The UK/Australia Season, the largest cultural exchange between Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) launches in both countries today. Marking the official beginning of the Season, the UK/Australia Season Ambassadors and details of the programme for September – December 2021 have been revealed.
A collaboration between the British Council and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, under the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, the UK/Australia Season is a unique programme of more than 200 live and digital events, collaborations and sector engagement symposiums, celebrating the diverse and innovative artist community and cultural sectors of each nation. The Season centres on the theme Who Are We Now? to reflect on our history, explore our current relationship, and imagine our future together.
From 1 September, artists, thought leaders and academics from the UK and Australia will collaborate to create a diverse programme of panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions, theatre, film, dance, design, architecture, music, literature, higher education and public engagement.
Highlights of the programme in Australia across September – December 2021 include the return of The British Film Festival; a new exhibition and online programme by international art platform Art et al presenting collaborations between neurodivergent UK and Australian artists; a six month digital programme presented by Sydney Opera House featuring performance works by artists and organisations from across the UK, exploring the question ‘Who Are We Now?’; Jeremy Goldstein’s internationally acclaimed digital theatre event Truth to Power Café; an exclusive online event commemorating the republication of Beryl Gilroy’s 1976 memoir Black Teacher with readings by British academic and former fashion designer Darla Gilroy and performance by playwright John Agard; a series of live panel discussions delving into the artists and artwork presented in the 2021 Ballarat International Foto Biennale; a new immersive and sensory theatrical experience by Oily Cart (UK) and Polyglot Theatre (Australia), two of the world’s leading theatre makers for young audiences; and a virtual conversation between the National Portrait Galleries in Australia and London.
Helen Salmon, Season Director and Director of the British Council in Australia Said:
The fact that the UK/Australia Season even exists at this moment is extraordinary. The arts and education sector has shown steely tenacity, collaborating from opposite sides of the globe, to continually adapt how they can present their work to audiences during the pandemic. During the first months of the Season, we have a large programme of digital work exploring topics including identity and belonging, our relationship to technology and Covid-19 recovery, in addition to in-person exhibitions, film, visual arts and performance. In this time of ongoing change, it is the artists and thinkers who help us make sense of things. They will show us who we really are, and who we might become.
Representing the UK and Australian sectors, the Season Ambassadors have long standing connections with both nations and will work with the Season Directors to highlight the rich and diverse artistic practices in each country. The Season Ambassadors announced today are Academy-award winner Cate Blanchett; former Principal of The Royal Ballet Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell DBE; stage and screen actor Rudi Dharmalingam; award-winning author of Girl Woman Other Bernardine Evaristo OBE; satirist and author Barry Humphries AO CBE; and leading British Museum curator and academic Dr Gaye Sculthorpe.
Ambassador Cate Blanchett AC Said:
I am thrilled and honoured to be an Ambassador for the UK/Australia Season. Art breaks down the borders and boundaries of our imagination, poses questions, expands reality, and by sharpening our feelings into ideas offers pathways to insight. Living works of art in performance being shared cross-culturally provides a genuine opportunity for audiences and artists alike to expand their horizons at a time when many fear they are closing down. I am excited that this Season will facilitate a cornucopia of visions which speak to the depth and breadth of the ongoing artistic exploration in contemporary Australia and Britain.
Ambassador Rudi Dharmalingam Said:
The arts have always had an innate ability to inspire and initiate change in all corners of society. The only way to truly break down barriers is for us all to share our stories with each other. International collaborations like this partnership between the UK and Australia create a disruptive platform to challenge prejudice, to manifest a borderless mutual appreciation and understanding of each other’s complicated cultural intricacies.
Ambassador Bernardine Evaristo OBE Said:
Culture is essential to the advancement of humankind, but for it to flourish and progress, we need to replenish it through global engagements, influences and partnerships. The UK/Australia Season is an amazing opportunity for both countries to bridge the geographical and creative divide through sharing the exciting ways in which our societies are enriched by our many different communities and unique approaches to the formation of culture. This is an ambitious and inspiring initiative, and I expect it will be transformational.
Ambassador Dr Gaye Sculthorpe Said:
I am excited that the UK/Australia Season will highlight aspects of the unique culture and art of the First Nations of Australia. The origins of these artistic traditions predate British colonisation by millennia yet in their evolving forms are amongst the best of contemporary artistic practice in Australia.
The Australian High Commission in the UK and the British Council will launch the Season at the British Museum in London today with Nigel Adams MP, Minister of State for Asia at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Australia. The event will be marked by the publication of Ancestors, artefacts and empire; Indigenous Australia in British and Irish museums, a major new book co-edited by Dr Gaye Sculthorpe, Head of the Oceania section of the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the British Museum.
An Australian event is planned at the Sydney Opera House later this year.
Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Said:
In the UK/Australia Season 2021/22 artists, policy makers, thought leaders and academics will come together through vibrant and diverse art forms, exploring our national identities, elevating our First Nations voices, and examining who we are together in a very different 2021/22. The Season will remind us of the bonds of history we share and the exciting future ahead of our great nations.
The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Australia’s Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Said:
Our artists have lifted spirits over these difficult months, and the UK/Australia Season 2021-22 will take the spirit of our artists and showcase them to an international audience. I’m proud to support this major cultural exchange, collaborating with the British Council to provide an important avenue to grow cultural understanding and establish new international audiences for our talented artists and performers, which will be increasingly important as we emerge from the pandemic.
Nigel Adams MP, Minister of State for Asia at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Said:
The UK/Australia Season provides an unprecedented opportunity to further strengthen the UK’s relationship with Australia as two open, diverse and forward-looking nations in this truly collaborative endeavour with the Australian Government. The UK is committed to strengthening its relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific and the Commonwealth as we look to build back better after the pandemic. Through the work of the British Council and many partners in the UK and Australia, the breadth and scale of this ambitious Season – spanning culture, education and business – enables us to develop networks and to drive collaboration, investment and attraction for the benefit of our two nations.
Oliver Dowden MP, UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Said:
Despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic, our cultural and creative sectors have shown immense resilience and flexibility in helping to shape the ambitious UK/Australia Season with the British Council and Australian Government. By providing the opportunity to showcase the excellence and innovation of UK and Australian arts and culture, the Season will help to develop new partnerships and ensure these vital sectors build back better from the pandemic. I look forward to experiencing the wealth of content within the Season which will represent the whole of the UK across many artforms.
The Season will take place in Australia from September 2021 to March 2022 and in the UK from September 2021 to December 2022. Programme highlights have been announced today, with further programming information available at www.ukaustraliaseason.com.
The Summer events in Australia (December 2021 – March 2022) will be announced in November 2021.
Highlights of the programme in Australia from September – December 2021:
Highlights of the programme in the UK from September – December 2021:
The Summer events in Australia (December 2021 – March 2022) will be announced in November 2021.
Events Details
Venue: UK/Australia
Date: Sept- Dec 21
For more information click HERE
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