Arts & Culture

Growing up, Brooklyn Ross spent most of his time in country New South Wales. His big city commercial radio career also had its roots in the regions, beginning at 2EC and Power FM covering the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley. This was also my first job in radio and where my 15 year friendship with Brooklyn began. Brooklyn's first news boss was...

In 1995, twenty-five quilts mysteriously appeared, hanging from first-floor verandah rails in Braidwood. Since then, the fourth weekend of November has been the time for Braidwood quilters to air their quilts and celebrate their craft. Braidwood’s major event of the year is on again this weekend (23 and 24 November), featuring the Airing of the Quilts. With the historic town’s...

The rest of the Skywhale family will be joining mum next year in Canberra's skies with the National Gallery of Australia unveiling Patricia Piccinini's planned new work as part of its 2020 program launched on Wednesday. Considered one of the most divisive and talk about artworks in Australia, the multi-breasted hot air balloon sculpture Skywhale, commissioned for the Canberra centenary in...

One of the Canberra region's most exciting emerging artists has taken on the youth scourge of social media in his debut extended play album. Harry Cleverdon’s six-track EP From My Side of the Stage tackles the issue of how young lives can be destroyed after experiencing rejection by their peer groups on social media and through phone texts. From My Side of...

When Jane Woolacott moved back to the Bega Valley fourteen years ago and joined the Bega District Band, she was the only female and the only person under sixty. "It was definitely declining then but we seem to be going through a really good phase now," she says. The band has seen its share of highs and lows since its inception...

Aged-care resident Prue Neidorf has always loved art and clearly remembers a portrait of her mother, drawn in the 1930s by an artist who was visiting Australia at the time. Mrs Neidorf also has dementia, but you wouldn't realise it while speaking to her about art. She has been visiting galleries since she was a child, but it has been...

Official plans for the controversial nine-year $500 million Australian War Memorial Development Project include a new southern underground entrance, refurbishment of the main building, a new larger Anzac Hall connected to the main building, an extension to the Bean Building and public realm works. The Memorial has submitted a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, including a Heritage Impact...

Tickets have gone on sale for the National Gallery of Australia’s major summer exhibition, Matisse & Picasso, which opens on 13 December and celebrates one of the most momentous relationships in modern art. The NGA says the exhibition showcases the artistic rivalry and turbulent friendship of two giants of modern art, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Featuring over 200 paintings,...

Forget the tip - the Bega Valley now has a place where much loved but broken and busted appliances get a second chance. Bega Valley Repair Cafe is a not-for-profit community initiative with the purpose of repairing items rather than seeing them go into landfill. "It also provides a social connection for people as they learn how to repair everyday...

Cynthia Jones-Bryson has been ahead of her field for quite some time. She's made hats for the former Governor-General of Australia, Dame Quentin Bryce, and last week, won the Myer Fashions on the Field Millinery Award at the Melbourne Cup Carnival for 2019. Ms Jones-Bryson works from her home at Jerrabomberra and told Region Media the award on Oaks Day in...

This is an intriguing and often surprising story of two lovers. The story is about the love and mutual devotion of a young man and his nurse, separated by unfortunate twists of fate as the young man was called to Gallipoli to fight Johnny Turk. Both the young man and his nurse were drawn to other places by their professions....

I am driving down a rugged dirt road into ‘Thubbul’, the coastal retreat of Australian architect Philip Cox’s family since the 1960s. Through the spotted gums I glimpse a number of intriguing pavilions and lily laden ponds among the bush and grasslands, the buildings almost invisible in the surrounding landscape which overlooks the Murrah lagoon. Philip Cox AO welcomes me,...

As part of the Cooma Rotary Markets and building upon the success of the National Busking Championships, is the  Country, Roots and Blues (CRAB) Music Festival this Sunday (November 17) in Centennial Park, Cooma. Sunday's music caps of a big weekend in Cooma, and is a gentle come down from the high of Saturday's busking spectacular all over the Cooma...

Moruya's Red Door Theatre Company is about to begin touring its fifth production. After forming in 2016, this passionate and committed theatre group have quickly developed a reputation for producing energetic and fun filled shows. "Entertaining our community is really the bottom line - no point us being there if there’s not an audience to enjoy it - and, let’s...

We've almost survived 2019 and if you have spent it pouring over news stories full of angst and sadness, it might be time for a look in the rear vision mirror through the lens of comedy, because sometimes all you can do is laugh! Long-standing Canberra comedians John Shortis and Moya Simpson, who specialize in political satire, are coming to the...

This years’ ReVive Art Prize has been won by Michelle Slezak for her work Planet, a striking circular walk piece comprising small rolls of discarded cloth, textile remnants and a wine barrel ring. Entries in the ReVive Art Prize can now be viewed at the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre in Moruya, showcasing re-inventive works by 18 artists. The biennial competition...