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That’s arts and entertainment CAPO grants open With the ACT’s lockdown placing immense strain on the local arts sector, local volunteer-led not-forprofit CAPO’s annual grants round comes at an opportune time. With $32,000 made available by sponsors going out via 20 grants ranging in value from $500 to $5,000, the funding will support local artists in a range of ways. CAPO president Penny Jurkiewicz told Canberra Weekly the available funds will be a significant boost to Canberra’s arts community at a time when support is crucial. “Most artists I have spoken to are still managing to produce at home, some who can’t because they need studio access,” she said. “They’ve not given up in that respect.” Past recipients have put their grant money toward anything from equipment and studio time to work-related travel or even just paying rent. “They use the money, which is great, they don’t sit on it,” she said. With applications open for another three weeks and numbers down a little, Jurkiewicz hopes to receive as many applications as possible before deadline.
“Normally by end of the application period we’d have around 65 and this year it’s far fewer,” she said. “And I’m not sure why, whether people are feeling a sense of despair and lack of energy to apply … I seriously don’t know. “These grants are here so please get your skates on quick.” CAPO’s annual grant applications are open until midnight 4 October, visit capo.org. au for more.
Local poet buzzing about new book On the surface, writing poetry for children might seem like an uphill battle. Local poet, author and performer Harry Laing, however, has made a career out of it. He’s made his craft appealing to younger audiences by following a golden rule. “The secret is I’m channelling my inner big kid,” he told Canberra Weekly. “I’m just writing about what delights me, what makes me laugh, and what makes me reflect with that excitement, energy, and enthusiasm.”
His third book of poetry for children aged 6-12, titled Rapper Bee, is slated for release on 1 October. Filled with 65 offerings and “fabulous” black and white illustrations completed by Anne Ryan, Laing said that with lots of different sounds and rhythms, the works have been written to be heard and performed. “That’s really important for me,” he said. “I do a lot of work in schools, particularly in Canberra, and that’s what the kids love hearing.” The anthology has been assembled to engage with an array of themes and subjects designed to tap into the rich imaginations of children. “I think that’s what’s special about poetry, you can engage with absolutely everything and anything,” Laing said. “I’ve got some favourites like cheese, sausages, giant kelp, ‘I wanna be a wombat’, the life of a dollar coin … all kinds of stuff!” Based just outside the NSW village of Braidwood, Laing has been sharing his work with children throughout the Canberra region for years. The latest lockdown has forced him to shift his performances online. “It is different,” he said, “facing the screen putting out a lot of energy, you’ve got to be extra strong to get it through the ether, but I enjoy doing it.” An online launch event for Rapper Bee will take place Sunday 19 September, while the book will be available from 1 October; visit bookcow.com.au/rapper-bee for more.
Canberra video game studio nominated for award Submerged: Hidden Depths, developed by Canberra-based video game studio Uppercut Games, has been nominated for an Australian Game Developer Award for excellence in accessibility. Image supplied.
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canberraweekly.com.au
Canberra-based video game studio Uppercut Games has recently been nominated for the Excellence
in Accessibility Award in the 2021 Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) for their work Submerged: Hidden Depths. The studio’s fi rst time nominated for an AGDA in their 10-year history, co-founder Ed Orman said the acknowledgement was both “thrilling” and “an honour”. Available via Google’s Stadia gaming platform, Orman described the work as a “relax-ploration” game. “It provides players with a really serene, nice place they can Zen out in,” he told Canberra Weekly. A sequel to their successful 2015 title Submerged, Orman and his team decided to focus on making an accessible game when development commenced in 2019. “Our game is a simple, serene, relaxing game where you’re controlling a single character on screen, there’s no combat or failure states which makes it a strong candidate for opening up for accessibility,” he said. According to Orman, in real terms, producing an accessible game requires making sure the controls are as accessible and configurable as possible, all the way through to providing colour options in the guide for people who are colour blind. “There’s so much work that you can do, and I feel like we’ve only really scratched the surface but great to do as much as we could.” Based in Canberra since cofounding the studio with Andrew James and Ryan Lancaster in 2011, Orman said the bush capital is an idyllic spot to produce video games. “It’s perfectly fi ne to run a studio here, you’ve got access to really good internet, a talent pool, we really like it here and have got no plans of going anywhere else,” he said. Visit canberraweekly.com.au for extended versions of these stories. - Denholm Samaras
