Month: June 2018

Aesthetics · Art · Attachment to place · Cafes · Camden · Camden Council · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Entertainment · Festivals · Heritage · History · Leisure · Local History · Music · Place making · Restaurant · Sense of place · Tourism

Live and Local music festival hits the right notes

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Camden’s main street was transformed into a ‘Live and Local Beat Street’, or so said the publicity for the festival. And it was.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Signage programmes

 

The publicity flyer promised Live and Local was a ‘unique experience’ and explored ‘new places and spaces’. And it delivered in spades.

An experience

The 2018 Live and Local Camden music festival is in its second year. The crowds were up and so were the number of gigs.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Maddi Lyn Elm Tree Cafe
Maddi Lyn an up and coming young artist from the Macarthur area. Here performing in the courtyard outside the Elm Tree Cafe. A budding country singer she is aiming for Nashville. You can catch Maddi Lyn at venues in and around the Macarthur area.  (I Willis, 2018_

 

There were over 50 musos across 15 venues. This was up from 2017 with 27 artists across 14 venues.

The amount of raw talent was frightening and a little overwhelming. There must be something in the local water around the Camden area.

Camden Live & Local 2018 White Melodies Squeeze&Grind Cafe
Two talented musicians make up White Melodies duo based in the Macarthur area. They are singer song-writers Kellie Marie and Chloe. They have been finalists in country music competitions at Tamworth and the ACT. They play an easy listening repertoire of upbeat classics. (I Willis, 2018)

The crowds enjoyed the music on offer from professional and emerging artists. It is great to see local support for live gigs.

Eclectic Venues

This year the festival grew to include Friday night across a range of venues. This was a good introduction to the festival.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Murray Bishop Quartet Michelles Cafe
This jazz ensemble led by talented local musician, band leader and impresario Murray Bishop on horns. The Murray Bishop Quartet play a range of jazz styles and are found across the Sydney area and are based in the Macarthur region. (I Willis, 2018)

 

There were also the Saturday afternoon gigs similar to 2017 between 2 and 6 with a full program of artists.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Saxing About Saritas Emporium
Saxing About talented muso Will Habbal is playing outside Saritas Emporium in Argyle Street. This cool dude has a keen fan following on his Facebook page. This hip reed player pumps out ‘smooth jazz’ on tenor sax with a 5/5 rating. Check him out ladies. (I Willis, 2018)

 

The music festival used a range of eclectic local venues from cafes, fashion outlets, galleries, local hotels, restaurants, a shoe shop, professional premises and a local arcade.

A new venue in an old space

The festival succeeded in uncovering a music local venue in an unlikely venue. It is a space with the wow factor at the Alan Baker Art Gallery.

Macaria AlanBaker Gallery Alan Baker 2018
Macaria is a substantial town residence from the mid-Victorian period that was influenced by the Picturesque movement and Gothic styling. It has an awesome interior with beautiful timber floors, high ceilings and great acoustics. (I Willis, 2018)

 

The acoustics are to be experienced to be believed with a wooden floor, high ceiling and little echo.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Harpist Fishers Ghost Youth Orch Macaria
This young student harpist from the Fishers Ghost Youth Orchestra showed this room at its best. The beautiful aesthetic of the space was complemented by the sweet tones of the harp from this young musician. The audience listened intently to the performance and then gathered around for an impromptu tutorial from the student’s mother on the specifications of the harp at the end of the performance. (I Willis, 2018)

 

What a venue with lots of atmosphere.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Signage Macaria Entry
The signage at the front of Macaria and the Alan Baker Art Gallery in John Street Camden. This was the best discovery of the 2018 Live and Local music festival in Camden. A great acoustic music space in a colonial gem of a building in Camden’s historic heritage precinct. (I Willis, 2018)

 

This is a natural music venue for a small intimate acoustic gig.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Isabel Estephan Macaria
Set amongst the roses and flowers Isabel Estephan shone in her live performance. A singer songwriter 18 years of age who has been writing her own compositions for the last 5 years. She has music in the blood according to her website and her songs are inspired by things she feels deeply about that define the world we live in. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Help for lots of tastes

All the venues had lots of Local and Live helpers to smooth over any hiccups and  guide and help out lost fans. They made sure that all gigs went smoothly.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Organiser Cheryl CC
One of the chief organisers of the Camden Live and Local. This photographer grabbed a shot of Cheryl on the run between gigs as she made her way through Michelles’ Cafe. She was all go-go-go to ensure the venues ran smoothly and there were no hiccups. (I Willis, 2018)

 

There was music for all tastes from classical to blues, country, jazz as well as a rockabilly. Some good old rock and roll with a funky twist was popular with young fans.

Camden Live & Local 2018 The Shang Upstairs at Fred's
Upstairs at Freds on the new outside area completed the atmospherics for the music festival. The Shang kept a horde of young folk entertained as the sun set over the 2018 Camden Live and Local music festival. We await the 2019 event with anticipation. (I Willis, 2018)

 

A gig guide can be found here.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Signage Gig guide Elm Tree Cafe
Gig guide in the window of the Elm Tree Cafe. (I Willis, 2018)

 

A developing arts precinct

It is great to see how Live and Local contributes to the creation of an arts precinct in Camden for a day and a half. All this live music is good for the local economy, job creation and  helps build local tourism.

Importance of live music

Live music is central to the Live and Local music festival and acknowledges how live performance is an important part of our culture. Performances are authentic and artists provide a screen-time in 3-D without much assistance from tech-gadgets.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Honey Sippers Camden Arcade
The sweet tones of Trish and the picking on guitar of Mark as the Honey Sippers. This local duo appear regularly throughout the Macarthur region and have an enthusiastic rusted-on fan base who follow them around the area. The Honey Sippers perform blues, rock, folk and country and they ‘love to play music that engages and tells a story’. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Performers at Live and Local provided a form of engagement of the imagination  which is sadly lacking with recordings or tech-devices. Live performances at Live and Local are fresh. It is not canned music.

There was an awesome array of talent on display for all to see – warts and all. Performers were in the moment and provided a physical and emotional experience with their audiences.

Live performance is a shared experience between performer and audience. There is an  immediacy that provides an  element of surprise and risk, perhaps even the unexpected.

Place making and storytelling

All Live and Local artists are part of the creative industries. They create stories which are expressed in song and music.   Musicians, poets, raconteurs, performers and writers are all storytellers. All cultures have story tellers.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Rhia Camden Hotel
Rhia performing at the Camden Hotel on Friday night for 2018 Camden Live and Local. She performed her own composition ‘Camden’ and the audience enthusiastically demanded an encore at the end of her bracket. To which there were woops and cheers. Rhia’s composition tells a story about her home town and how she feels about it. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Storytelling as song allows the musicians to connect with their audience. Their stories are captivating, and full of emotion and meaning. These stories are one element in the process of place making and construction of community identity.

Stories as songwriting can connect people with memories of the past in the present. Music can tell the stories of place and the history of a community. Music can create a connection with the landscape and create an attachment to place.

Songs are one form of storytelling that can take a successful part of marketing and branding for a locality and community. In this way they help the local economy and local businesses.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Hickson Circuit Michelles Cafe
This young trio of musicians are called Hickson Circuit and performed at Michelle’s Cafe in Argyle Street. They had a loyal fan club that include friends and family who encouraged them on their performance. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Support for music festival

The Live and Local project is a partnership between the Live Music Office and Camden Council. Funding was provided by Create NSW as part of the Western Sydney Live and Local Strategic initiative.

Camden mayor Lara Symkowiak stated

I encourage you to take the time and visit each venue to hear the diversity of the music and let our talented local artists entertain you for hours.

The director of the NSW government Live Music Office John Wardle stated that it

has been truly inspirational and we once again very much look forward to a day that will be a highlight of the broader cultural program in Western Sydney.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Neilly Rich Camden Hotel
The Camden Hotel hosted NeillyRich on Saturday afternoon. The country duo of Kiwi Matthew McNeilly and Kempsey local Amelia Richards met in Tamworth. The dedicated songwriters are inspired by the likes of Lyall Lovett and Keith Urban. They are focused on ‘storytelling through music in the vein of some of the pioneers of the Australian industry’. They are currently on the road and had arrived from Bega to perform at Live and Local in 2018. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Musicians succeed in gig economy

Camden’s Live and Local festival demonstrated how musicians are part of the gig economy. All trying to make a living. These issues were explored in a recent article in The Conversation. 

Musicians identified that they did meaningful work according article author Alana Blackburn, a lecturer in Music at the University of New England. She maintained that

Their intrinsic success lies not in what others expect of them, but in achieving personal freedom and being true to their beliefs. It’s about meeting personal and professional needs.

More than this a study by the Australia Council for the Arts found that

musicians undertake a wide range of arts-related and non-arts activities.

According to Blackburn 

Musicians can survive under these circumstances by developing important overarching and transferable skills.

This type of career is called a ‘portfolio career’ where musicians have lots of jobs. A mix of paid and unpaid, and mostly short term work and projects. Musicians state that the prefer to be in-charge of their own career, despite the financial challenges. They feel that they can control their creative efforts and their music related activities.

Musicians, like other creative arts types, are mostly self-directed and driven by a passion for their artistic work. Musicians often work across industries and are not locked into the music industry. They consider that they are continually learning and are not afraid of failure.

Blackburn maintains that the success of musicians in the gig economy is down to a number of characteristics that they develop: life-long  learning, adaptability,  flexibility, social networking, entrepreneurial skills, planning, organisation, collaboration, confidence, self-directed, multi-tasking, independence, risk-taking, promotion and others.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Signage

 

Many of the artists at Camden 2018 Live and Local fitted into this category. Some are in the early career stage while others are more successful. The gig economy is here to stay and provides many challenges. It is not for the fainthearted. Live and Local provided a sound platform for the exposure of these artists in a tough industry.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Staff Macaria
A slightly perplexed Live and Local helper at Macaria making sure everything was flowing smoothly. She very patiently posed for this photograph before rushing off to other duties. All the Live and Local staff did a great job. Well done to all in 2018. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Learn more on

Facebook and

Camden Narellan Advertiser and

Wollondilly Advertiser. 

‘Live and Local Music Festival in Camden town centre’ Camden History Notes (Blogger), 17 June 2017.

Alana Blackburn, ‘The gig economy is nothing new for musicians – here’s what their ‘portfolio careers’ can teach us’. The Conversation, 21 June 2018.

Camden Live & Local 2018 Signage Venue Here

British colonialism · Camden Museum · Colonial Camden · Colonialism · Community identity · Convicts · Cultural Heritage · Elizabeth Farm · Farming · Georgian · Gothic · Governor Macquarie · Heritage · History · Landscape aesthetics · Local History · Macarthur · Myths · Place making · Settler colonialism · Victorian

Celebrity author at Camden Museum

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The Camden Museum hosted celebrity author Michelle Scott Tucker recently at a local book launch. The event attracted an enthusiastic audience of 50 members and guests to an engrossing talk from Tucker, the author of Elizabeth Macarthur, A Life at the Edge of the World.

Camden Museum MSTucker talking BookLaunch 2018Jun13
Michelle Scott Tucker spoke about her new book Elizabeth Macarthur A Life At the Edge of the World at the Camden Museum. She had the large audience sitting on the edge of their seats as she told the story of Elizabeth and her life in colonial New South Wales. The launch was held at the Camden Museum on Wednesday 13 June 2018 (I Willis, 2018)

 

Michelle delivered an eloquent and gripping lesson on Elizabeth Macarthur to an audience sitting on the edge of their seats. Tucker spoke for 40 minutes without notes and then handled a number of penetrating questions. Earlier in the day she had been interviewed on ABC Sydney Local Radio by James Valentine in wide ranging conversation about Macarthur that clearly impressed him. Tucker is an impressive media performer telling an engrossing story about her hidden subject of Elizabeth.

 

After the Museum talk there was a long line of those who had purchased books to have them signed by the author.  The most excited person in room was Camden Historical Society secretary Lee Stratton who drove into Surry Hills to pick up Michelle and then returned her to the city after the launch. Lee is a devoted fan and was not phased at all by her providing this generous effort.

Camden Museum MichelleScottTucker BookSigning 2018Jun13
Michelle Scott Tucker signing a copy of her new work Elizabeth Macarthur A Life At the Edge of the World at the Camden Museum. There was a long queue for book signing from the large audience of members and friends on Wednesday 13 June 2018 (I Willis, 2018)

 

Michelle Scott Tucker writes in an engaging and open style that is easily accessible by anyone interested in colonial Australia, women’s biography or just a great yarn. She takes a fresh look at an old story from a woman’s perspective, from the other side.

 

In the early 19th century the world was divided into the women’s private sphere and the public world inhabited by men.  Michelle Scott Tucker takes a look from the domestic private world of women. It is a form of radical history.

Book Elizabeth Macarthur 2018 Cover TextPub
The cover of Michelle Scott Tucker’s Elizabeth Macarthur A Life at the Edge of the World. The book was launched in Camden at the Camden Museum to a large and enthusiatic crowd of readers on Wednesday 13 June 2018 (Text Publishing)

 

Michelle’s analogy of her approach to the story is looking at the stitching on the back of tapestry, and inspecting the intricate nature of the threads. This gives you an insight into how the whole work is kept together from the hidden and dark shadows of the work. Without the stitching the work would fall apart, and so it was the Macarthur family enterprises in colonial New South Wales. Tucker draws the stitches together to create a story showing the colour and movement of colonial New South Wales.

 

Elizabeth Macarthur, the farmer’s daughter from Devon, married a cantankerous irascible army officer called John Macarthur when she was pregnant with her first child. Tucker draws an parallel with another Georgian story that of the women in the romantic novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. She makes the point that Elizabeth Macarthur, and husband John, were Georgian figures while her family were Victorians.

 

Tucker tells how Elizabeth Macarthur, heavily pregnant and with a small child at her side,  endured probably the worst journey out from England of any convict transport on the Second Fleet in the Scarborough. She nursed her husband back from illness that he suffered at the Cape and lost a child on the voyage out which was buried at sea. She suffered the social ignominy of sharing a cabin space with convict women well below her station in life.

Camden Museum MSTucker BookLaunch President Ian Willis with Michelle 2018Jun13 Lee Statton
The president of the Camden Historical Society Dr Ian Willis with Michelle Scott Tucker at the Camden launch of her new book Elizabeth Macarthur A Life at the Edge of the World. The launch was held at the Camden Museum on Wednesday 13 June 2018 (Lee Stratton)

 

Macarthur was not on her own and many colonial women endured the sea voyage from England with few comforts. Their diaries detail the trials and tribulations throughout the early years of the colony. One such figure in the Camden story was Caroline Husband who fell on hard times and fled their Hampstead Hill house near London with debt collectors in pursuit. She married pastoralist Henry Thomas and eventually lives at Wivenhoe, and her descendants grew up at Brownlow Hill.

 

The ever practical Elizabeth managed and developed the family business empire in colonial New South Wales while her husband was dealing with military charges in England. She entertained governors, politicians, businessmen, officers, while managing a large domestic staff, farm workers and convicts on their extensive landholdings. The role and influence of Elizabeth Macarthur as part of the story of settler colonialism in Australia and has been understated along with many other women of her time.

Camden Museum MSTucker BookLaunch Harry Warner Michelle and Frances Warner 2018Jun13 Lee Statton
Camden identities Frances and Harry Warner with author Michelle Scott Tucker at the Camden launch of Elizabeth Macarthur A Life at the Edge of the World. Frances and Harry have lived most of their lives at Camden Park and have been involved in a host of community activities over many years. Frances organised a small card gift for Michelle from Camden Park. The launch was held at the Camden Museum on Wednesday 13 June 2018. (Lee Stratton)

 

Tucker makes the point in an article for Inside Story that the story of Elizabeth Macarthur is not unique and that other colonial women made a significant contribution on their own. There was Esther Abrahams who ran Annandale, and Harriet King who raised a family and ran a property west of Parramatta. In Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) a retail empire was developed by former convict Maria Lord, while Eliza Forlonge ran a pastoral empire.

 

Camden Park was an out-station in the Macarthur family empire and Elizabeth Macarthur never lived there. The mansion house was the home of her sons, William and James. Elizabeth lived at Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta all her life and died at their holiday home at Watsons Bay in her 80s.

Camden Museum MSTucker BookLaunch John Michelle and Edwina 2018Jun13 Lee Stratton
The owners of Camden Park House John and Edwina Macarthur Stanham with author Michelle Scott Tucker. The event was the Camden launch of Tucker’s Elizabeth Macarthur A Life At the Edge of the World held at Camden Museum on Wednesday 13 June 2018. (Lee Stratton)

 

Unlike many of her colonial contemporaries who viewed the Australian landscape as a Gothic world Elizabeth had a more sympathetic eye. She drew comparisons with England and in her letters home she stated that her around her home at Parramatta, she wrote:

The greater part of the country is like an English park, and the trees give to it the appearance of a wilderness, or shrubbery commonly attached to the habitations of people of fortune’.

Many of her contemporaries contributed to the English-style landscape aesthetic that was identified as early as 1828 by John Hawdon when he arrived in the Cowpastures. The Englishness of the Camden township is still evident and has shaped the landscape since the arrival of the Europeans.

 

Under Elizabeth’s gaze the colonial outpost of Sydney grew from a military garrison to a bustling colonial port in the South Pacific. Macarthur supported her husband, John, throughout his ordeals and never returned to England, despite having the means to do so. Her female descendants regularly traveled between Camden Park, Sydney and London and elsewhere, and benefited from the transnational networks that she and her family established in the early 19th century.

camden-library museum
The venue for the Camden launch of Michelle Scott Tucker’s Elizabeth Macarthur A Life at the Edge of the World on Wednesday 13 June 2018. Camden Library Museum in John Street Camden  (I Willis, 2016)

 

Elizabeth Macarthur is an important character in the Camden story and there are other Macarthur women in her family who played similar roles such as Elizabeth Macarthur Onslow, Sibella Macarthur Onslow and Enid Macarthur Onslow. All intelligent, strong and successful women. They were not alone in the Camden story and others that could be mentioned include Rita Tucker, Zoe Crookston, Clarice Faithful, amongst others.

 

Elizabeth Macarthur produced a family that founded the township of Camden, and created a pastoral and business empire that still endures today. She is celebrated in our local area with the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Elizabeth Macarthur High School and roads and streets named after her and her family.

 

As Michelle Scott Tucker states of Elizabeth Macarthur, she  ‘played a crucial role in Australia’s colonial history. Hers is not a household name — but it ought to be’. Elizabeth Macarthur, A Life at the Edge of the World certainly goes a long way in this direction.

The book by Michelle Scott Tucker Elizabeth Macarthur, A Life at the Edge of the World is available at the Camden Museum.

Aesthetics · Anzac · Art · Camden · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · First World War · Landscape aesthetics · Memorials · Memory · Place making · Sense of place · Streetscapes · War · War at home

An art exhibition of war and peace

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Camden artists forewarn with historic contrast of “war and peace” in exhibition.

Isaac Percy

Camden artists Greg Frawley and Roger Percy have an exhibition entitled “War and Peace” opening on the Thursday 7 June at Camden Library.

Camden Art Exhibition Frawley&Percy exhibition g&r 1 (4)

The two artists have very different styles of art, and both are hoping to send a message to the people of Camden with their use of imagery.

The inspiration for this collaborative exhibition took lots of thought and purpose.

Roger says of the exhibition,

I thought about the phrase ‘lest we forget’, and thought about what that could also apply to. We never think of now as being a time where things like war could happen, but if people who come look at the exhibition, older or young, and think ‘lest we forget to appreciate what we have. Greg and I have expressed the message through the medium.

“Greg has his war-influenced paintings and I have my various angles of our historic town. This gave us the idea of the contrast between war and peace” said Roger.

Both Greg and Roger have lived many years in the Camden area and have become passionate about the town.

Camden Art Exhibit Roger Percy 2018 CL
Artist Roger Percy at the War and Peace Exhibition at the opening at Camden Library on Thursday 7 June 2018. Roger is standing in front of his ink and watercolour work ‘Verandah Rest’.

 

“I’ve been painting Camden for about 20 years.” said Roger about what was different about this collection. “I started painting Camden from angles I had never done before… it was inspiring.”

Roger is the peace side of the exhibition, with use of watercolour and ink to create his landscapes of Camden.

“Roger’s work is very sensitive and reflective of a beautiful townscape – which is under threat.” said Greg about Roger’s work. “It is very timely… people have memories of historic Camden… we can only hope it doesn’t change.”

Roger has recently been appointed the position as the curator of the Alan Baker Art Gallery in Camden – a historic building that is now home to the posthumous collection of works by Baker, a local of Camden.

Roger said, “My works for this new exhibition started with a focus on the gallery, and it expanded to doing unique perspectives looking in to Camden.”

Camden Art Exhibit Roger Percy 2018 CL.jLooking into the Ligth pg
Artist Roger Percy’s ‘Looking in the Light’ (2018). Roger says the painting is a particular view into Camden’s Main Street that only locals would recognise. “I call this one my surreal piece.” Using ink pen and watercolour, this work shows three historic buildings, however how they are represented is “like looking into a dramatic, almost European scene with a one-point perspective that connects to locals who may not have thought about it before.”

 

Greg said, “I lived here in the fifties as a kid, I would walk all over this place, back when the town wasn’t very big.”

“I love Camden, that’s why I came back to live here.”

Camden Art Exhibit Greg Frawley Ceasefire Moon 2018 CL
Artist Greg Frawley standing next to his work ‘Ceasefire Moon’ at the opening of War and Peace Exhibition at Camden Library 7 June 2018.

 

Greg’s works are inspired by war and conflict from various perspectives beyond Camden, and is reflective of Australian history in combination with a mixture of artistic styles.

“I’m a bit of a split personality. I love my painting and I try and do it every day. And despite my commercial art, I try and fight with purpose with my work,” says Greg.

Camden Art Exhibit Greg Frawley Ceasefire Moon1 2018 CL
Artist Greg Frawley’s ‘Ceasefire Moon’ (2015). Frawley says that in ‘Ceasefire Moon’ ‘I imagine a moment of peace under a Byzantine Moon where three wounded diggers face us, perhaps questioning what their sacrifice is all about and fearing future horrific battles they will face when they recover’.

 

The painting above is called ‘Ceasefire Moon’. “I’ve taken it from the three wise monkeys – hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil,” Greg said.

Greg acknowledged the patriotism of the Australian war efforts. “There was a level of ignorance with the soldiers, they didn’t question anything they did.”

Greg says,

 The content of my paintings is a mix of childhood memories and imagined scenarios – of representation and semi-abstraction. Unable to tap into the depth of the real experience of WW1 and not wanting to copy existing images I developed compositions which reflect my personal thoughts on the contradictions of war.

 

 

 

Camden Art Exhibit Percy & Frawley 2018 Catalogue
Catalogue of work by Roger Percy at the War and Peace Exhibition at Camden Library, John Street, Camden. Works are ink and watercolour.

The exhibition has an official opening on the Thursday 7 June starting at 6pm. The exhibition will be on display in the Camden Library for all of June during the library opening hours.