Exciting and inspiring Tasmanian communities through arts and culture

TRA Events

West Tamar Arts Group - 'Our Halls Our Community' project

Congratulations to the West Tamar Arts Group for receiving community support from Dulux for their 'Our Halls Our Community' project as part of their major Artentwine project in October. West Tamar have 10 community halls - five of which are owned and managed by the community and five that are council owned and run. Dulux, through their commitment to support communities, have donated around 220 litres of paint toward the project for some much-needed maintenance of the halls in preparation for the events in October. Dulux will distribute the paint via the local hardware store, Exeter Hardware. To complement the project, the store's owner, Bill Green, very generously offered to donate all the accessories needed, including, drop sheets, paintbrushes, sandpaper, fillers and more. Well done to all the hard-working volunteers for their role in organising this exciting community project.

Kumuwuki - Big Wave

The Regional Arts Australia National Conference is Australia's most awaited and largest regional arts gathering held outside of a metropolitan festival.

Held in a different regional destination every two years, each conference is 'part conference, part festival - all art'.

The aims of the Regional Arts Australia national conferences are to:

• profile and celebrate arts from across regional Australia on a national platform
• promote the value of arts in regional communities at a national level
• provide networking and professional development opportunities for artists, arts workers and volunteers
• facilitate and encourage exchange of ideas and strategies about arts projects and programs
• inspire delegates with ideas about how to create positive change in their communities
• leave a legacy of skills in the host regional community.

The inaugural RAA National Conference was held in Mt Gambier in 1998. In the fourteen years since, seven conferences have been hosted by a different regional arts agency and held in a different regional location across Australia every two years.

Since its inception, the conference has grown enormously, with triple the number of delegates attending in 2008 compared to the decade earlier.

In 2012, it returned to its home state of South Australia.

• 2012: Kumuwuki:Big Wave, Hosted by Country Arts SA, 550 Delegates
• 2010: Junction 2010, Launceston, Tasmania, hosted by Tasmanian Regional Arts, 710 delegates
• 2008: Art at the Heart, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Hosted by Arts NT, 959 delegates
• 2006: The Pacific Edge, Mackay Queensland, hosted by Queensland Arts Council, 750 delegates
• 2004: Meeting Place, Horsham, Victoria, hosted by Regional Arts Victoria, 600 delegates
• 2002: Groundswell, Albury, Woodonga, New South Wales, hosted by Regional Arts NSW, 570 delegates
• 2000: Making Waves, Esperance, Western Australia, hosted by Country Arts WA, 450 delegates
• 1998: A Changing Landscape, Mt Gambier in South Australia, hosted by Country Arts SA, 380 delegates

The 2012 conference, KUMUWUKI / big wave, took place from 18-21 October in Goolwa in South Australia, a town situated at the mouth of the River Murray, a site where the management of one of Australia's major waterways across four Australian states can be viewed and notions resilience can be explored on its many physical and ephemeral levels. It is also the home of the traditional custodians the Ngarrindjeri Nation, whose vision is all people caring, sharing, knowing and respecting the lands, the water and all living things.

Details about the conference are available from www.kumuwuki.org.au