❓ The Minister for Culture and the Arts outlines various cultural events and initiatives across Western Australia commemorating the Anzac centenary, including theatre productions, exhibitions, and community programs.
AnsweredQoN 292Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ANZAC
CENTENARY — CULTURAL EVENTS
292. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Culture and the Arts:
Can the minister
advise the house on how the centenary of Anzac is being commemorated through
cultural events this weekend?
CENTENARY — CULTURAL EVENTS
292. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Culture and the Arts:
Can the minister
advise the house on how the centenary of Anzac is being commemorated through
cultural events this weekend?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question. As reflected in the sensitive and respectful debate that was
conducted in this chamber yesterday, the events of a century ago at Gallipoli
and more widely the Middle East and subsequently widely in Europe had an
enormous impact on the state of Western Australia and the Australian nation at
that time, and continue to do so right up until today. It is appropriate
that our arts organisations play a role in presenting a lot of the history and
enabling the community to become more understanding of and informed about the
enormity of the events that occurred a century ago, and Australia's
roles in various conflicts since. I am pleased that our arts organisations will
play a significant role in that respect.
I will outline some of the events by way of example. The
outstanding theatre production Black
Diggers will be telecast tomorrow evening at 7.30 pm to over 100 regional
centres across Western Australia through the Westlink network. This production
is a very powerful performance. It tells the story of Aboriginal soldiers who
fought for Australia but were not acknowledged at the time in anything like the
way they should have been. In fact, they were not adequately acknowledged until
very recently. The production was filmed during its performance at the State
Theatre Centre of WA as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. The
telecast will bring the Anzac centenary commemorations to a broader regional
audience, particularly with the support of Lotterywest and the royalties for
regions program.
This coming weekend, the Perth Cultural Centre will host a
range of Anzac commemorative events. They are presented by the City of Perth,
Western Australia's branch of the Returned and Services League of
Australia, and the state's cultural institutions. The Art Gallery of
Western Australia will have guided tours of the exhibition For Love of Country . That exhibition draws on works from the state
art collection to explore the theme of conflict. There will also be
poppy-making workshops for children. The State Library of Western Australia
will host an exhibition based on the iconic photo of the 11 th Battalion at Cheops in Egypt, along with a writing and illustration workshop
that explores Anzac stories. At the State Theatre Centre, the Perth Theatre
Trust and the State Records Office of Western Australia will present a First
World War family history discovery day, which invites audiences to learn about
their military ancestors. The screen in the Perth Cultural Centre will display
live broadcasts of the dawn service from Kings Park, and also the Anzac Day
march and the dawn service from Gallipoli. At Western Australian Museum sites,
in Perth and in Fremantle, and in regional sites particularly at Albany,
various exhibitions will tell some incredibly personal stories of World War I
through postcards and handpainted artworks from the battlefields of the Western
Front.
I also briefly acknowledge the role of the screen industry in
Western Australia. ScreenWest is the state's agency in the screen
industry and those working in the screen industry. I acknowledge its
collaboration with the ABC in some recent productions—for example, The Waler:
Australia's Great War Horse , which was shown on ABC TV last Sunday evening. It was
produced here in Western Australia and I think it was an outstanding
production.
The stories that we are reflecting on at this time are ones
of horror and loss, but they are stories about people and places that are
incredibly important to be told to current and future generations. I am pleased
that our arts organisations in a broad sense are contributing to that role.
for the question. As reflected in the sensitive and respectful debate that was
conducted in this chamber yesterday, the events of a century ago at Gallipoli
and more widely the Middle East and subsequently widely in Europe had an
enormous impact on the state of Western Australia and the Australian nation at
that time, and continue to do so right up until today. It is appropriate
that our arts organisations play a role in presenting a lot of the history and
enabling the community to become more understanding of and informed about the
enormity of the events that occurred a century ago, and Australia's
roles in various conflicts since. I am pleased that our arts organisations will
play a significant role in that respect.
I will outline some of the events by way of example. The
outstanding theatre production Black
Diggers will be telecast tomorrow evening at 7.30 pm to over 100 regional
centres across Western Australia through the Westlink network. This production
is a very powerful performance. It tells the story of Aboriginal soldiers who
fought for Australia but were not acknowledged at the time in anything like the
way they should have been. In fact, they were not adequately acknowledged until
very recently. The production was filmed during its performance at the State
Theatre Centre of WA as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. The
telecast will bring the Anzac centenary commemorations to a broader regional
audience, particularly with the support of Lotterywest and the royalties for
regions program.
This coming weekend, the Perth Cultural Centre will host a
range of Anzac commemorative events. They are presented by the City of Perth,
Western Australia's branch of the Returned and Services League of
Australia, and the state's cultural institutions. The Art Gallery of
Western Australia will have guided tours of the exhibition For Love of Country . That exhibition draws on works from the state
art collection to explore the theme of conflict. There will also be
poppy-making workshops for children. The State Library of Western Australia
will host an exhibition based on the iconic photo of the 11 th Battalion at Cheops in Egypt, along with a writing and illustration workshop
that explores Anzac stories. At the State Theatre Centre, the Perth Theatre
Trust and the State Records Office of Western Australia will present a First
World War family history discovery day, which invites audiences to learn about
their military ancestors. The screen in the Perth Cultural Centre will display
live broadcasts of the dawn service from Kings Park, and also the Anzac Day
march and the dawn service from Gallipoli. At Western Australian Museum sites,
in Perth and in Fremantle, and in regional sites particularly at Albany,
various exhibitions will tell some incredibly personal stories of World War I
through postcards and handpainted artworks from the battlefields of the Western
Front.
I also briefly acknowledge the role of the screen industry in
Western Australia. ScreenWest is the state's agency in the screen
industry and those working in the screen industry. I acknowledge its
collaboration with the ABC in some recent productions—for example, The Waler:
Australia's Great War Horse , which was shown on ABC TV last Sunday evening. It was
produced here in Western Australia and I think it was an outstanding
production.
The stories that we are reflecting on at this time are ones
of horror and loss, but they are stories about people and places that are
incredibly important to be told to current and future generations. I am pleased
that our arts organisations in a broad sense are contributing to that role.
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