HOTA takes their RAGE online

Since announcing its Rage Against the V(irus) artist fund late last month, HOTA hasn’t taken their foot off the pedal, supporting more than 25 local artists and counting, while dreaming up ways to bring HOTA direct to homes.

Over the next six weeks, HOTA has big plans to bring the community everything they love about the Home of the Arts, direct to living rooms through their RAGE ON(line) program.

Criena Gehrke, HOTA CEO, said the venue’s temporary closure is not going to stop them delivering the Arts.

We know people will be missing HOTA, and we’re not going to let being closed stop us from delivering great creative content. So we’ve been collaborating with brilliant artists to bring you great art from the comfort of your armchair.

You might not be quite sure what to expect, we’re turning this stuff around fast, but get ready to sing with us, laugh with us and craft with us.

HOTA’s RAGE ON(line) program will begin rolling out soon on their website and social media channels.

Meanwhile, the art is rolling in as HOTA’s Rage Against the V(irus) fund for local artists takes off.

So far, HOTA has received more than 195 applications from local Gold Coast artists for funding of up to $1000, to create projects with an online outcome.

Criena Gehrke praised the creativity and inventiveness of the artists.

This rapid-response grant was established for our local arts community during a time when they need it most.

Artists are the lifeblood of HOTA, without them there is no home of the arts. We’ve been awed by their creative brilliance and we celebrate their creativity, inventiveness and courageous nature.

Project outcomes so far have included: short films, a web series, photo exhibitions, concerts, colouring books, animations, an interview series and more.

As RAGE ON(line) prepares to launch, applications for HOTA’s Rage Against the V(irus) artist fund remain open until May 15.

 

The current recipients of Rage Against the V(irus) funding are:

 

JAY JERMYN | News on the Hour

News on the Hour, designed and curated by Jay Jermyn, is an ongoing sound and visual performance work that responds to the news live-streamed through the internet, commenting on the disorientating constant stream of the news cycle.

By redirecting the audio from the news to be driven through a series of digital manipulations and music effects pedals, the visual and audio is disconnected; in turn, dissolving all political agendas on the left and right that alter the true reporting of facts and placing a new authorship on the visual content.

The outcome is a sound performance, which was streamed live on Instagram, that had elements from musical genres of experimental techno, house and ambient, whilst bringing the audio back to be recognisable at stages for the viewer to associate with. Jay’s work was streamed live from 13-17 April. It will now be collated into a highlights reel for audiences to experience.

 

KYLIE CHAN | Minds of Sand and Light

Kylie Chan has entertained audiences worldwide with a total of twelve best-selling novels and numerous smaller works, including the acclaimed Dark Heavens and Dragon Empire series.

She presented her most recent novel for publication just as COVID-19 put the world into lockdown – and now she is starting a new cyber-thriller with a grittier, more desperate take on the fate of the world. Political machinations, drone soldiers, and a group of shadowy corporate cyber intelligences clash over the fate of humanity and the world itself.

 

PRU WILSON | Circular World

Circular World is a digital photographic series with the concept of taking artistic images of circular objects found in and around photographer Pru Wilson’s home whilst in isolation during COVID-19 pandemic.

The objects are not just merely photographed as they would usually be found within the household, they are placed and photographed to create eye-catching or images that can be questioned viewed and discussed. The images within the series will total to 88 circular objects.

 

DAMIAN HUSSEY | Sleep

Fighting boredom and a lack of money during isolation, Elsie (Emily Rowbottom) decides to sign up for a guided meditation study. Her days initially improve until she begins to lose time and she senses a dark presence in the house. As the cycles get stranger, she struggles to decipher what is real and what is in her head.

 

KATHY MACKEY | Studio Bathroom

As we spend more time at home, we become more aware of the creative potentials of our living spaces. Architectural features that we never considered suddenly become an ideal blank canvas.

For this project, Kathy will build “sets” in her bathroom and project images that represent the “outside” into these – overspilling onto other surfaces and distorting the sense of space.

This moves from her previous work involving Gold Coast architecture as part of her PhD (The Post -tourist Mirror, 2011) enabling Kathy to read the predominantly high- rise architecture of the Gold Coast as a metonym – the challenging of relationships between part and whole, and the expansion and reduction of relative scale of images and objects; thus there is an ongoing relationship between ephemeral projections and the objectivity of the “still” photograph.

 

ZACHARY FAHEY | Unpacked

The Gold Coast is home to some of the most exciting musicians in Australia. Music writer, producer, publicist and all-around fan Zac Fahey now launches Unpacked, a new video series featuring interviews with Gold Coast musicians who have released an exceptional single over the past 12 months.

Each interview will dive deep into the inner workings of the song, deconstructing musical parts, discussion inspiration, lyrical content, recording, writing techniques and all the other unique considerations that went into the creation.

With demonstrations, acoustic performances, and breakdowns of the technical aspects of music, Zac’s new series is perfect for anyone who loves, or is curious about, the creation of music.

 

LYSTRA BISSCHOP | Disrupt the Disruption

Lystra Bisschop, an award-winning writer and managing editor of Surfing Life magazine had three major surgeries FAIL which left her bedridden for THREE years. After she recovered from her fourth surgery, she moved to the Gold Coast with her husband and two kids to implement a simpler lifestyle. Lystra has worked from home for 17 years and for the last 2.25 of them, she has homeschooled her primary school aged groms.

Amongst the turmoil of life and the realisation that “perfection” doesn’t exist, Lystra developed tried-and-tested methods of how to successfully achieve creative goals. Using these techniques, Lystra wrote a manuscript in a year that won a national writing award and recently landed her a book publishing contract with Hachette.

Disrupting the Disruption is a how-to article that shares Lystra’s knowledge and methodology behind her writing success despite the mayhem of life.

 

ART-WORK AGENCY | OK, Zoomer

Zoom has quickly become to go-to for digital meetings. It’s great – until you’re in a serious discussion and realise your washing is hanging behind you and your kids start wreaking havoc and running around in the nude. Enter – Art-Work Agency’s OK, Zoomer Virtual Background series.

Art-Work is working with their five Gold Coast-based designers and artists to create a series of Zoom Virtual Backgrounds. The artists have been challenged to “reimagine their ideal working space” and create a background scene in response to this brief, a virtual opportunity to explore the concept of remote work in a creative and uplifting way.

 

DANIELE CONSTANCE | Orange

Orange is a striking and almost unmissable giant being – moving, living, day by day, viewed from within the confines of a two-bedroom apartment in Coolangatta. Striving to be an enigma in an increasingly restricted and familiar environment.

Drawing on performance, choreographic and photographic practices, Orange aims to capture the domestic duties, joys, sorrows, absurdities and small freedoms of our new normal lifestyle during the Covid-19 crisis. This photo and short film series follows a largely mundane routine, providing a glimpse into the private world of this individual, who in many ways, reflects all of us.

This work is a collaboration between performance maker Daniele Constance and photographer/videographer Jorge Serra as they share a living space together during isolation.

 

DION PARKER | The Life of Dusty

His art has been appearing around the Gold Coast for years – from SWELL Sculpture Festival to HOTA’s 2017 Christmas Commission – and now, Dion Parker’s signature character ‘Lil Dusty’ will appear in a series of new animations, launching on HOTA’s social channels in May 2020.

Dion will create all the animations from his iPad while the world is in shut down. Tune in every day to discover what daily activities Lil’ Dusty will get up to!

 

MATTHEW GRAY | Pressure Makes Diamonds EP

Pressure Makes Diamonds is an upcoming experimental recording and writing project from Gold Coast Producer Matt Gray. He will be fusing jazz, house, hip-hop and contemporary music together into one EP. This record, not unlike this time of our lives, is an attempt to see order in the chaos and possibly even find meaning in the darkness.

The uncertainty of this time will certainly be represented sonically, although Matt himself says he’s not quite sure exactly what this record is going to sound like yet.

“I kind of want to just let it happen in the designated week, I don’t want to enter this project with any notion of what I want it to be, except for the fact that it will indeed be a fusion music experiment.” – Matt Gray, 2020

This EP will sound exactly as it sounds. Nothing more, nothing less. This is Matt’s attempt to see if pressure really does make diamonds.

 

ERIC KOO | Snapshots from Surfers

Complete your own mini storybook, all about the Gold Coast.

Illustrator Eric Koo will create an interactive colouring book, where you can colour, imagine words, and include your own drawings – maybe you’ll add your family, pets, and friends (real or imaginary), use ideas from memories or dreams. What do you remember from the last time you went to the beach?

Compare your ‘snapshots’ with your sisters, brothers, housemates or parents (yes – parents can do their own colouring-in too!). Do you remember the same things? How does everyone in your household remember the same experience?

Once you’ve finished your colouring book, you’ll have your ‘Snapshots from Surfers’, a chance to share your work with someone dear about the lucky place you live in.

 

ALISHA TODD | If You Wanna

Gold Coast musician, and past HOTA performer, Alisha Todd will release her next single If You Wanna on Thu 23 April, followed by a Facebook live-streamed concert to celebrate the release on Sat 25 April, 7pm.

Before the change of times set in recently, Alisha spent time with her brother to capture video footage to be used in the official music video of her new single. Alisha hopes her new song will ‘lift spirits and put some inspiration into your step’.

 

LOVESTREET STUDIOS | From Little Things

Lovestreet Studios will record a mini podcast series consisting of 4-5 Episodes tentatively featuring local artists Karl Williams, Kacey Patrick, Jackson James Smith, The Hussy Hicks & Bobby Alu. Each episode will be approximately half an hour or more in length and feature a story-telling style interview revealing untold stories from the artist of their making as a musician and their journey to their today, interspersed with live performances of 3 original songs that follow that journey.

 

JVMIE | All In This Together

Returning to the Gold Coast from her base in Los Angeles due to rising concerns about the coronavirus pandemic came with many challenges, including a great deal of uncertainty and a period of hotel isolation.

JVMIE – inspired by the strange new world we’re living in – has used her time in isolation to collaborate with prolific, Los-Angeles based music producer and composer lionel Cohen to create an album called All in this Together.

 

EDDIE RAY | Eddie Ray – Road Worrier

Eddie Ray was in the midst of a Fringe Festival tour around the globe when the end of the world hit – his gigs cancelled; his travel plans banned.

This experimental part comedy part music project is the latest from one-man band who’s show ‘Leader of the Resistance’ had been touring the fringe circuit with rave reviews. Think Terminator, meets Mad Max, meets Flight of the Conchords.

 

AMY JOHN ROBERTS | Homebody

Local musician Amy John Roberts will share insights into the processes behind writing and playing music through a series of videos shared on Facebook and Instagram.

Learn some great song writing hacks; enjoy live gigs; watch live collaborations between musicians; and experience sound experimentation using household utensils, furniture – literally anything around the house – as an instrument.

 

TIM BAKER | Zen as F***

Tim Baker will create a 10 minute a “sit down” comedy routine based on his experiences with Vipassana Meditation – an (apparently) Zen meditator will relate his experiences in a profanity laced broad Australian accent while still getting to some core truths of the meditation experience.

 

S K SIMEON | SK Simeon Single

Creation and release of a new single from this reggae dancehall musician originally from Uganda, now settled on the Gold Coast. In remote collaboration with a German producer.

 

AARON CHAPMAN | Time Has Fallen Asleep

Time Has Fallen Asleep’ is a video work showing global solidarity through webcam footage, as well as interpreting home and the effects isolation has on us and this environment.

 

CHEAP FAKES | Cabin Fever Live

The 7 headed musical beast, Cheap Fakes, is bringing a special live performance, straight from their home studios directly to your lounge rooms. Cheap Fakes is one of Australia’s most exciting live bands and with all of this isolation comes a lot of pent up energy. It’s been building up, and they’re ready to let it explode onto your TV, laptop, or chosen device.

With pro sound and high-quality footage, this will be different to your average iPhone stream. The boys will also be taking questions between songs and playing all the favourites from their four epic albums.

 

AFRICAN BEAT | The Great African Take Away

African Beat’s Master Drummers & Dancers transport you to their tribal village of Nungua (in Ghana, West Africa) from the comfort of your own home.

Their videos allow you to take part in African dancing and body percussion while learning a rhythm the African way – no equipment needed.

This uniting activity is something the whole family can enjoy together. Get everyone on their feet, following non-strenuous movements, forming deeper bonds with each other as you smile, laugh and have fun.

Why not let your creative juices flow? After the class, appoint one of the kids (or the big kids) to lead the next dance lesson, teach a song to the rest of the family, or start your own percussion band with objects from around the house.

The Great African Take Away is an uplifting experience that can be enjoyed solo or in together with those around you.

 

SAPODIA LINDLEY | Surrealistic Pleasure

Surrealistic Pleasure is a mini magazine that has combined content of photography, writing and graphic design.

The ezine will have a strong influence of surrealism, with articles including:

– The importance of imagination and creativity in a hyper realistic era;
– An analysis of the recent film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, diving into its focus on queer love and the nuances of female written/directed/acted films;
– Contributions from a feature artist, recently having completed a painting residency at M-Arts Precinct in Murwillumbah and;
– Recommendations of film, books and music.

 

KARUL PROJECTS | Ngari

Thomas ES Kelly of Karul Projects will create series of dance class videos, with a focus on contemporary, indigenous, and hip-hop movement.

 

RHYS JOHN KAYE | Alone Together

Alone Together is a portrait project developed by Rhys John Kaye during the corona virus outbreak. The idea came from looking at the concept of community and connection from isolation. Rhys is connecting with people in different places around the world that are also in isolation and painting portraits of them over FaceTime, while having conversations with the about their experiences surrounding the current state of the world and how they are managing life from isolation.

 

AARTI BAJAJ | An Insight Into Indian Classical and Contemporary Dancing

A 3-session masterclass in Indian classical and contemporary dancing including the origin, history, literature, various classical forms, basic hand gestures, footwork and the 9 different expressions used when performing.

 

CAMILLE MANLEY | Daily Isochievements

A series of 7 illustrated artworks that celebrate the small achievements and joys to be found daily during isolation. 2-3 illustrations will be animated as gifs.

 

JOSH BYSTROM | Unseen Film Fragments

A series of short videos using previously unseen historical footage of surfing events in the 80’s and 90’s – particularly Burleigh Head’s iconic Stubby’s Surf Event and classic Kirra – captured by the artist’s late father, trailblazing surf filmmaker, Chris Bystrom.

 

KAI JAMES | Misery Man: an isolation story

Local garage rock band Girl and Girl will create a short music video of an acoustic version of the song ‘Misery Man’, filmed with only the members of the band currently residing at a family farmhouse in Currumbin Valley.

 

For more information visit: https://hota.com.au/hota-artist-fund-rage-against-the-virus/