Friday, September 21, 2007

so scared but excited......

A week until the event and I'm running my little socks off! I've written up numerous releases this week including one on local performers, exhibitions, gigs listing AND the THIS IS NOT ART LAUNCH!!!!, and sent them out. I've found the best way to actually guarantee (or as much as you can) getting some media coverage is to do personalised emails with the releases attached. So instead of just blindly shooting off releases, I've spent some time finding out who are the people I want to be targeting. For example, with looking at the exhibitions, I pitched personally to Jill Stowell from the Newcastle Herald. I schmoozed her and made her feel special; another trait I'm beginning to learn is very useful. This way, it shows an interest from my side and also that I have taken the time to understand who Jill is and why she is important to This Is Not Art. Likewise with the local performers releases; I've rang Tahnee at The Post and I know now that we are going to get some coverage in that. As a journalist I have always been so skeptical of on block media releases because I thought they never really showed a journalist you wanted their individual attention and wanted them to write about the issue at hand. This is fine if you have a multitude of media to choose from, but Newcastle is small and we have very little media to choose from. So when I found myself falling into that trap from a PR side at TINA, I knew they wouldn't be working as effectively as they could be.

The rest of my TINA time (and time that seems to be dedicated to TINA…..argh!) is spent with answering media inquires and attending to all their needs. It's sort of like we're at their mercy – so much depends on the positive coverage we get - not only getting crowds, but showing the positive coverage as encouragement of the event so we can get funding/grants/sponsorship/in kind material, next year. As well as this, I'm trying to figure out how to pitch this to University students. I'm going to do up a 'student's guide' type thing, with a list of events which would be really useful for students. It's just a matter of actually getting around to that – I will do that tonight.

Everything is going well. We all seem to have our heads screwed on…..if only just. Marni and I took half an hour to have a cup of tea the other day and I think it relaxed us both. I'm really having fun at TINA and feel like I am part of the event and dare I say it, the event is part of me. I guess we just have to keep plugging along!

Allyson.

Local lineup for TINA

LOCAL LINEUP OF ACTS AT THIS IS NOT ART 2007

Locals from across the Hunter Valley will take to the stage alongside national and international performers in the 2007 This Is Not Art Festival later this month.

For more than 100 local artists, This Is Not Art is all about mixing it with the best for five days of workshops, panels, events, and performances from the hottest emerging writers, electronic artists, independent music makers and cultural theorists.

Hunter talent will be on display in bands, film screenings, discussion panels, poetry performances, music events, dramatic spectacles and much more.

Many are ready and rearing to go with just over a week until the festival kicks off.

Local group, Ergo B Bag and His All Action Allstars will present a spectacle for the audience, as they perform a dramatic and eccentric piece about love, egotism and partying.

The 14 piece group are known around Newcastle for their unusual and experimental performance at the 2006 ABC Music Awards, which stunned audiences and judges alike. Rumor has it the Lycra one-piece suits they will be wearing channel the glory of Jesus Christ Super Star.

Other local highlights, the Balkan Gypsy Wedding, will be appearing on Friday night. This themed evening encourages everyone to dress up 80s euro-gangster-style for the chaotic celebration of a gypsy matrimony. Newcastle theatrical band, Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants, will open the night, setting the scene for a night of side splitting belly laughs and twisted fun.

These, and more than 80 others, will fly the Newcastle performance flag during the five day event.

Ergo B Bag, the Balkan Gypsy Wedding and Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants are available for interviews and photo opportunities. For more information please contact Marni Jackson or visit www.thisisnotart.org.

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Media Contact: Marni Jackson

This Is Not Art Festival Coordinator

Phone: 0423 613 904

Email: marni@thisisnotart.org
Please see attached a day by day run down of when and where some of our local performers will be on show at This Is Not Art 2007.

· Streetsweeper – An independent and locally written, directed and produced feature film shot on HD equipment in 72 hours, with no sets and lights, by a crew moving 6km a day on foot. The film follow's a ramble from sunrise at Nobby's Beach to sunset at Hexham Bridge, Newcastle’s streetscape whispered in a poem of moving pictures, found text, and transcendental guitars. Introduced by the Director. www.streetsweeper.net.au. Screening to be held at the Civic Arcade(The Studio) on Monday 1 October at 3pm.

· Casio Gloria – Performing in Speechless. Spoken word gets mashed with sound and lights at the National Young Writers Festival cross-platform performance showcase. From cross-dressing sound poetry bunnies to full-frontal audience intimidation, join Australia’s most innovative show-offs as they push the boundaries of what can be done with a microphone. Jenna Gill as Casio Gloria performing Friday 28 September from 7.30pm at the Festival Club.

· Ergo B Bag and His All Action Allstars – at the Modular Party. For the first time ever, inspirational record label Modular will be hosting a party in Newcastle, as part of Sound Summit. Held at King St Hotel, Thursday 27 September from 8pm.

· Ivy Ireland – A local poet, harpist and performer will come to life launching Incidental Complications a book published under the Poets Union's Australian Young Poets 2007 Fellows award. She will be joined by local performers interpreting her work. A local poetry focussed extravaganza not to be missed. Performing at the Royal Exchange, Bolton St on Saturday 29 Sept, 8-10pm.

· Neda Moskovsky and Claire Albrecht – Two young event producers who have curated the Sunday Fair gigs stage, featuring performances by local acts dog_boy_lover and Throbgoblin vs Base Electron and a return by ex-Newcastle electronica outfit Ionic. Also,local DIY art and craftists will sell their wares at the fair in Civic Park, Sunday 30 September, 12-6pm

· Newcastle Zine History Walking Tour hosted by local zine maker and DJ Ash Baker, takes in a number of sites in Newcastle's underground cultural history. Tour departs from the TINA Info Booth, Civic Park Monday 01 September, 1pm.

· Lunchbox Theatre by Tantrum Theatre involves young actors, writers and directors performing short works in local cafes each day of the festival. Thursday 27 Sept 12pm Three Monkeys Cafe, Darby St; Friday 28 Sept 12pm Bodega Espresso Bar, King St; Saturday 29 Sept 12pm Juicy Beans Cafe, Wheeler Place.

· Balkan Gypsy Wedding – featuring Mojo Juju & the Snake Oil Merchants and local roving theatre troupe Lovelorn Living Party, plus other acts from across Australia. At the Festival Club, 5 Auckland St, Friday 28 Sept, 9.30pm

For more information on local performers and their events, contacts and photos, please contact Marni Jackson.

This Is Not Art 2007 Gig Listing Release

For Immediate Release

18 September 2007

The program for This Is Not Art is released and positively bursting out of it’s little online seams with excitement. The festival is just over a week away, and with around 400 artists, makers, thinkers and tinkers in more than 200 diverse events in 30 venues over five days, it’s shaping up to be the most dynamic and engrossing October long weekend Newcastle has ever seen.

To entertain visiting festival audiences after the day's stimulating events, This Is Not Art presents a series of showcase gigs spanning the range of genres – from electronica to gypsy, hip hop to hardcore:

THURSDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

MODULAR PARTY @ KING ST HOTEL – 8pm until late. $15

Modular will be bringing its finest bands, DJs and a wealth of party knowledge to Newcastle for a onenight stand it’ll never forget. Bringing Muscles, Yacht (USA), Ergo B Bag & his All Action All Stars, Kato, Dan De Caires and many more.

HARD DNB DAY'S NIGHT @ FESTIVAL CLUB- 10-midnight. FREE

DNB Djs shake up some Newcastle flavoured DNB and Jungle science. Featuring LSDJ and Quotient. Event is free.

FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER

THE BALKAN GYPSY WEDDING @ FESTIVAL CLUB – 9.30-midnight. FREE

Theatrical performance: We are very excited you have come to our village to make party party party with us. For celebrating the cousin’s wedding we are inviting Nina Tzatziki and Sol & The Speaking Tribe for drama and passion, Lovelorn Living Party for helping you to get into a mood, and The Slipovitch Orchestra and Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants for warming you up and shaking you down. Please be making sure you have finest threads and pickled herrings to be keeping your Baba happy. Event is free.

SOUND SUMMIT PRESENTS TINA OFFICIAL GIG @ THE CAMBRIDGE – 8pm-late. $12

FreQ Nasty (UK), Aloe Blacc (LA), Mark Pritchard (Harmonic 33, Troubleman), Steve Spacek (UK/LA),Foreign Heights , Ivens and Plutonic Lab (VIC), Blastcorp (NT), Catcall, Wire MC, S.Y.L.K., Sleater Brockman /Spruce Lee/Jimmy Sing (Ro Sham Bo), Radge, Captain Franco & Count Doyle (Dynamite Sounds). Tickets cost $12 at the door or presale at www.moshtix.com

COST: $12 on the door.

DAVE ARKLESS MEMORIAL GRANT GIG@ THE LOFT YOUTH VENUE – 6-9pm. FREE

The Loft Youth Venue & Indent present A CD & Artzine Launch, curated and managed by local emerging event producers. With local bands, an illusionist, art projections and a BBQ. All-ages, no drugs or alcohol. Featuring: Men Who Drip With Germs, Littleroom, Sam Shephard, Matt Niccoli, Dangerboy. This is a free gig.

SATURDAY 29th SEPTEMBER

GET UP, DOWN AND DIRTY@ FESTIVAL CLUB – 8.30-10.30pm. FREE

Join outspoken hip-hop / dub purveyors Elf Tranzporter and DJ Wasabi, experimental performance outfit Business As Usual and manic grime-hop crew The Hobby Whores for a night of lightning lyrics, dirty bass and poetry in mashy motion. Another free gig.

ELECTROFRINGE PRESENTS A TINA OFFICIAL GIG @ THE CAMBRIDGE – 8pm until late. $12

Featuring: Tim Hecker (Canada), Darrin Verhagen, Pimmon, Leafcutter John (UK), Sebastien Roux (France),Jason Kahn (USA) & Ralph Steinbruchel (CN), Machina Aux Rock, Seaworthy, Sanso-xtro, Robin Fox, Jim Denley & Peter Blamey, Heil Spirits, Snawklor, Anonymeye. Gig costs $12 from the door or from www.moshtix.com.

SUNDAY 30th SEPTEMBER

THE NIGHT SHARE LIVE TO AIR @ FESTIVAL CLUB – 8.30-10pm. FREE

Radio National's The Night Air broadcasts live to give the nation a taste of This Is Not Art 2007. Featuringperformances from Toydeath, Ross Bencina, Wire MC, Vanessa Berry and more. Free gig.

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY: TWO CROWDED HOURS OF FESTIVAL DEATH THROES – 10pm-midnight. FREEMy ears hurt! I’m having a panic attack! I’m on fire! I live in a share house! Too bad!!!!! It’s the

Electrofringe 2007 Closing Party! Everybody knows that elongated Harshcore is the only way to party and makes a fitting end to what will have been a lovely festival right up until this point. Featuring Passenger of Shit, Mainstream, Autoclave, Drill Bit, rev777. Event is free.

SUNDAY FAIR OUTDOOR STAGE @ CIVIC PARK – midday-8pm. FREE

Featuring: Ionic, Throbgoblin vs Base Electron, dog_boy_lover, Gail Priest, Secret Killer Of Names, Ross F Manning, Hetleveiker, Fugal Quese, Undecisive God, Anna Chase. Free day event.

THE GREATEST INDIE DANCE PARTY EVER @ CBD HOTEL – 7pm-midnight. $5
PhDJ (the brains behind Sydney parties Purple Sneakers and Bad Kids Recreation Club)
teams up with DJ Streetparty (creator of Melbourne's Click Click , Colours and Shake Some
Action nights) to create what is sure to be the craziest indie dance party ever!
With PhDJ, DJ Street party, Sleater Brockman, Spruce Lee. Cost is $5 at the door.

For more information visit www.thisisnotart.org .

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Media Contact: Marni Jackson

This Is Not Art Festival Coordinator

Phone: 0423 613 904

Email: marni@thisisnotart.org

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Time for TINA approaches

It's nearly here and yet there is still soooooo much to do!

My time has been focused around media, media media. To put it simply, we've pretty much got the actual organisation of the event under control, but no-one even knows about it (well maybe that's an exxageration, but we need to get it out there more).

I've been working on a huge amount of media covering so many different angles. The thing with TINA is, because there is so much going on at the event, it means we need to try and cover it all - in one page press releases! Very difficult.

Here is some examples of the work I have been doing:

MEDIA RELEASE

11 September 2007

BROKEN BIKES AND BITS – WE'RE BEGGING FOR THEM!

Want to get rid of those spare bike parts and daggy old helmets taking up space in the garage? Sick of looking at that pile of rusting bike locks and lights? Why not donate them to the 2007 This Is Not Art Bike Corral?

The Bike Corral is a new event at the 2007 This Is Not Art festival and are we are desperately seeking old and used bike parts to repair and restore for the event.

Together with This Is Not Art, the Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre will offer free bikes and tips on how to fix them yourself at the Bike Corral- in less than two hours!

During the festival, people can drop into the Bike Corral for a personalised workshop on repairing and reclaiming a bike destined for the tip.

To run the DIY workshops, we are seeking an array of old bike materials including adult helmets, bike locks, lights for safe riding, and any other spare parts people can donate.

Anyone wishing to donate broken bikes and bits, can deliver them to the Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre, 106 Robert St, Islington, between 8am and 7pm daily.

Also at the Bike Library , people pay a refundable $20 deposit for a ready-to-ride pushbike to borrow for the course of the festival. Bikes which were previously junk have been repaired by volunteers so that visitors to Newcastle can have clean and cheap transport for the duration of their stay. Old helmets will help make this a safe option too!

The Bike Corral is part of more than 200 events to be held at the 2007 This Is Not Art festival, which is Australia's largest independent, experimental and emerging media and arts festival. It will be an excellent opportunity for Novocastrians to take part in a clean energy initiative, with the added bonuses of cheap transportation and and recycling.

And you get rid of your junk too!

For more information visit www.thisisnotart.org.

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Media Contact: Marni Jackson

This Is Not Art Festival Coordinator

Phone: 0423 613 904

Email: marni@thisisnotart.org


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So that was something for the Bike Corral Event I am organising.

MEDIA RELEASE

11 September 2007

EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS FOR THIS IS NOT ART 2007

This Is Not Art is Australia’s premier festival for independent, emerging and experimental arts, engaging the nation’s most exciting culture makers for five days of panel discussions, hands on workshops, exhibitions, performances, screenings and presentations. From Thursday 27 September – Monday 01 October 2007 Newcastle hosts more than 200 free events which invite you to engage with current trends in media, music, writing, electronic arts and critical research.


This year a series of exciting visual arts exhibitions adorn the program, bringing a dynamic group of artists for our workshops and panels. Exhibitions include ARTETEXT, an interdisciplinary investigation into the use of language in art, an exhibit of comics and adjoining panels and workshops, a shop front full of wearable art from
reSkin Wearable Technology Lab, and an entirely online exhibit of current Australian and International Net art practices.


Head to the website for full details on all exhibitions and artists.


Artetext

Podspace Gallery: 3/231 King St, Newcastle NSW

Opening Friday 28 September, 17:30 – 18:30.

This Is Not Art presents an exhibition of visual, installation and sound art that takes and transforms text. Discover the madness of life in a Darwin housing commission, find desire in the erasure of old books, control your world through braille or lose yourself in the sound of words under extreme pressure. Featuring works by Chayni Henry, James Stuart, Justy Phillips, Rebecca Giggs, DKDC Collective, Jeremy Arie John Bakker, Krista Berga, Stranger of the Month, James Newitt, Jessical Tyrell, Nicolas Low and Thomas Knox Arnold.


Taking eye-candy from strangers: the NYWF comics exhibition

Sushi & Cigarettes: 305 Hunter St, Newcastle NSW

Opening: Friday 28 September 17:00 – 18:00

Shift your reality into the second dimension and enter the weird world of Australian comics. It’s a mini-showcase of sequential art, with artists bringing their twisted worlds to life on the backs of napkins, in full-colour mags, on walls, in graphic novels and more. Featuring Ben Constantine, Jo Waite, Shaun Tan, David Blumenstein, Mel Stringer, Tony Newton, Hayden Fryer and Nicki Greenberg.

Wear Now Shopfront Exhibition

High Tea with Mrs Woo: 74 Darby Street, Newcastle NSW

Opening Thursday 27 September 17:00 – 18:00

An exhibition of works from the reSkin Wearable Technology Lab integrating electronics and new materials into traditional craft practices and design. Featuring works by Alexandra Gillespie, Keith Armstrong, Celia Heffer, Leah Heiss, High Tea with Mrs Woo and Sarah Kettley.

Electro-Online

www.electrofringe.net

Launching 27 September

Electro-Online 07 samples current Australian and International Net art practices. A gateway to different constellations of works, it presents the navigator with a choice of trail and invites discoveries en route. Featuring works by Aaron Oldenburg, Alan Bigelow, Alan Perlin, Alexander Mouton, Anders Weberg & Robert Willim, Andy McKeown, Annabel Castro Meager, Dennis-Kratz, Francesca Roncagliolo, Heather Raikes, Henry Gwiazda, Jody Zellen, judsoN, Kate Pullinger & Chris Joseph, mez breeze, Michael Takeo Magruder, Olivier Vanderaa, Peter Horvath, Richard Vickers, sadmb (Sadam Fujioka + Osamu Sambuichi), Stanza, Pip Shea and Jenny Fraser.

Special Event

This Is Not Art Art Walk Walk

Meet at: TAFE Front Room Gallery, 590-602 Hunter St, Newcastle NSW

Friday 28 September

This guided walk and talk will take in all of the festival Art Sites - galleries, shop windows, and The Lock-up’s prison cells. Starting at 3pm, the tour then winds its way through the city centre, finishing the excursion with a free bus back to the Podspace exhibition opening at 5.30pm. A great way to see all of the works, with some insider info from the artists and curators.

Several of the artists across the exhibitions will be in situ for their exhibition launches on Thursday or Friday – check out the Exhibitions link on the Online Program for more details.

Exhibition artists are involved with additional programmed events, including artist presentations and panel discussions.

For more information on the exhibitions, artists (including other events these artists are involved in), openings and the full program of events, visit www.thisisnotart.org

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Media Contact: Claire Hargreave

This Is Not Art Publicity Coordinator

Phone: 0406 159 062

02 4927 1475

Email: tina.publicity@gmail.com


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And that was one on the event as a whole

At the moment, I'm working on specialised releases so we can get lots of local coverage.

More on them tomorrow once I have them done.

Allyson.