Fraser Coast Scene - April 2023

AN APPRECIATION OF THE NATURAL WORLD

ARTIST PROFILE: LOU MILLEN

Lou Millen’s appreciation of the natural world shines throughout her artwork like a beacon of life’s simple pleasures. She sees the many layers of the landscape that has always played a strong part in her life, from her earlier days growing up on a farm in Tasmania, to her life now on the Fraser Coast. With wild bushland on one side and the ocean on the other, Lou is at home in a place where she can explore her natural surroundings.

She is a fossicker. A hunter and gatherer of objects le behind by the ravages of time and these pieces she collects later hold a new life in the form of beautiful art, delicate and refined. A waterlogged fence post dragged home from the shores of a beach, heavy with petrification from years of dri ing in the ocean, to become the base of a carved seabird sculpture. A delicate skeleton of a sea urchin is painstakingly sketched in pencil, each tiny bump on the surface, every complex crease and crevice rendered with light and shade to reveal an excruciatingly detailed, large-scale artwork.

In her younger years Lou’s art journey was nurtured by a community of like-minded creatives. A er completing her arts degree in Launceston, she embarked on a career of fine art and involved herself in creative coops where many of her mentors recognised her talents and encouraged her to develop and explore her creativity. Over the years Lou’s style has shi ed and evolved to become the style she feels most comfortable with now – crisp and refined that comes from her meticulous eye for detail and steadfast perfectionism.

Lou understands there is an a erlife in every object. An empty shell that was once a home for one sea creature becomes a home for another, a vessel to carry a new form. For Lou, the a erlife is the chance to preserve the beauty of an object in a new composition, to be reinvented as a precious object and shared with the world through a new perspective. A er an object’s current life has come to an end Lou Millen’s art brings a new and beautiful existence to behold.

COVER IMAGE:

Lynne Pearl, Embroidery (detail). Courtesy of the artist. On display at Gatakers Artspace from Friday 21 April in ‘Simply Stitches - Maryborough Heritage City Embroiderers’.

STAY INSPIRED!

This guide shares a taste of Council’s arts, culture and heritage program and was correct at time of printing. To keep up to date with the latest information visit our website.

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au

/ourfrasercoast

We welcome contributions from our creative community. For more information email ArtsCulture@frasercoast.qld.gov.au

Story: April Spadina | Photo: Cody Fox

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Fraser Coast Scene is distributed free as a marketing and engagement initiative of Fraser Coast Regional Council. It’s about promoting Council’s programs and services by sharing stories of our arts and cultural community and their connection to Council’s spaces.

Contents are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.

Fraser Coast Regional Council acknowledges to the east, the Butchulla (Badtjala) and to the west, the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) People, their connection to Country (land, sea and sky) and recognises the many places of cultural, spiritual, social and economic significance in the community. We pay respects to their Elders – past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge other First Nation Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander people, who reside in the Fraser Coast region.

Billy V’s Elton –Duelling Pianos

Sat 1 Apr | 7.30PM

Delivering the greatest hits of Billy Joel and Elton John, featuring a live 9-piece tribute band and 5 vocalists.

Life of Pi – NT Live

Mon 3 Apr | 1PM

Thu 6 Apr | 7PM Screening. A stunning adaptation of Yann Martel’s bestseller in which Pi finds himself adrift on a lifeboat inhabited by him and a ferocious tiger.

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au

Robertson Brothers 1960’s Variety TV Show

Sat 29 Apr | 8PM

The Robertson Brothers are thrilled to be returning with their new heart-warming and uplifting 1960’s Variety TV Show!

Opera Queensland - Lady Sings the Maroons

Wed 3 May | 7PM

Opera Queensland takes a deep dive into the Queensland songbook to celebrate some of Australia’s most loved artists.

Steve-O The Bucket List Tour

Wed 19 Apr | 7PM

Every idea on Steve-O’s List was so ill-advised, he never expected to go through with them. Until it was time to prepare for this tour.

Othello - NT Live

Mon 8 May | 1PM

Thu 11 May | 7PM

Screening. An extraordinary new vision for one of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedies.

5 Walker Street, Maryborough 4122 6060 Box Office Open Monday to Friday: 8.30am – 4pm

Bjorn Again – Thank ABBA for the Music

Sat 22 Apr | 8PM

ABBA fans get excited as Björn Again bring ABBA’s timeless hits back to the stage in a sing-along, dancealong extravaganza.

Celtic Illusion –The Magic Returns

Tue 25 Apr | 7.30PM

Immerse yourself in the Irish Dance and Grand Illusion sensation that has taken the world by storm.

Rolling Thunder Vietnam

Wed 26 Apr | 7.30PM

Rolling Thunder Vietnam recaptures the pulse, fortitude and spirit of an extraordinary era through the intimacy of its storytelling.

Cosentino ‘Decennium’

Tue 9 May | 7.30PM

Australia’s world-renowned entertainer and International Magician of the Year, Cosentino, is returning to perform his brand new, 90 minute live show.

EMMA NEWMAN SPECIAL GUEST

ALEXIS & SUZIE

166 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay 4197 4206

FREE ENTRY Open Tuesday to Friday: 10am - 4pm

Weekends: 10am - 2pm. Closed Mondays.

EXHIBITIONS: 11 MARCH – 20 MAY

WORKSHOPS AND TALKS

Film Screening: Storm Boy

Wed 5 Apr | 4-5PM

The Dingo Project: Wongari

Originally curated for Ngununggula in the NSW Southern Highlands, The Dingo Project: Wongari shift s the focus of Djon Mundine’s curatorial project to Butchulla country and the Wongari of K’gari.

Fernando do Campo: To companion a companion

With one foot in the field and the other in the archives, Fernando do Campo focuses on ‘companioning’ as an artistic strategy, researching the knotted histories of urban multispecies encounters through listening, painting, archiving and plural histories.

An all ages screening of the 1976 classic Australian film. Free, registrations essential

Youth Week Panel

Discussion: Young Conservationists

Thu 13 Apr | 4-5PM

Hear from the next generation of Fraser Coast locals doing their bit for the environment. A must for young people interested in learning how they can contribute to the protection of our ecosystems.

Superpowered on Tour

Sat 1 Apr - Sun 16 Apr Free craft activities.

Top Image: Mia Boe, Satisfaction of one’s own reflection, 2021, synthetic polymer on linen. Bottom Image: Fernando do Campo, Pishing in the archive, 2021, single channel HD video (production still).

311 Kent St, Maryborough 4190 5818

FREE ENTRY Open Weekdays: 9.30am - 3.30pm

Weekends: 9.30am - 2pm.

EXHIBITIONS: UNTIL SUN 16 APR

A Quiet Gentle

Nicole Jakins

Visual dialogues of Maryborough

Nora Hanasy

Ebb & Flow

Barbara Stephenson

Heritage Collection

Gatakers/Story Bank

EXHIBITIONS: FRI 21 APR - SUN 4 JUN

Exhibition Opening Fri 21 Apr | 6PM

Retrospective

Peter Hughes

Simply Stitches

Maryborough Heritage City Embroiderers

CREATIVE SPACE POP-UP EXHIBITIONS:

14 APR - 4 JUN

Miniaturised

Maryborough

Marilyn Murray

Meet the Bells: A Wallum Journey

Joolie Gibbs

Images (clockwise from top le ): Peter Hughes Chinese Wuhan; Lynne Pearl Embroidery ; Joolie Gibbs Meet the Bells; Marilyn Murray Town Hall Maryborough.

Butchulla Warriors’ Memorial

A selection of photographs and castings to celebrate the opening of the monument in Queens Park.

ARTIST TALK & ACTIVITIES

Joolie Gibbs

Sat 29 Apr | 11 AM

Marilyn Murray

Sat 6 May | 11 AM

Print Studio

Weekly Wed & Sat | 10AM-2PM

Life Drawing

Saturdays | 10AM-12PM