Nelly Patterson Art Exhibition
Ninbella, Bangalow | Until 14 March | 10am–5pm
Nimbella Gallery in Bangalow hosts the stunning work of Napanangka Nelly Patterson. The paintings in her current exhibition carry some of the stories that Nelly is passing on to her great-granddaughter Wanatjura (Rosemary Patterson) and other apprentice Anangu people in the Northern Rivers and Central Desert areas. Through her works, Nelly teaches the Tjukurpa, (pronounced choo-kur-pa), the ancient lore of the desert which has been told through songs, stories, ceremony and dancing and passed down from Elders to youth, since time began.
The New Way Culture Dreaming collection featured in this unique exhibition was created between 2016 and 2018 and denotes a new dreaming of Tjukurrpa Pulka (sacred lore, strong lore). Stories depicted in traditional paintings tell of a new movement for humanity, that advocates for connection and unity for the future.
On show until 14 March, open every day 10am–5pm.
Harassment of Women and Feminism Panel, & Vigil
Lismore Women’s Festival | Studio Underground – Lismore Conservatorium of Music | Thursday | 5.30pm
This Thursday feminists will be speaking about Harassment of Women and Feminism at a panel that is a key event in the Lismore Women’s Festival, 5.30–7pm at the Conservatorium, in the Underground Studio.
The panel will be followed by a Resilience and Remembrance Vigil Honouring Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence, organised by Rekindling the Spirit service. It will be led by Laura, a proud Gomeroi woman living in Bundjalung Nation, and a mother and a grandmother. The vigil will be in the Lismore Quad 7–8pm and will be open to women, children and teenagers up to age 18. For more info: www.lismorewomensfestival.org
God Fetish
Artists Charlotte Haywood and Edward Horne work collaboratively and independently as interdisciplinary artists across installation, experimental architecture, theatre, film, sculpture, textiles and through inter-cultural collaborations, techniques and materials.
Experimenting with such commodities as copper, bamboo, shells, lingerie, spices, rice, water and air as materials, Commodity Fetish & the Gods uses a combination of wall works and installation to link form with ephemera.
Opening on Friday at 6pm with an artist talk on Saturday at 11.30pm. BSA Art Space.
Best of British: Jeff Green, Bob Franklin & Dan Willis
Byron Comedy Fest | 17 & 18 May | $40
Every year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Brit comedian Dan Willis presents Best of British, a showcase of top British stand up comedians. For the past 11 years the show has sold out, with the Herald Sun declaring that ‘Best of British is one of the greatest nights of comedy on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival calendar’.
For those who don’t make it to Melbourne, good news! The Byron Comedy Fest will be hosting Best of British for two nights, curated and hosted by Dan Willis, an Australian based English comedian who started out as a computer programmer before winning the Time Out Comedy Awards.
Best of British , hosted by Dan Willis and featuring Jeff Green and Bob Franklin, is at the Byron Comedy Fest Friday and Saturday 17 and 18 May at 6.45pm with tickets at $40. Full comedy festival line up and tix at byroncomedyfest.com
Mark Swivel: Together Party
Dusty Attic, Lismore | Thursday | 8pm | $10
Mark Swivel is having a party. A political party! Together are currently campaigning to get elected to the Senate in May this year. The party is about rebuilding our common wealth – the things we own, share and do together. We all know politics is broken and it’s up to us to fix it. Together. This is the populism of good people doing good things. Last year Mark also set up Barefoot Law, a community legal clinic in Mullum. It’s what Together is all about – responding to a need, putting people at the centre, and trying to make up for the failings of the market and government. Mark will tell a story – long on anecdote and entertainment.
Mark keeps it Together at the Dusty Attic in Lismore on Thursday at 8pm. He’ll talk about growing up in Little Bay. About making a new life in the Northern Rivers. He will sing a song or two. Politics done differently. Fun, inspiring and deadly serious about making a change, $10.
Stories in the Club
Mullumbimby Ex-Services | 4pm | $10
This month’s Stories in the Club centres on the theme What have you brought? Featured writers Athol Compton, Michael Pelmore, Gill Lomath and Dave Rawlins dig deep to share their tales.
Athol Compton as a custodian of Minyunbul country will give Welcome and possibly tell a tale. Michael Pelmore arrived in Mullum in the 1970s, driving a Kombi van towing a trailer loaded with a treadle sewing machine. He went on to be a local doctor for 42 years. Gill Lomath has been a Mullum resident since moving with her family here in the 1940s. Recently Gill was awarded an AOM for services to the community for her past and present voluntary work, which includes coordinating the Mullumbimby Food Box, being a member of Mullumbimby Hospital Site Redevelopment Committee, vice president of the Mullumbimby Tennis Club, Cancer Council Brunswick Heads and Relays for Life. Dave Rawlins moved to the Byron Shire in 2001. He is passionate about climate action, is the co-founder of COREM and a familiar face at local community Landcare and biodiversity initiatives.
Sunday at the Mullum Ex-Services at 4pm, $10.
NORPA and The Good Room present I Want To Know What Love Is
Lismore City Hall |Â Friday 29 & Saturday 30 March | 7:30pm | $25 – $5
NORPA presents I Want To Know What Love Is. The show throws a spotlight on long-buried memories, bedroom fantasies, crushes and conquests. Acclaimed Queensland performance collective The Good Room asked members of the public to anonymously submit their stories of love – fragments and memories, confessions and admissions – and they’ve transformed those secret submissions into magnificent declarations centre stage.
Friday & Saturday 29 & 30 March, at Lismore City Hall.
Tix at norpa.org.au
S Sorrensen MC at Comedy at the Courthouse
Courthouse Hotel, Mullumbimby | Thursday | 8pm | Free entry
If there’s one place where comedy is king, it’s in the courthouse. Not the actual courthouse, the Courthouse Hotel in Mullumbimby.
Pop in this Thursday for a laugh when Nimbin’s gentleman in a sarong, Mr S Sorrensen, gets up to host the regular open mic night. With a bunch of new and aspiring comics on show, this is the best free night in town! Laughter is the best medicine, so get yours while you can. (Well, CBD oil might be almost as good).
Thursday 8pm, free entry.
Naked Ambition Simon Morley, Mandy Nolan
Byron Services Club Monday 25 March | Mullum Ex-Services Tuesday 26 March | 8pm | $25
Thanks to the penis, female comics around the country got in front of huge audiences that loved their work. That’s what happened for me. Working as the opening act for Puppetry of the Penis is still one of the best gigs I’ve had. In fact, for a woman comic it was a gift from the comedy gods. Hundreds of women (and the odd bloke) gathered together to watch some blokes do dick tricks. They were just the most awesome audiences. Who would have thought that the humble cock could pull so many women! As Simon Morley, one of the show creators, has said, ‘There’s nothing women love more than coming together to laugh at a bloke’s cock’. It’s very bonding. Those who have seen the show know how bloody funny it is. For those who haven’t seen Puppetry of the Penis, it’s not what you think. Apart from two nude blokes with their cocks out, it’s one of the least rude shows I’ve seen. In fact there are ZERO sexual innuendos. It’s just good old fashioned turn-your-dick-into-a-hamburger, or the Eiffel Tower, or a baby bird kind of fun.
The story of this show, how it came to be, where it’s been shut down, is hysterical. I’ll be there as the opening act, and Simon Morley will be presenting Naked Ambition, the story behind Puppetry of the Penis. And I reckon he’ll definitely show us a few tricks. It doesn’t take too much encouragement! Don’t miss one of the best penis demystifying shows in the world. Men are so serious about their dicks, this show literally shows how men can use their penises in a non sexual and creative way. It should be taught at school.
Byron Services Club on Monday 25 March and Mullum Ex-Services on Tuesday 26 March – 8pm, $25. Tix at the clubs or mandynolan.com.au.