworks will provide artists with access to equipment, studios and storage facilities and unprecedented opportunities to expand their skills and explore new directions in their practice. Four studios within the Canberra Glassworks will support an artist-in-residence program and be available for periodic rental. A monthly lecture series by local and international glass artists will be held at the Canberra Glassworks. The program aims to broaden awareness of glass art and will create opportunities for knowledge exchange around glass making in all its forms. The Kingston Powerhouse and the Kingston Foreshore Originally intended to be a temporary structure, the Kingston Powerhouse supplied Canberra with coal-generated electricity from 1915, continuing to operate as a powerhouse until 1957. The Powerhouse is the oldest public building in the ACT. With construction beginning in 1913, it was designed by J S Murdoch, the architect of other important heritage buildings in Canberra such as Old Parliament House, East and West Blocks and the Hotel Canberra. The Powerhouse and surrounding precinct is included on the ACT Heritage Places Register and the Register of the National Estate. The prestigious Kingston Foreshore continues to develop into an extensive waterfront housing and retail estate which is being established by the ACT Government’s Land Development Agency. The multi-award-winning Bus Depot Markets are near neighbours to the Canberra Glassworks.

International Inaction

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After every Anzac Day there is a rush of baby boomer commentary about the Vietnam War. The ‘conventional history’ now suggests that Vietnam was a civil war, and that we (the US, Australia, New Zealand, Thais, Philippinos, South Koreans) were aggressors. This is just absurd. Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia were part of the long Cold War conflict that commenced in earnest in 1945. The Korean War and Malayan Emergency could equally be characterised as civil wars too. The difference in the outcomes in Korea and (then) Malaya reflected the defeat of the communists who were the aggressors in all these Asian conflicts and heavily supported by the Soviet Union and China. Malaysia and the Republic of Korea are now prosperous democratic states, whilst Laos, Vietnam, North Korea (PDRK) are one party states with appalling human rights records, Cambodia is barely any better. I feel sorry for the people of Vietnam as the real losers, they lost their country to totalitarianism (the number of legal political parties is always a good indicator). However we can just ignore what happens there as we don’t have to live with it day to day. If we do have a problem with ‘civil wars’ perhaps we should equally leave the people of Sudan, Somalia, and Afghanistan to their own devices too? We could also add Cyprus, Kashmir, Solomons, Rwanda …etc etc. Scepticism and cynicism should not just become an excuse for inaction.

Opening of the Canberra glassworks Australia's newest cultural attraction

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The new Canberra Glassworks, due to open on 25 May, will become Australia’s most important centre of glass making and glass exhibition. The ACT Government has shown incredible foresight, converting a 92 year old, former industrial building into an iconic new centre for the arts. As Australia’s newest cultural attraction, the Canberra Glassworks will provide cutting-edge exhibitions of glass art, hands-on experiences for visitors and unique access facilities for artists. The grand opening weekend marks the culmination of years of planning and construction work creating a unique venue dedicated as a world-class glass art centre. The central attraction of the Glassworks is the dramatic view of glass blowing in the centre’s ‘Hot Shop’, viewed from a raised platform. Visitors will be able to see world-class artists in action and to take part in the excitement of glass blowing first-hand. Visitors to the building will be inspired by the design and architecture of a contemporary space within an historic building. Canberra’s iconic Powerhouse, one of the city’s oldest buildings, has been ‘reborn’ as a state-of-the-art venue to showcase Canberra’s world-renowned glass art and artists. The new Canberra Glassworks will be open to the public every Wednesday – Sunday. Visitors will be able to learn how to work with glass, meet artists, view work in progress as well as exhibitions within the centre’s two galleries. Guided tours of the spectacular building and the ‘Off the Street’ program will allow visitors to get behind the scenes and have unique hands-on experiences with glass. Visitors will be among the first to see Australia’s first cultural facility devoted to contemporary glass practice and relax in the cafĂ© or enjoy shopping for exclusive, hand-made glass at a range of prices. The opening weekend celebrations will offer visitors the opportunity to tour the historic building, see the ‘Hot Shop’ in action, view the inaugural glass exhibition, talk to the Canberra Glassworks team or find out more about enrolling in a workshop program by a leading glass artist. Bookings for tours of the facility on 26 – 27 May are essential. Telephone Canberra Connect on 13 22 81 to book in or for more information about the program email [email protected].

The journo in you!

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A publishing staff has no monopoly on knowledge. An article written first hand by someone who is close to the action, went through the experience or has a deep expertise on the subject matter, is likely to be more interesting and informative than something ‘reported on’. Readers know what they want, so putting them in the driver’s seat makes sense. A website that allows readers to upload articles and pictures, reply to articles or rate them, as well tally the most popular submissions, will quickly breed some of the best and most diverse printed reading material in the market. And the best thing is – it allows you to have a yawp! Get published, go to www. theword.com.au