Seesaw Magazine

We are thrilled to be working with writers from around Western Australia through Seesaw’s inaugural Regional Mentorship Program.

This free program is hosted by Deputy Chair Stephen Bevis to help arts writers in regional WA improve their skills to share stories of the amazing work being done by artists around the State.

Congratulations to selceted participants Sarah Hinton (Geraldton), Olivia Little (Bunbury), Daniela Palitos (Margaret River), Jennifer McRae (Albany), Davina Edwards (Northam) and Sarah-Jayne Eeles (Kalgoorlie-Boulder).

We thank Culture and the Arts, WA, Regional Arts WA and CircuitWest for their support.

Seesaw's Regional Mentorship Program participants announced! We are thrilled to be working with writers from around Western Australia through Seesaw's inaugural Regional Mentorship Program.

If you are an emerging writer based in regional Western Australia, Seesaw Magazine would love to help improve your skills as we seek to develop arts reviewing and writing across our State.

While publication remains on pause, Seesaw Deputy Chair and revered arts journalist Stephen Bevis is offering free mentorships about the intricacies of arts reviewing!

Expressions of Interest | Free arts reviewing mentorships! If you are an emerging writer based in regional Western Australia, Seesaw Magazine would love to help improve your skills as we seek to develop arts reviewing and writing across our State.

The Board of Seesaw Magazine is committed to finding a sustainable pathway for WA’s only dedicated multi-arts publication for the benefit of artists and audiences.

Managing Editor Nina Levy and Business and Marketing Manager Gabrielle Sullivan have now stepped away from their paid positions due to the financial constraints.

The Seesaw Board thanks Nina and Gabrielle for all their hard work and their passionate development and promotion of arts in WA. Read our full statement now.

An update from the Board of Seesaw, WA’s Arts Magazine Seesaw remains on pause, as outlined in our statement in September 2023. Managing Editor Nina Levy and Business and Marketing Manager Gabrielle Sullivan have now stepped away from their paid positions at Seesaw due to the financial constraints on our organisation.

Missing Seesaw Mag's Perth Festival reviews? Here's a quick hot take from editor Nina Levy. "Like its palindromic title 'Are we not drawn onward to new erA' is a tale told in retrograde and then flipped in every sense. You'll need to be patient, but its worth the wait, particularly if you're a fan of subtle, clever physical humour. Though shot through with absurdity, the poignancy of the work's central question, about the impact of our actions, keeps it tethered to reality. if you like your Festival shows smart and eccentric, this one's for you."

There's still time to catch Ontroerend Goed's 'Are we not drawn onward to new erA' at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia – the season continues until Sunday 25 February.

📸 Mirjam Devriendt

There's one more week of Fringe World Festival to go and if you're keen to squeeze in a few more shows, these three artists are Seesaw Mag faves that you can still catch: Laser Kiwi, Michael Griffiths and Lucy Peach. Links to past reviews (with details of 2024 shows at the bottom) in the comments.

Friends! Our summer break landed up being longer than expected for various reasons but we're back on socials now, and we're kicking things off with this hot tip! 'Vehicle', by Weeping Spoon Productions, was a fave of David Zampatti's last year and it's back at Fringe World Festival this weekend (opening TONIGHT), playing the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia.

Check out David's 2023 review (link in comments) - we've updated it with a link to the 2024 season details.

Pictured are Sam Longley and Shane Adamczak.

🎄 If you're looking for Christmas presents, Gerry Reilly's gorgeous glass baubles are a perfect gift. And if you're in Margaret River this Sunday (17 December), you could even blow your own bauble at Melting Pot Glass Studio's open day!

Ahead of the open day we're resharing our 2022 conversation with Gerry - and we've added details about the open day and stockists, for those who aren't down south. 🎄

Conjuring colour in glass Ahead of the Margaret River Region Open Studios in September, Nina Levy caught up with glass designer and artist Gerry Reilly.

Seesaw recommends: 'Moort' by Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse, 14-16 December, Downstairs At The Maj

If you've been lucky enough to hear Ballardong Noongar singer Gina Williams and guitarist Guy Ghouse play, you'll know what a magical experience it is to hear their original Noongar songs.

'Moort' is the third in a four-part cycle following on from the previously released works Koorlangka (2020) and Koort (2021). The cycle is based on the principles of Koort (heart), Moort (family), Boodjar (country) and Koorlangka (children/ legacy). All of these works are performed in Noongar and English.

Check out our review of 'Koort': https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2021/03/songs-from-the-heart

Pictured: Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse performing ‘Koort’ (2021). Photo Angelyne Wolfe

(ID: Two musicians stand on an outdoor stage at night, against a background of trees lit by stage lights. The woman stands at a microphone, eyes closed as she sings. The main sits on a stool, playing guitar. Both look caught up in their music.)

Attention fans of traditional Christmas music! Baroque specialists HIP Company are back with their annual Christmas concert, featuring Bonnie de la Hunty (soprano), Sarah Papadopoulus (Baroque violin) and Krista Low (Baroque ’cello and viola da gamba).

They'll be presenting a program of festive Baroque and traditional music for historical instruments, 19 December 2023, at Anglican Parish of South Perth

Want to know more about what to expect? Check out our review of HIP's first Christmas concert, back in 2020.

Baroque festivities full of surprises Western Australia’s arts playground

Overwhelmed by the 2024 Fringe World Festival program? Never fear, Seesaw Mag is here.

How to choose your Fringe World shows Overwhelmed by the Fringe World program? Don't worry, we've got you covered with a step by step guide to navigating Fringe.

Seesaw recommends: 'Glass Heart' - a new album by local duo Unfold (Alice Humphries and Thea Rossen). Album launch is taking place 8 December, details below. Check out a sample from the album via the link and experience this chill and chiming blend of fragmented melodies, interspersed with fragile, tinkling found sounds.

NEW ON TONE LIST
Unfold - Glass Heart
Music by Thea Rossen & Alice Humphries
https://weunfold.bandcamp.com/album/glass-heart

Launching December 8 at Swanbourne Church of the Resurrection with Pale Ribbons Tossed Into the Dark.

🎧 "Move" on the RTRFM 92.1 Sound Selection this week.

On 'Glass Heart' Unfold filter melodic fragments and improvisational moments, looking to weave these materials into music that coalesces around singular points of focus. The duo explore space, both temporally and acoustically, and restraint, finding ways to work with a limited set of materials and manage their sound making with great care over time. Throughout Glass Heart the listener is presented with the deep resonance of the bass drum, which provides a bed for sparse moments of melody to flourish, flowing from the prepared piano and open stringed scordatura electric guitar. Moments of sustain and near silence are punctuated with bold strikes of the bass drum that can be felt in the chest and highlight the scale in the work, the small fragile sounds of glass, marbles, seeds and bells rendered as such in relation to the drum. True to their name, Unfold work through attention and care to unravel, unpack and unfold the vast aural phenomenon emergent from simple gestures and present a sonic landscape for the listeners' patient investigation.

From the artists:
"Having previously worked together in a performer / composer relationship, Unfold came about through a shared desire to work together in a more collaborative and spontaneous context, where we both operate as performers/improvisers/composers and blur the lines between these roles.

In the time leading up to making Unfold, we were both stripped back by personal experiences of parenthood, early postpartum, loss and grief. Carving out this creative space with each other was a way for us to reconnect to our creative selves and the pure joy of making and playing with sounds that we find beautiful.

We began these pieces as improvisations based on a single idea that each of us brought, either a melody, an object, or a textural idea. Unfold is about clarity and simplicity. Stripping an idea back and letting something grow slowly."

Recorded & mixed by Kieran Kenderessy.
Mastered by Encoder Sound.
Artwork by Olivia Davies.

Tina Stefanou is one of 10 artists whose work will be exhibited in ‘Rural Utopias’, at the The Art Gallery of Western Australia - AGWA opening this weekend.

Produced by Spaced and AGWA, 'Rural Utopias' is program which sees artists live and work in remote and regional WA communities, developing original art projects in response to those places.

The art works resulting from this project will be exhibited at AGWA, 25 November 2023 – 18 February 2024. The new works will be displayed alongside works that resonate with each of the projects and the theme of Rural Utopias, selected from the State Art Collection by the artists, alongside curator Miranda Johnson.

Back in 2020, Tina wrote a thoughtful reflection on the role of an artist, in a time that is characterised by economic, social, political and environmental injustice, which feels timely both in terms of the upcoming exhibition and the tumultuous times we are enduring both nationally and internationally: https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2023/11/a-walk-with-tina-stefanou-copy

'Rural Utopias' exhibition details are at the end of the piece.

Pictured below is Tina Stefanou, 'Back-breeding', 2023, film stills, performance, Midwest, Amangu Country.

Taking the kids to see West Australian Ballet's The Nutcracker? Not sure what you need to know about ballet? We've got you covered!

How to watch ballet Are you a newbie to the wonderful world of classical ballet? Rita Clarke tells you everything you need to know.

Congratulations to Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company and the 'Panawathi Girl' team. The Perth Festival show picked up two gongs at the 2022 Performing Arts WA Awards in the Musical and Opera category – Best New Work, for David Milroy, and Outstanding Ensemble, for the ensemble.

Relive 'Panawathi Girl' by reading Barbara Hostalek's review...

Dream girl emerges from turbulent time Panawathi Girl by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company is a polished production that uses music to tell an important story and ignite the heart.

Seesaw Magazine congratulates the winners of the 2023 Performing Arts WA Awards. To celebrate, we'll be sharing reviews of the winning works over the coming days. To kick things off (pun intended), here's our review of Andrea Gibb's 'Barracking for the Umpire' (winner of Best New Work - Andrea Gibbs, Outstanding Performer in Supporting Role - Joel Jackson) which was presented by Black Swan State Theatre Company

Tender and funny debut hits the mark Andrea Gibbs kicks a winning goal with her exploration of footy’s impact on one family, writes Claire Trolio.

Planning your Halloween party? Or just want your place to look special for the season?

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)'s stage props artisan Andy Cross has four tips that will make your night spectacular!

Halloween: How to make blood and other stage tricks Halloween is approaching and stage props artisan Andy Cross has five tips that will make your night spectacular.

It's going to be perfect weather this weekend to head into the hills for the opening of Mundaring Hills Open Studios. From Saturday 21 October to Sunday 29 October, you're invited into the studios of many of the artists who live in this beautiful part of Perth.

Last year McKeough chatted to artist and long-term member of Mundaring Hills Open Studios Neil Elliott to find out more about the event. Check out that Q&A below - updated details for 2023 can be found at the end of the Q&A.

What to SEE: Mundaring Hills Open Studios Between Saturday 22 October and Sunday 30 October, artists in the Mundaring Hills area will be inviting you into their studios.

It's an art exhibition that breaks barriers and opens eyes. The As We Are Arts Awards are back for 2023, with the awards night taking place Thursday 19 October and the exhibition open to the public Friday 20 - Sunday 22 October, Wilkinson Gallery, Claremont Showground.

Back in 2021 Ara Jansen found out why the As We Are Arts Awards are so empowering for artists with intellectual disability... read all about it below.

As We Are: Empowering Artists With Intellectual Disability

Art that breaks barriers and opens eyes Ara Jansen discovers the annual 'As We Are Art Awards' is an exhibition that's much more than an exihibition.

This weekend West Australian Symphony Orchestra is inviting you to join them on a space odyssey, which will include excerpts of music from films such as 'Star Wars' and 'Toy Story'

Ahead of this concert, we're resharing Mark Naglazas's own odyssey, to find out more about the birth of the symphonic score that we now recognise as the sound of movies. Enjoy!

WASO's 'Classic Adventures: Outer Space' plays Perth Concert Hall Saturday 14 October - head to WASO's website to find out more.

PS - Seesaw Magazine has paused publication until mid-2024. While we're paused we'll still be keeping you posted about what to SEE in WA, and sharing treasures from our six year archive, so stay tuned. Head to the Seesaw Mag website to find out more about the pause.

Where the sound of movies began Western Australia’s arts playground

Congratulations Victoria Laurie, winner of 2023 WA Media Award for Freelance Journalism. The judges commented: 'The common link across all of Victoria Laurie’s pieces was the depth of research and detail, as well as the beauty of the writing and storytelling. This was an entry of the highest quality and was a reminder of Victoria’s status as a pillar of Western Australian journalism.' Vicki also won the Science and Environmental Report award.

We're so proud to have a journalist of Vicki's calibre on the Seesaw Mag team.

Read the full list of winners: https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/state-media-awards/wa-media-awards/

MEAA

Seesaw Magazine supports the Voice to Parliament.

We want to live in a country that recognises 65,000 years of Indigenous culture in our constitution. Listening through a Voice means we'll work together to create a better future.

There’s pride in the past and optimism for the future as STRUT Dance celebrates its 20th birthday. Nina Levy catches up with organisation’s homegrown artistic directors as they look back and forward.

STRUT Dance comes of age There’s pride in the past and optimism for the future as STRUT Dance celebrates its 20th birthday, discovers Nina Levy.

Less than a decade into his career, local choreographer Scott Elstermann has presented work at the prestigious La Biennale di Venezia, mentored by the renowned Wayne McGregor. He gives guest writer Ruby Michael the lowdown. Read more ↓

Dance dreams are made of this Less than a decade into his career, local choreographer Scott Elstermann was commissioned to present work at the prestigious Venice Biennale.

Our young writers have been out and about at AWESOME Festival these . Read their reviews of breaksea.org's 'The Magical Weedy Seadragon' at The Rechabite, which enchanted Isabel Greentree [age 13]. Jackson [age 13] & Chloe [age 8] Davis were taken on a thoughtful and funny journey in Madness of Two's ‘Claire Della and the Moon’ at the State Theatre Centre; and high school student Bethany Stopher caught WAAPA’s 'Little Red Riding Hood' in the Perth Cultural Centre and thought it the perfect entrée to ballet for all ages.

READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3M47bEr

From AWESOME activities to magical nannies, there are so many marvellous ways to have a jolly holiday, writes Julie Hosking. Have a read of our arty school holiday guide 🎭🎫🪕🎨

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre West Australian Symphony Orchestra The Blue Room Theatre Fremantle Arts Centre Mandurah Performing Arts Centre Regal Theatre

Spring into the school holidays Western Australia’s arts playground

A local artist with an international reputation, Erin Coates is known for making works that are at once unsettling and compelling. Read Nina Levy’s Q&A with this visual artist and creative producer working across drawing, sculpture and film: https://bit.ly/46aDqdV

📸 Erin with part of the set from ‘Dark Water’, a film by Erin Coates and Anna Nazzari. Photo by Michelle Becker

City of Joondalup Westfield Whitford City

AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things begins this weekend in Kelmscott and then heads to Yagan Square [25-30 Sep] and Perth Cultural Centre [26-30 Sep]. The program is packed full of magic, wonder and fun for all ages including the Albany-grown 'The Magical Weedy Seadragon' by breaksea.org and ‘Alex and Evie and the Forever Falling Rain’ by every other theatre company co-presented with The Blue Room Theatre. Have a read of our past reviews of these productions.

‣ Friendship that weathers every storm: https://bit.ly/46nE0Vi
‣ Dive in for delightful sea change: https://bit.ly/3EPCvDA

📸 The Magical Weedy Seadragon takes a well-earned bow. Photo by Nic Duncan

It’s a privilege to witness the stunning dexterity of choreographer Raghav Handa and musician Maharshi Raval as they disrupt the traditional roles of Indian dance with grace and charisma, says Seesaw Mag contributor Rita Clarke. Read the review and catch ‘Two’ at PICA until Sep 23rd.

Rewriting tradition with skill and charm It’s a privilege to witness the stunning dexterity of choreographer Raghav Handa and musician Maharshi Raval, says Rita Clarke.

More arts reviews of performances from clever creatives are rolling in! Seesaw Mag contributor Angela Ho experienced a soul-searching evening of improvisation thanks to violinist and composer Rupert Guenther at Government House Ballroom; and Julie Hosking rides waves of emotion at breaksea.org's multi-arts performance of ‘Thunderstorm’ at the The Art Gallery.

READ OUR LATEST REVIEWS: https://bit.ly/3M47bEr

📸 Violinist Rupert Guenther takes a contemplative audience on a musical journey. Photo by Fiona Birt

We’ve been transported to all kinds of places in richly rewarding ways over the past 5 days starting with Disney & Cameron Mackintosh’s ‘Mary Poppins’ at Crown Perth, which had magic in the air and is a place where anything can happen according to Julie Hosking. And despite the inhumanity of incarceration, ‘Jurrungu Ngan-ga’ had the audience laughing and on its feet with admiration, said Rita Clarke about Marrugeku's latest contemporary dance production at the State Theatre Centre.

READ OUR LATEST REVIEWS: https://bit.ly/3M47bEr

📸 #1: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’s striking set design is the perfect backdrop for Marrugeku’s Jurrungu Ngan-ga. Photo by Prudence Upton

📸 #2: The set and costumes are as dazzling as the cast in ‘Mary Poppins’. Photo by Daniel Boud