City Hub 25 June 2020

JUNE 25, 2020

C I T Y H U B SY D N E Y. C O M . AU

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GALLERIES

GALORE

BY RIDA BABAR ind out which galleries are open and free to visit, as well as the exciting arrival of new exhibitions.

Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, Sydney art galleries including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), The Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW), the Maritime Museum, TAP Gallery, Chrissie Cotter Gallery, and the DuckRabbit are reopening, introducing the new normal for Sydney’s art scene.

After around eight weeks of closure, art institutions rushed to plan their reopening after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that galleries and museums would be able to reopen, with restrictions. These included capacity not exceeding one

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person per four square metres, the numbers, timed ticketing, physical closures of enclosed spaces like distancing, and recommended hygiene theatrettes, and each facility having a measures.

COVID-19 safety plan.

The MCA followed a similar path, As issued by the director reopening on June 16 with of the AGNSW, Michael the 22nd Biennale Of Brand, the gallery Sydney: NIRIN and the reopened on June 1, sculpture terrace in both the Domain open for visitors to and Brett Whitely enjoy free of charge.

Studio.

The 22nd Biennale Main exhibitions Of Sydney, a Shadow Catchers, major international Under The Stars, exhibition, will be AGNSW reopening. and Some Mysterious extended for display as Photo: Supplied Process have opened, free of it was only open for 10 days

by AGNSW charge. before the gallery was closed.

AGNSW’s measures as part of their When asked what she was most excited COVID-safe plan include limiting visitor for concerning the MCA’s reopening,

Galleries around Sydney are reopening in a post COVID world PAGE 1-2

gallery Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE said, “I am excited that our audiences will be able to experience this important and timely exhibition in person.

We have had such good feedback about our online content for this exhibition, such as virtual tours and artist interviews and our online museum guide. I know many people are looking forward to seeing it up close in the galleries.”

The MCA will implement health, hygiene, and safety practices in accordance with the NSW government’s guidelines. These include an increase in cleaning, providing hand sanitiser and handwashing facilities, and using distance markers for queuing.

Continued on page 2

GALLERIES GALORE

Bondi Pavilion is undergoing restoration works

Unlike other galleries, the MCA will not be using timed ticketing. On this Macgregor said, “We were able to carefully monitor numbers before the MCA closed, so we are confident we will be able to do this when we reopen without timed ticketing.

We’re keen that visitors are still able to pop into the galleries on their lunch break to see the exhibition, shop at the MCA Store or have lunch up on our rooftop terrace, and are ensuring that this is possible within COVID safe guidelines.”

(Continued from the cover) of the Sydney Festival in 2021. Due to museum budgeting setbacks because of COVID-19, the museum is accepting online donations which will go towards funding the project.

The other new exhibitions at the Maritime Museum are Under The Southern Skies, Here: Kupe To Cook, Cook And The Pacific, and Ship And Shore: The History And Legacy Of Cook’s Voyage.

The spokesperson said, “We are urging all visitors to pre-book online to ensure we can accommodate them and prevent A Mile In My Shoes exhibition.

Photo: Kate Raworth

The Maritime Museum, which reopened on June 22 after an eight week closure will be incorporating new procedures as a part of their COVID-safe plan.

Changes to operations include prebooked sessions, social distancing, cleaning, and changes to high contact exhibition experiences including the submarine, 3D cinema, and children’s play activities. This is to reduce the amount of person-to-person contact.

The Maritime Museum is also offering new programs, as shared by a spokesperson of the museum.

A Mile In My Shoes is an innovative and immersive art experience, which the Maritime Museum is hoping to bring to Sydney. The exhibition, originally held at the UK Empathy

unnecessary queuing, and are adopting contactless payment in the museum to minimise risk.”

Entry to the museum’s permanent galleries is free, but ticketed entry is required for specific exhibitions, the prices of which can be found on the museum’s website.

The Chrissie Cotter Gallery in Camperdown has just opened an exhibition called Wild Weeds, inspired by how “weeds are often isolated…I like their toughness combined with delicacy and the sense of resilience I think they represent,” as said by the artist.

TAP Gallery is currently open, with a maximum of 10 people allowed in at any given time. They are running weekly painting classes, which have proven very popular.

TAP Gallery Painting Classes.

Photo supplied

For over 90 years, Bondi Pavilion has a been a central point of life for residents and visitors to Bondi Beach.

From theatre to pottery, change rooms to ice rinks, ballrooms to music festivals, the Pavilion has done it all.

Now, our community and cultural centre is being restored for future generations to enjoy.

More info at waverley.nsw.gov.au/bondipavilionproject

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Museum invites visitors to walk in a giant shoebox to ultimately understand what shaped other people’s stories.

The museum’s goal is to capture up to 35 Australian immigrant stories, displaying the project to the public for free as part

While the interactive side of many museums has been ruled out indefinitely, these Sydney galleries are doing their part to revitalise and reintroduce people to the world of art and entertainment despite the ongoing situation.

HubNEWS

Will historic train survive Powerhouse move?

(See p.4)

Marsh mural censored A HubARTS: Platform Live Disabled Artists Streaming Dancers, musicians, and aerialists with disabilities take to streaming (See p. 6)

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BY ALEC SMART controversial Scott Marsh wall mural in Redfern was covered over by City of Sydney Council authorities, following a NSW Police request, only 19 hours after it was painted.

Marsh an internationally-respected artist, is renowned for his detailed and humorous wall murals in central Sydney that typically satirise prominent politicians and topical events.

The mural, of a burning NSW police van, was painted in Glover Lane, Redfern, on Monday 22 June. The mural referenced TJ Hickey, a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy who died on 14 Feb 2004 after he was impaled on a spiked fence at the nearby Waterloo Towers housing estate.

TJ was riding his bicycle when he was pursued and, according to some accounts, hit by one of two Redfern Police vehicles following him.

TJ’s family are still seeking an independent public inquiry, because the principle officers pursuing TJ at the time refused to testify at a coronial inquiry.

On 23 June the burning van mural was painted over by a City of Sydney Council

NSW Police took offence to Scott Marsh’s controversial burning police van mural, and it was painted over by City of Sydney

employee and overseen by two police officers – the cover-up filmed by a passer-by.

When Marsh learned that the burning van was painted over he took to social media again. “Pretty disappointing to be sent a video of NSW Police Force & City of Sydney council painting over my mural this morning less than 24hrs after its completion.

“It’s a confronting image, it is supposed to be. It was also painted with permission from the property owner and intentionally tucked away in a laneway where you wouldn’t see it unless it found you.”

Marsh told City Hub “Police should stick to policing. They are not our cultural curators, no matter how inconvenient the message of that culture may be for them.”

Libs split on harbour sites

BY ALEC SMART split appeared in the Australian Liberal Party over preservation of Sydney’s harbour heritage sites, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s NSW Govt favouring commercialisation over the Federal Govt’s plans for conservation.

NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes rejected the outcome of an independent inquiry into the management of historically and culturally important sites in Sydney Harbour, which recommends that administration not be given to the private sector.

In Oct 2019 the Federal Govt commissioned an independent review on the future management of eight sites, most of them former defence establishments, that are under the administration

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of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

Released on 18 June 2020, the review made 21 recommendations, including, most importantly, that: “The Harbour Trust sites should remain in public hands.“ The eight sites, encompassing scenic locations of indigenous, convict and military heritage, have provisionally been saved from private takeover.

THE SITES INCLUDE:

Cockatoo Island; Sub Base Platypus (former submarine base in Neutral Bay); North Head Sanctuary (dismantled military fortifications and former Artillery School); Macquarie Lighthouse; Headland Park (comprising Middle Head, Georges Heights, Drill Hall Precinct and Chowder Bay); Woolwich

NSW Govt rejected an independent inquiry recommending public, not private, management of historic harbour sites. Photo: Alec Smart

Dock; the former Marine Biological Station in Watsons Bay; and Snapper Island. $50 million has been earmarked by the Federal Govt for restoration of the sites, many of which are closed and rotting through damp, weathering and

general neglect, with $9 million available immediately.

However, Joseph Carrozzi, Chair of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, revealed “The cost of us completing the work on all of our sites is in the order of $300 million.”

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HubNEWS

Powerhouse in peril These range from: a horse-drawn bus; several airplanes including a Catalina flying boat and two 1930s biplanes; a helicopter; a tram; a 1785 Boulton & Watt steam engine that powered Whitbread Brewery in London; NSW first passenger train ‘Locomotive No.1’, built in 1854; and an 1887 copy of the Strasbourg Astronomical Clock.

The Powerhouse Museum’s heritage core Documents released by NSW Govt reveal costly plans in Ultimo will be closed permanently on for the ‘relocation’ of Powerhouse Museum are fraught with technical difficulties. Photo: Alec Smart 30 June 2020. However, the Parramatta replacement museum, which critics have

BY ALEC SMART derided because the winning design SW Govt released costings that resembles two white plastic milk crates, underpin their motive to close and will unlikely be open to the public before demolish Powerhouse Museum in 2025.

Ultimo and transfer some of its exhibits to a The NSW Govt insists it is still firmly smaller museum in Parramatta. committed to demolishing the However, the documents, obtained under Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, which Parliamentary Order by a cross-bench of occupies a former tram depot and electric Upper House MPs, reveal NSW Govt’s plans generator that once powered Sydney’s for the ‘relocation’ – currently estimated at historic tram network. $1.179 billion - are fraught with technical Their contentious plan ultimately leads difficulties. to selling the historic site to developers They confirm suspicions long raised by for high-rise apartments. Mr Borsak opponents of the move that relocating large, MLC, Chair of the Select Committee fragile exhibits to the new, as yet unbuilt investigating the move, declared riverside premises (currently occupied by a “There is no doubt that this is about multi-storey car park in Parramatta) is very a government grab for inner city real risky. estate.”

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Trams halted, buses ‘hacked’

A fire alarm halted Sydney’s light rail services on 20 June. This followed a reported cyberware ‘hacking’ incident affecting state-run buses. Photo: Alec Smart

BY ALEC SMART n a series of incidents that impacted Sydney’s central public transport network, the light rail service was halted on 20 June following a ‘fire alarm’ incident, whilst the state-run bus network experienced a computer outage blamed on ‘hackers’.

A mysterious fire alarm at the Randwick depot caused the suspension of Sydney’s new light rail service. The trouble-prone and significantly over-budget CBD and South East Light Rail, which ground to a halt with technical problems just hours after its long-delayed launch on 14 Dec, was shut down again.

The L2 Circular Quay to Randwick service was reduced to one tram every 15-20 minutes, whilst the L3 Circular Quay to Kingsford line was stopped altogether with a bus replacement service in place.

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TransDev, the French-based multinational that runs the new light rail service, remained mute on their webpage and social media pages on the cause of the fire alarm activation.

Meanwhile, Transport for NSW information technology (IT) experts investigated the massive system outage that impacted computers and phones for nine days across its eight State Transit Authority (STA) Sydney bus depots.

Despite NSW Transport Secretary Rodd Staples played down the suggestion that computers were hacked, however, the Sun-Herald reported a ‘senior insider’ attributing the troubles to a “malicious hack”. According to their ‘senior source close to bus operations’: “STA management has confirmed it was, in fact, a hack.”

COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY

TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA!

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f they were still alive today, you might well ask - how would some of the great American movie directors like Robert Altman and Stanley Kubrick react to the recent Trump political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma? If ever there were the ingredients for another cutting American satire, the Tulsa rally had it all – jingoism, xenophobia, old school patriotism, hysteria unintentional comedy (lots of it), name calling and of course lies. About the only thing it didn’t have were face masks!

The BOK Center housing the circus was said to hold around 19,000 although early TV coverage, when Mike Pence was spruiking indicated it was only three quarters full. When Trump appeared the cameras zoomed in, quickly removing any view of empty seats.

Given that Oklahoma was one of many US states experiencing a substantial spike in COVID-19 cases, it was remarkable that so few of the Trump supporters were wearing face masks. Whether this was an act of defiance or just plain stupidity is open to debate. Masks and hand sanitiser were on offer to the crowd entering the stadium and all attendees were supposedly ask to sign a legal waiver promising not to sue if they contracted COVID-19 at the event.

With the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, it’s clear that we are experiencing a degree of complacency in this country but nothing like the madness exhibited at the Tulsa Trump rally. Once public health issues become heavily politicised, as we are seeing in many 4

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US states, ignorance takes over - driven in many cases by a blind chauvinism.

So what then would an Altman or a Kubrick or a John Sayles come up with if you handed them the ‘germ’ of a screenplay culled from Trump’s BOK Center rave. It would surely have all the elements of a Nashville come Dr Strangelove come Silver City amalgam of paranoia, conspiracy and insanity. Let’s call it The Clockwork Orange Donald.

It’s the story of a ruthless American presidential candidate, facing annihilation at the polling booths, who devises a dastardly scheme to win over voters. A highly contagious virus is moving throughout the country, although health authorities are confident they will soon have it under control. The candidate, however, has other ideas and sees great political mileage in its continuing

spread, especially if he can blame it on a consortium of his many enemies.

He quickly organises a series of mass rallies all across the country, aligning Christian conservatives and the Boogaloo Boys to stage massive evangelical events. His zealot like followers are encouraged to discard their masks, have faith in the Lord and take the free hydroxychloroquine like drug that he hands out with his blessing.

The drug actually works in combating the virus but has the rather unfortunate side effect of turning its recipients orange. Within weeks there are millions of orange Americans who quickly distance themselves, both physically and ideologically from the rest of the population.

The candidate loses at the election but his millions of supporters are forever tinted orange, soon becoming a racial minority in their own right. There’s no commune in Oregon for these ‘orange’ people and they vent their anger with a series of “Orange Lives Matter” protests.

In the meantime the candidate has fled to North Korea to take up an offer as a real estate developer in Pyongyang with his old mate Kim Jong-un, reprising the role of Kim Jong-il in Team America.

The movie is a dark, disturbing satire on the state of American politics but nothing like the soon to be real life debacle when the 2020 presidential campaign reaches its full fury. In the meantime be grateful we have a widespread consensus, both public and political to deal with the pandemic in this country. I’d rather be in Toongabbie than Tulsa!

HubNEWS

The dreamworld of Westconnex PR T

BY WENDY BACON his week WestConnex launched what the Federal and NSW governments boasted was an “interactive, world-first online community event” to promote Transurban’s WestConnex M8, the tollway from Kingsgrove to St Peters that will open soon.

It’s an interactive video with lots of places where you can click to immerse yourself in the tollway and its surroundings. It’s a “one stop shop to everything you need to know about WestConnex”, according to the NSW Minister for Transport Andrew Constance.

So, City Hub took a walk around St Peters Interchange that feeds into Campbell and Euston Roads at the northern end of the tunnel. We then took the video tour.

The first thing you notice is that there is nothing very new, let alone ‘world first’, about the video experience. It’s very similar to all the other videos that promoted WestConnex. Another video was released earlier this week for NorthConnex, which, after long delays, will open soon. Like WestConnex, NorthConnex is owned by Transurban, which has a near-monopoly on toll roads in Australia.

A WESTWORLD LIFE WITH LOOPS

Readers who followed the WestConnex saga will remember the early promotional images of the St Peters interchange, in which the trees towered over the fly-over across the exchange. Those laughable images were met with derision on antiWestConnex social media sites.

The WestConnex PR design team learned a lesson and now the trees in the video are shorter than the giant fly-overs, but still at best decades of growth away. In a more realistic touch, there is even some gravel to be seen under the nine bridges that will span the interchange, which is described in the video as an ‘engineering masterpiece’.

Accompanied by the confident, smooth voice of the narrator, the camera glides effortlessly across the top of Campbell Road. Those who are familiar with the neighbourhood will recognise a few of the buildings. The first thing you notice is that there are no people in the video and not many cars. The world of local choke points beyond the entrances to the tollway do not exist.

But standing at ground level on the corner of Princes Highway and Campbell street, it’s a very different experience.

What used to be a fairly narrow road is now a motorway that has carved up the suburb of St Peters. If you don’t know what was there before, it looks like any

A PR video was launched to promote Transurban’s WestConnex M8 tunnel, which opens soon, but their interchange at St Peters looks rather bleak. Photo: Wendy Bacon

other bland concrete motorway.

But those familiar with the area remember the families that were evicted from the small cottages that lined the road before they were crushed. Some of those residents are now part of communities that are fighting other tollways. Some will even remember how as children, they “reclaimed the street” with a confident occupation on a sunny afternoon in late 2014 and chanted ‘No WestConnex’.

Rozelle Interchange and WestConnex M8 have had devastating impacts on their surroundings. Despite this, Transurban would like to build Western Harbour Tunnel The houses behind the motorway have endured years of screeching night noise that has only recently stopped. Houses have cracked. Their windows are glazed to help block the noise of heavy trucks that will be encouraged to use this WestConnex exit.

The dreamworld of the video rides over Crown Street, a small street near Sydney Park where tunnelling for the M4/M5 still wakes the residents, some of whose houses are cracking right now. Battles for compensation are still down the track.

Further down Campbell Road, the camera tracks an isolated row of surviving terraces that face the desolate gravel hills interchange on which tiny trees and grass are beginning to grow. Across the interchange are hundreds of new high rise apartments facing a maze of flyover and motorways. Although never depicted in WestConnex’s earlier images, they dominate the landscape now.

At the corner of Euston Road, predicted to carry an extra 60,000 cars a day, the corners have been smoothed. It is almost as if it has always been that way. But those of us who were there remember a traumatic day when the tall eucalypts and rows of magnificent paperbark trees that bordered Sydney Park were torn down, defended by scores of NSW police paid by WestConnex.

The video enthusiastically promotes cycleways and public art. The bike tracks (many of them unhealthily hugging polluted roads) should give cyclists a safer ride. The art may be pleasant. I expect it to feature some old materials from the buildings that were demolished.

But the art won’t commemorate the long history of the community struggle to prevent the march of more tollways or reference the ideas of those who argued that the M8 will fail to solve Sydney’s traffic congestion, as tollways have always done.

M8, YOU’RE LATE MATE

The M8 was supposed to open last year.

It’s now meant to open in a few weeks.

But we noticed that WestConnex stated in answer to a website visitor’s question that it could be ‘months.’ Either way, it is clear that the CPB workers won’t be gone from the site for many months and work on the M4/M5 will continue for years.

There has been no news about the dispute over the cost overruns on the M8 but it’s unlikely to have been a money-spinner for CPB contractors. In Melbourne, a dispute between CPB and Transurban has brought the Westgate tunnel to a halt. CPB is also building another engineering ‘marvel, the threelevel underground Rozelle Interchange.

This has already had the same devastating impact on Rozelle as WestConnex had on Haberfield, Concord

and St Peters. In the real world of economics, Transurban has suffered a serious hit to its traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, Transurban said this week that when Rozelle is finished, it would like to build the Western Harbour Tunnel.

There is no doubt that those who can afford the M8 tolls will get a quicker trip.

WestConnex does not expect the traffic to increase overall but to split between the Old M5 tunnel which will be tolled for the first time, the new M8 tunnel and local roads that are predicted to be more congested. Of course, these local roads are outside the video’s “360 degrees’ field of vision of the video.

A similar video used to promote the M4 East tollway opening in 2018 also ignored the local roads. Now Transurban is already pushing for local traffic to be steered in ways that will push as much traffic as possible onto the tunnel.

Recently thousands of residents have been writing submissions to Minister for Transport Andrew Constance complaining that they are being trapped in their suburbs by traffic.

Faced with massive community opposition along its route and only a lukewarm response form truck drivers and longer distance peak hour commuters that were supposed to benefit in return for tolls, Westconnex invested a lot of its public relations on grants for schools and community groups.

Now this latest interactive video features “education for children and school students” with games and activities. If you are one of the first 1000 visitors, you can request a free activity pack.

We can only hope teachers will also point to the WestConnex Action Group website, photos, videos and the eloquent evidence given to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into impacts of Westconnex.

The Inquiry received a huge amount of evidence that the health of residents living near WestConnex M4 East and New M5 projects had been damaged by unacceptable noise, dust and stress.

Complaints procedures repeatedly left communities feeling that they were treated with contempt. The committee acknowledged the “severe and multiple health impacts” including “constant noise and pollution from construction and endless night works have led to mental health issues for residents as well as disrupting daily life which has had profound consequences.”

Students will then be able to test Transurban’s corporate propaganda against the history of the M8’s construction and the real-world experience of using and living beside WestConnex and make up their own minds.

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HubARTS

RESISTANCE:

The little-known true story of Marcel Marceau’s activities during WWII (See p.7)

TOBY SCHMITZ STARS IN THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)

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Thom Pain

ed Line Productions presents a world first live-streamed theatre season and a specially commissioned live concert event.

Toby Schmitz, a multi-award winning Australian actor, is a master of the tragic and comic, making him ideal for Will Eno’s acclaimed one man show, Thom Pain (Based On Nothing).

There will also be a specially commissioned live concert: At Last, performed by Elenoa Rokobaro on June 24 at 11:30am.

Rokobaro has appeared on musical stages across Australia, performing in Fame, Hairspray, Legally

Blonde, and The Book Of Mormon.

As part of their online season Red Line has produced several other successful plays, including Gruesome Playground Injuries and Orphans, respectively featuring the likes of Rose Byrne and Alec Baldwin.

Viewers worldwide have the ‘option’ to buy a ticket if they have the means to do so, With pricing options ranging from $10 to $100. This is in accordance with Red Line’s commitment to the accessibility of their live streams during this time.

Red Line’s artistic director Andrew Henry said, “Theatre has survived by moving with the times. And this time, we’re literally inviting the whole world into the four walls of our legendary home base.” (RBa) Jun 24-Jul 3. Online. $10-$100+b.f. Tickets & Viewing Info: www.redlineproductions. com.au

PLATFORM LIVE - DISABLED ARTISTS STREAMING

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any an artists has moved to online streaming in the current pandemic world. On Saturday a new group of artists with very unique stories take to streaming. These artists are some of Australia’s boldest, funniest, creative, and most provocative artists - oh and they all also have a disability!

Platform Live will play host to these incredible talents. The series has been curated by Canberra-based artists Hanna Cormick and Daniel Savage, who both identify as artists with disability, and is supported by Eastern Riverina Arts in Wagga Wagga.

Across four session, divided into Ideas, Screen, Words and Stage this online festival will feature live performances from dancers, musicians, aerialists and various songs other forms of performance art. Highlights of the festival include readings by Carly Findlay OAM, Andy Jackson and Gayle Kennedy, a panel discussion on online arts in the time of COVID-19 from ‘veteran isolators’, and performances by musician Liz Martin

Katia Schwartz. Photo: Jack Ailwood

and burlesque performer and deaf artist Katia Schwartz.

With one in five Australians identifying with disability, the Platform space is an accessible experience for people of all ages and abilities who might otherwise find that attending a festival or event is beyond their reach.

Jun 27, 2pm. FREE. Watch at www.platformriverina.com/live

The Good Neighbour Project Supporting responsible cat ownership Protecting wildlife and feline welfare Keeping your cat happy and healthy Join our Good Neighbour Project. Visit catprotection.org.au

Rehoming Organisation Number R251000224

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When you’ve been diagnosed with an STI, get the support you need – talk to someone else who has been in your shoes and stay in control of your own health. Telling your partners means both of you can take control together towards ending HIV in NSW. Visit rypl.com.au to access peer support, online tools and our partner notification app.

I can

take control 6

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Partner notification support. Helping you take control.

HubARTS

POOL NOODLES ENFORCE SOCIAL DISTANCING AT ART EXHIBITION LAUNCH

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enowned Sydney artist, David Art Wales launched Australia’s first contact free art exhibition, Going Viral, on June 6, with works inspired by COVID-19.

Wales, who said the works were his way of “coping with lockdown,” will hold his exhibition at the DuckRabbit in Redfern until the end of June.

Social distancing was ensured by X’s marked on the pavement, staggered timeslots for 10 guests at a time who air kissed and sipped champagne, using pool noodles to ensure a 1.5 metre separation.

Known widely as the creator of 80s cult figure Guru Adrian, and recently as the man who auctioned off his former life in New York City, Wales has likened the modern image of the COVID-19 molecule as the new skull and bones.

In an interview with City Hub, Wales said that he chose

to use pool noodles to maintain distance as a “fun and visually interesting way to enforce social distancing.”

“I had this picture in my mind of long brightly coloured noodles protruding from everyone…a light-hearted way to mindfully celebrate being able to socialise after being hunkered down for two months.”

When asked how he hopes to impact people with his exhibition, Wales said, “For many, this pandemic is a defining moment of our lives as World Wars and the Great Depression were for our parents and grandparents. I made this series to acknowledge what we’ve all been through and continue to go through together. They’re souvenirs in a way.

Badges of honour.” (RBa) Until Jun 30. DuckRabbit, 138 Little Eveleigh St, Redfern. Info: www.davidartwales.com

THE SPOOKY MEN

BY RIDA BABAR he Spooky Men, a group of Australian male singers and comedians have created a massive online community with over 500 singers, hosting a global weekly singalong.

The Massive Singlets singalong caters to both kids and adults, providing entertainment and raising money for the COVID-19 fund, Medecins sans Frontieres.

The group’s ‘spookmeister’ Stephen Taberner, said “For people to come

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together, to be together, to sing has always been a human need: it is so now, even more than ever.”

In an interview with City Hub, when asked what his biggest inspiration for continuing to perform despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation, Taberner said “There was a moment, when, like many people, I said to myself ‘but what am I going to do?’ It was really quite a calm moment. “I supposed that I would run some song-writing courses, and get a small retainer from my musical group, the Spooky Men. Then I saw that

RESISTANCE T

he little-known true story of Marcel Marceau’s activities during WWII, before he became a world-famous actor and mime artist, is meticulously detailed in this human story of courage and heroism.

Marcel joined the French resistance group, with which fought the Nazis and was directly responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of Jewish children from persecution by leading them over the French Alps to Switzerland.

Audiences should realise even before the opening credits appear when a Jewish girl asks her father,

the idea was a universal one, and a necessary one. So now, what inspires me is the looks on people’s faces, and the emails I get.”

The show usually features unique underlying themes throughout, such as Samoan clapping games, ukuleles, or spookiness as seen in previous shows.

In response to how these sub-themes are decided, Taberner said “The singlets have been a great provocation to find new things and reinvent old things. In the last few weeks, in the classic singlet, the challenge has been finding songs that speak to the current world situation.

“Two weeks ago, we had True Colours, at the height of the George Floyd protests. It was uncannily appropriate, even though it was chosen before anything happened. We had a minute’s silence, and we dedicated the song to the cause.

“This week it was Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground. At times like these, songs can carry so much of our feelings.

It’s so much better to be singing, than sitting and worrying. The song can quite gently but firmly act as both a container for our feelings, and a call to action.

The Spooky Men’s series will continue into July.

Info: www.massivesinglet.com

LUCILLE - COME ON, FLY

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t’s undeniable that Melbourne’s Lucille has a beautiful voice, even when it is unlike any other. Her new album Come On, Fly is a captivating showcase of her unique voice and deeply emotive storytelling.

Inspired by her birthplace of Berlin and the current state of global affairs the title track of this record explores the seemingly inescapable cycle of destructiveness and separation that humanity exhibits.

In a time of civil upheaval and forced global isolation this album is particularly powerful.

Thanks to it’s unique blend of country, folk and gospel elements all coagulating together alongside Lucille’s voice the album is something which strikes at the heart of the listener. (JA)

WWW

“Why do they hate us?” and soon afterwards witnesses her parents murders, that this is a dark film which will numb the senses.

Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me) delivers an arresting portrayal as “Germany’s Charlie Chaplin” who comforted these orphaned children and restored their smiles through mime.

Visually stunning, the film is disturbingly realistic as unsettling scenes of brutality imposed upon the Jewish leave nothing to the imagination.

This life-affirming story of resilience during one of the darkest chapters in history is dedicated to the millions of Jewish children who needlessly perished under Hitler’s Third Reich. (MMo) CITY HUB 25 JUNE 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE Financial support

Need Further Assistance

If you’ve lost your job, lost hours, or are suffering financial hardship, find out what support is available, including wage subsidies: www.treasury.gov.au/coronavirus.

If you need further assistance, please contact me on (O2) 9379 0700 or at Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au For the latest advice, information & resources: www.health.gov.au

Support for businesses & sole traders If you’re a business or a sole trader, find out what support is available at: www.business.gov.au or 13 28 46.

Support for renters The National Cabinet has agreed to ban evictions for commercial and residential tenants in financial distress who are unable to meet their commitments due to the impact of coronavirus.

NSW Health: www.health.nsw.gov.au

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If you have concerns about your health, seek medical advice.

National Coronavirus Helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Help for renters

1800 020 080

NSW Fair Trading at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov. au or 13 32 20 or the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service at www.tenants.org.au or (02) 8117 3700.

Translating & Interpreting Services

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THANKS TO YOU,

we are saving lives and stopping the spread of Covid-19. We’re all in this together, so let’s continue to keep each other safe.

TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

LET’S KEEP KEEPING SAFE

Observe social distancing

Practice good hygiene

STAY HOME IF YOU CAN

Observe limits on public

gatherings

Authorised by Tanya Plibersek MP, Australian Labor Party, 1A Great Buckingham St, Redfern

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CITY HUB 25 JUNE 2020

Follow the self-isolation rules