IN FOCUS: ARCHIVE

Carole Hampshire has been passionate about photography from a young age. Growing up, her favourite class at school was art. There was something about the camera and the darkroom and watching an image develop that Carole was drawn to.

Carole began to study photography seriously at the age of nineteen at Oxford (Brooke) University. She also put on her first exhibition at this time.

Along with photography, writing and traveling are among Carole’s great passions. After she completed university, Carole went out and explored countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and many others.   MORE

Katherine Lehmann’s interest in ceramics did not develop until later in life, when her last child was born; but that hasn’t stopped her from being a successful artist.

After taking a few ceramics courses at a community college, Lehmann was hooked.

“I found my niche,” she says. “It was what I’d been looking for.”

Though she was not initially interested in a career in ceramics, Lehmann has now been working with clay for almost 20 years. She earned a TAFE diploma in ceramics and teaches classes at the Campbelltown Arts Centre.

Teaching, she says, was something she “got into by accident” when, at the last minute, an instructor couldn’t attend class and asked Lehmann, one of the more advanced students, to take his place. But now, Lehmann is quite pleased with the outcome of that incident, as she has grown fond of teaching.

“I love it,” she says, “sharing what you know.”   MORE

Auburn artist Susan Chamma’s artistic interests range from music to film to community projects, but they all are relevant to the issue of race.

Chamma played the role of Thama in the short film Jammin in the Middle E, released in 2005. The film centres on an Arab-Australian Muslim family, particularly the teenage children, and the dichotomy between cultures. In one scene, Chamma wears a traditional headscarf while performing a rap song.

After the film aired, Chamma’s rapping was greeted with enthusiastic response from many local girls. “A lot of the girls I know who have a scarf came up to me and were like ‘We saw you with the scarf…you were like a voice for us.’”   MORE

Leanne Tobin tries to promote a universal message of conservation in her art, while retaining a sense of identity and respect for her Darug heritage. Whilst she still recognises her Irish roots, Aboriginality is a strong theme throughout her work.

“I like to tell stories of the land so that people understand. One of the things I really came to understand about this place is that most people don’t know the history of this country beyond two hundred years.”

Tobin describes her art as eclectic. She works through many media, including lead working, painting, ceramics, and drawing, and has also designed stained glass windows. She finds that her work culminates as an appreciation for Aboriginal values, and an assertion of the continued validity of Aboriginal stories and morals.   MORE

Late last year, something special was happening down at Club Wild in Victoria. B-Boy Morganics was shaping up a new hip hop team, putting them through their paces and getting inspiration rolling in a series of workshops that would eventually lead to the creation of seven piece outfit First Flight Crew.

First Flight Crew is NSW’s first hip hop group consisting entirely of people who identify as having a disability. The group is supported by Accessible Arts Western Sydney.

Working with Morganics and video artist Finton Mahony, the Crew produced two tracks, The Wild Ones and Music Makes Me Happy, which also features an accompanying film clip.

Following on from their workshop beginnings, the group performed at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel alongside interstate and international hip hop artists, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Elf, Tranzporter and King Kapisi.
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Café Carnivale bridges cultural divides, bringing dynamic live music concerts from the diverse cultures of Sydney to audiences across the city. Presenting up to eight concerts every month at intimate and informal venues, Café Carnivale celebrates Australia’s rich multicultural heritage while helping local musicians from non-English speaking backgrounds get a leg-up in the local music scene.

Described as a year-round world music festival, the Café Carnivale season features music from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe.

The inspiration behind Café Carnivale lies in revealing the hidden multicultural treasures of Sydney, and making a positive contribution to community harmony via the musical traditions of different cultures.

Café Carnivale is currently working on expanding its program in Sydney’s Western suburbs to provide closer access to world music for local communities and individuals. After proudly participating in Riverbeats ‘09: Loy Krathong Festival, Café Carnivale is presenting concerts at the Riverside Theatres and hopes to present at other Western Sydney venues in the future.   MORE