Only a few days ago (probably on Saturday, 28 November) did the
distinction between art and design become clearer to me, courtesy of
Tom Igoe, in an interview with him in the book "Programming
Interactivity" (O'Reilly, 2009). He was describing the distinction in
relation to device interaction:

"Recognising that all device
interaction is a conversation, it's an iterative loop of thinking and
speaking. So often, artists, more so than designers, get really good at
the speaking side of the conversation and don't develop the listening
skills. This is the area where I find the great difference between
people who are attempting to make interactive design. The distinction
comes in that art is primarily an act of self-expression, whereas
design is primarily an act of facilitating communication. Artists have
to make things that do something or say something. This is one of the
reasons interactive art is a kind of fallacy. I always tell
students, look, it doesn't matter which side of the divide between art
and design you fall on, but be clear on the distinction, and when you
make your choices, be clear on which of the two is governing your
choices."

Tom Igoe wrote "Making Things Talk", a book on physical computing and related things.

Posted originally at: http://www.frontlinemedia.org.au/node/24

This week the Italian government has sent for approval to the Senate amendments to laws regarding immigration that are discriminatory, racist and downright abusive of Human Rights. Under the guise of ‘national security’, the Italian government has launched a public rhetoric of intolerance and xenophobia against refugees, asylum seekers and ‘unauthorised’ entrants.

The main points of these amendments are a clear attack at human decency, morality and justice. Below is a brief summary:

* Unauthorised entry into the country becomes a crime punishable by a fine between 5-10,000 Euros. Also liable for prosecution are individuals who do not report any ‘clandestine’ activities, thus introducing a mandatory reporting system for ‘unauthorised’ entrants.
* Entrants without permit can be detained for up to 180 days before being deported.
* Citizen associations or vigilantes can be formed to report activities and maintain security

This is my last blog entry from these shores. It isn’t an assessment of my time as a worker at DCA, but a tribute and a brief narrative of the most remarkable time in my working life.

A friend once told me that I was the only person he knew who loved going to work. True most of the time. I have been one of those lucky people who has somehow stumbled across jobs that suited my ideals, values and aspirations. I have also been one of those lucky people able to walk away from many positions, irrespective of how prestigious, highly remunerated and comfortable they were because they didn’t go well with my own principles. But I don’t leave DCA because it doesn’t suit my principles, it is for personal reasons instead.

In the twelve months since I left the Thai-Burma border, much has changed in my life. Optimistically, if not naively, I was also hoping to see some changes here too, on this stretch of land dotted with refugee camps filled to the brim with people escaping the oppressive regime and conditions of Burma.

This letter, however, is not about what I have been experiencing here in general, but my friendship with Hugh (not his real name). A man that in many ways epitomises the daily reality of the Burmese people. Hugh is a 39 years old Karen, who was a fighter with the Karen army and injured in the field. He was brought to the relative safety of Thailand, where he recovered, but relinquished the arm struggle, opting for activism through a grassroot organisation based in Thailand.

Seven months to the day when a tragic boating accident took six young lives, including that of our much loved friend Savanna, her smiling face graces the pages of the daily papers again.

As expected, the legal processes have been set in motion and the courts will have to do what courts do. The adversarial style of our legal system will pitch human against human and lawyer against lawyer. Meanwhile, the media will chronicle it all in the many different styles, from sensational to dry court reporting and often de-humanising.

In all this, all of whom have been dealing with the sense of loss, sadness, media frenzy and all that this tragedy brought, may experience the re-opening of some deep wounds. It may be normal to experience resentment, anger, guilt, blame and even hatred. But let us not wallow in these longer than necessary.

Territory-style acoustic jam sessions at the Darwin North RSL on the 1st Wednesday of the month - from 7pm til 10pm

The LAST Darwin Session for 2008 is on Wednesday December 3

Singers, songwriters & musicians of all ages and all levels are welcome to come along and share their songs, music, and stories the Territory way in a friendly and supportive "camp fire" environment. It's like campfire music ... without the fire!!!

You will find the Darwin North RSL on Batten Road Karama (off Amy Johnson Avenue)

These jam sessions are designed to create a supportive space where singers & musicians can get together and relax ... play their music, experiment with new material, and share their knowledge and skills among friends!

For more information contact Kevin on 0411 135 4188, or
email: macca@blarneybulletin.com

Don't miss Rosa's Journey premiering on SBS TV at 8:30pm on Wednesday 26 November 2008 - the journey of independent East Timor through the eyes of a remarkable and resilient woman.

Following the acclaimed documentary East Timor - Birth of a Nation, Rosa's Journey picks up the story of young East Timorese widow Rosa Martins and her family seven years after independence. Unlike the celebratory climate of 2000, life in East Timor is violent and democracy fragile, as one of the world's youngest nations faces an uncertain future.

The years following nationhood have been hard for Rosa and her country. Freedom has not translated into calm and prosperity. Every aspect of Rosa's life is informed by East Timor's continuing struggle for stability and unity. The documentary starts in 2006 when violence breaks out in East Timor. Rosa and thousands of others are forced to flee to refugee camps. Australian and other international troops are sent to restore peace.

November Films. SBS Television, Wednesday 19 November, 8:30 pm

website http://www.novemberfilms.com.au/films/a-well-founded-fear

At the beginning of A Well Founded Fear we hear Mr Howard declaring after Tampa, 'We decide who will come to Australia and under what circumstances they will come'. His declaration is received with applause from his Liberal Party audience.

Mohammed Hussain, an Afghan asylum seeker rejected by Australia under the Howard government was tortured and beheaded by kidnappers in a province south of Kabul. This poem was inspired by his fate.

How was your morning coffee Johnnny
when you saw the morning rag.
A man who cried for help
closed his eyes and now is dead.

From a place you can’t pronounce,
at the bottom of a well.
His life was hard enough,
but you made it into a hell.

In a mountain and no one else,
the Poet dreamt of greener fields,
but your heart turned to stone
a pen stroke and his fate was sealed.

How was your morning coffee Johnny
when you read it in the news
that a man who fled from terror
lost his life at your refuse.

Arts Access Darwin launched the Open House project to the public on the 4th of September at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, with an exhibition of limited edition prints by young Canteen Creek artist Dion Beasley.

The prints feature Dion's well known cheeky dogs as well as introducing new Canteen Creek characters.

The large format allows Dion to tell stories, and we see the same characters in a variety of situations. The prints are full of humour and emotion and have delighted audiences and have sold well.

The exhibition is now with Artback NT in Alice Springs at the Olive Pink Nature Park and will travel to Tennent Creek in December.

Arts Access Darwin hopes to tour this inspiring exhibition nationally.

The locality of Malak and its surrounds have often witnessed the manifestation of anti-social behaviour. The degree of this behaviour is a point of interesting discussion which lies somewhere between evidence and perception. For the local community members who have experienced first hand the consequences of anti-social behaviour by having their property damaged, violated and defaced, there is no doubt about the seriousness of the problem. For some others, what they hear in the community or read in the press is enough to instill a sense of fear that it is a question of 'when' they will be targeted by this behaviour and not 'if' they ever will.

Dili, is a mere 90 minutes flying time from Darwin. And although it hasn’t become a major holiday destination yet, it has the potential do so, despite the travel warnings by Australian authorities not to travel unless necessary as a result of the volatility of the situation there.

The brevity of this visit would not allow for an informed assessment of the situation, but hanging around Dili posed no threat, even with the visible reminders of a troubled recent past. On the contrary, the hospitality and friendliness of the Timorese people was overwhelmingly nourishing.

Touted as the “poorest” nation in the world, Timor is relatively expensive when compared with other popular South East Asian destinations. This is mainly due to the sizeable contingent of foreign officials, military personnel and NGO’s based in Dili and elsewhere, assisting with the development of the “newest nation” of the 21st century.

Life is too short, and too precious, to not spend every moment as artistically as possible. We should enjoy artistic experiences daily, many times a day, and not relegate art to very few special events during the year.

This is why I have some doubts about how festivals, such as the Fringe, as they have been organised over the years, actually contribute to sustainable grassroots arts development. They take too much time, work and money to produce so that the organizers are invariably burnt out and budgets are in deficit afterwards, and other important work suffers from neglect while we're in festival mode, and whilst we may enjoy a nice big party once a year, by the time we all recover from it, its time to prepare for yet another one.

The conference brought together a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and concerns including artists, scientists, community development workers, funding representatives, academics, teachers and planters. There were many people wearing multiple hats – such as Stephen Routledge, a photographer who runs his local Landcare group as well as harvesting his own chestnut tree crop.

To give you an idea of some of the personalities seated around the rather formal conference table there was Marco the Director of an international contemporary art space in the small dusty town of Kellerberrin, W.A, Peter Pollard a scientists who managed to enthuse everyone with his passion for micro-organisms, David Curtis who had recently completed a PHD on how art influences attitudes and values.

Day One was a deluge of information and text. There were seven programmed papers:

1. Lyndal Jones, the Avoca project

Someone broke into Chambers Crescent Theatre today, 24 September 2007. At around 6:05 PM, I drove past there (as I often do, just to check what's happening) and noticed that the door facing the car park was unlocked. I was curious as no one was booked to use the space at that time. I walked in to find what looked like fine dust on the floor, the contents of the first aid kit strewn around on the desk, and all the desk drawers open. I checked the Chambers Crescent entrance and found that the door had been forced open.

this is great and very accessible, I will be sure to start using it !!

cheers,

Ben

After knowing of Don Mamouney and seeing him from a distance since the second half of 1980s, I finally met and chatted with him at the Tangled Garden set at the Museum on the 19th and 20th of August 2007.

Other than chatting about the Tangled Garden and the prospects of future projects in Darwin involving Sidetrack Theatre and Komunitas (see other blog entry on The Tangled Garden), I was happy to chat with him about his views on locality and community cultural development.

I saw The Tangled Garden at the Museum's Amphitheatre on 19 August. Its a play by Don Mamouney and produced by Sidetrack Performance Group from Sydney and Komunitas CCL from Bandung, Indonesia. It was part of the Festival of Darwin.

I went to see The Tangled Garden partly (and maybe largely) to see some old friends -- Arif Hidayat and Margaret Bradley of Arimba Culture Exchange. I know Arif and Margaret from my work in Sydney in the late 1980s and early 1990s; we worked together when we were building an Asia-Pacific cultural alliance in Sydney, with the first Asia-Pacific cultural festival, Pesta in 1991, as one project.

Multijam was a Fringe Festival project meant to bring together emerging multicultural musicians who would be working from pre-recorded rhythms in isolation then come together to jam on 30 June. Two weeks before the Multijam performance, most of the musicians who originally signed up backed out. Phil Eaton, the project coordinator then recruited other musicians to fill the gap. I was one of the replacement musicians; most of the others were not really emergent as they have been musos for a while and have been performing around Darwin (and elsewhere) for some time. I still claimed the "emergent" title because, even if I had been a muso before, I had not performed for a long time. Certainly, I have not jammed with other musicians for a long, long time.

Program Changes
* AFROZ Soccer Game & Arts Fair
New date: Sunday 15th July, 2pm at Malak Oval
* DARRAN DARRA: 7:30pm 8th July
New venue: Ku Fu Sing (the old Tai Hung Nol Restaurant), Parap Village next to Video 2000
* Intimate Moments: 8pm 5th-7th, 13th & 14th July
New venue: The Gallery, Darwin Entertainment Centre, Mitchell Street, Darwin City
* Spots & Stripes: 9:30pm 13th & 14th July
New venue: The Gallery, Darwin Entertainment Centre, Mitchell Street, Darwin City
Hurry! Tickets selling fast...
Sunset Cruise on the Spirit of Darwin
WHEN: This Sunday 8th July, 5pm - 8.30pm on the Sprit of Darwin, Cullen Bay | COST: $24 | $49 for 2 drinks & finger food

Ayen’s Cooking School for African Men, the film night organised by Melaleuca Refugee Centre and co-sponsored by Brown's Mart on Friday (15 June), was a huge success not only as a fund-raiser but as a community arts event. Andrish and I noted that most of the more than 120 persons who attended were a different and new audience for Brown's Mart, and that this was an audience that we definitely wish to have more and more. This was an audience similar to the ones we had at the Human Rights Day Celebration in December and International Women's Day in March; those events were also fruits of our partnership with Melaleuca Refugee Centre, as was the film night. We should have more nights like this, and more people from these sectors, at Brown's Mart. We had wanted this as part of Brown's Mart's reivention; looks like we're on the right path.
Also, the gig reminded me yet again of how hard theatre techs work.

Part of the Fringe Team: Sean Kavanagh, Emslie Sawyer, Charlie Ward, Andrish Saint-Clare, Anna StewartAt the Fringe launch yesterday, Andrish Saint-Clare, Fringe Producer, concluded his speech by thanking Brown's Mart and Fringe staff for their hard work, and described them as "altruistic masochists." Yes, the team does work incredibly hard; the Fringe (and other Brown's Mart programs) will not happen effectively without this altruistic masochism. I too thank staff for their hard work. While we will always be working under strenuous conditions, because we work in community arts, I still hope we can find ways to continue being altruistic while not hurting ourselves (too much). We need to sustain our good work, and remain healthy and capable while we're at it. Suggestions on how to do this consistently most welcome.

The Mara! performance at Brown's Mart Theatre on Friday, 8 June, was wonderful.

Great music, great (though small) audience too.

 It would be worth hosting them again next time they plan to pass through Darwin.

 Need to pick a better time, though, and perhaps do a lot more marketing.

Yesterday, at the "Key Arts Organisations" meeting hosted by Arts NT at Frog Hollow, the importance of the NT arts sector lobbying Ministers and members of the Legislative Assembly was discussed. I mentioned that we only had to lobby 13 government members and that was a relatively easier task compared to our peers' who had to lobby many more members of Parliaments in the other jurisdictions.

I wasn't sure about the number "13" and said so at the meeting. I've since done more homework and realised that the "13" comes from my memory of the first Labor government in the NT which came to power in 2001; they had 13 members then.

Here are the numbers for the current Assembly:

25 members
4 CLP
2 Independent
19 ALP
9 Cabinet members

Yes, there are more members to lobby, but still a relatively small number compared to other jurisdictions.

Hey this is great. Nice work Bong.