3 minute read
Art About Town
A snapshot of arts activity happening around the Maitland community.
Space Junk!
Maitland has been on an incredible Super 8 sci-fi adventure in the past year...
Julien Poulson from The Cambodian Space Project, local artist Helen Hopcroft and Western Australian filmmaker Mark Roy came together in Maitland in mid-2020 to lead a community arts project, developing the short 50s style film Space Junk!
Bringing together local creatives for acting, set design and music production roles, and a star from further afield, Steve Kilbey (from the rock band The Church) for the lead role as the “The Prophet”, Space Junk! loosely tells the story of a man on the run whose car (number plate: COVID-19) breaks down in Maitland. Things go from bad to worse as he is soon moved on by coppers and starts seeing visions of aliens everywhere he goes. Is it real or is it a dream?
With casting sessions held at MRAG; local twins starring as tap dancing aliens; and backdrops to scenes including the Indian Root Pills signage on Morpeth Road, the Metropolitan Hotel on Maitland’s High Street and 2CHR radio in the old Cessnock School of Arts building, this was a true local production inspiring creativity during COVID times.
Space Junk! starring Steve Kilbey (The Church) will be screened at mini-festival Space Funk Disco Dystopia – a carnival of masks, art, poetry, music and film – on Sat 27 February, Coffin Lane, Maitland.
BOLTspace
BOLTspace is a collaboration between two new to Maitland artists with quite different art practices, Sally Anderson and Andrew Bennett.
The gallery’s aim is to present a diverse range of quality visual art through group exhibitions centred on a specific theme, and to inspire broad conversations about art.
BOLTspace presented three exhibitions in 2020, Small Works, Wag the Tail and Primavera, and looks forward to showcasing more throughout 2021.
395 High Street, Maitland | www.boltspace.com.au
Art and Poetics
WordXimage is Maitland’s latest art gallery and will present crossovers between visual art and poetry, painting and writing.
The gallery’s subtitle, Art and Poetics, reflects the key interests of gallery director Richard Tipping.
Exhibitions planned for 2021 include Chris Mansell, Denis Mizzi, Mazie Turner, Hossein Valamanesh, Nicholas Pounder and Polar Bear Press, and a growing list.
Originally from Adelaide, Richard lived for many years in Sydney as well as Newcastle while lecturing in media arts at the University of Newcastle until 2010. He has a national and international reputation as an artist and poet, with works in many major collections; five of his works have been donated to the MRAG Collection by Pat Corrigan.
WordXimage, 445 High Street, Maitland | www.wordximage.art (forthcoming)
Maitland Cultural Calendar
Film stills from Space Junk!, which will screen at the mini festival Space Funk Disco Dystopia in Maitland on Saturday 27th February 2021
Space Funk Disco Dystopia
> Sat 27 Feb 2021
6pm till late | Coffin Lane, Maitland
IF Maitland (Indie Writers Festival)
> Fri 28 – Sun 30 May 2021
Mansfield House, Maitland | ifmaitland.org
Aroma Coffee & Chocolate Festival
>Sat 14 – Sun 15 Aug 2021
Riverside Car Park, Maitland
Live at the Levee
>6 – 8.30pm, third Fri of each month
Free live music | The Riverlink, Maitland
*All events subject to change & COVID-Safe measures.
Maitland Art Galleries
Peter Kingston, Return of the Killer Windshield, 1993, mixed media lamp, Maitland Regional Art Gallery Collection.
BOLTspace
395 High Street, Maitland Open Fri/Sat 9.30am – 3pm
The Hunter Artisan Gallery & Café
48 Melbourne Street, East Maitland | Open Thurs-Sun 9am – 3pm
The Levee Art Gallery
282 High Street, Maitland | Open Weds-Fri 10am – 4pm, Sat 10am – 2pm
Studio Amsterdam
321 High Street, Maitland | Open Fri-Sun 11am – 5pm
WordXimage
445 High Street, Maitland | Opening hours occasional
