photo Alex Bainbridge
Dance Journalism #1 – protest action at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre, 2013, dancer Sam Fox.
The choice of our featured theme, art, empathy & action, was triggered by what appears to be a failure of empathy among Australian citizens, media and politicians for refugees, the unemployed and for future generations likely to be the victims of climate change.
What role can artists play in challenging this failure? We focus on distinctions between sympathy and empathy, on identification in the works of Mike Parr and Kym Vercoe, character complexities in the current wave of epic TV series, who feels for whom in Wolf Creek 2 and on art addressing Climate Change. John Bailey reports on the empathy generated by UK performer Bryony Kimming’s Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model.
Festival mania. Our coverage includes the Festival of Live Art [FOLA], Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Adelaide and Perth Festivals, World Theatre Festival and Vancouver’s PuSh Festival.
Film. Low budget is viable. Dan Edwards looks at independent distribution of independent films online, Andy Ross’ Well Beyond Water and in cinemas, Genevieve Bailey’s I Am Eleven. Kath Dooley interviews Sophie Hyde about the making of 52 Days after its triumphant Sundance premiere.
Image note: for more on Dance Journalism #1 see The Arteffect
RealTime issue #120 April-May 2014 pg. 3