Radio Yak Yak is one element of an international exhibition called Yak Yak, being hosted by the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery in northern Victoria. The exhibition is co-curated by Irish artist Fiona Woods and gallery director Ian Tully. The show features artists from Ireland, Sweden, the USA, Argentina and Australia, and it highlights the myriad global conversations that are starting to forge powerful new networks that will support the idea of rural arts into a future full of change.
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This is a story about a farmer who’s also an artist. Or maybe he’s an artist who’s also a farmed. His name is Neil Berecry Brown … and he’s remotely connected.
(This feature was first broadcast on ABC Radio National’s 360Documentaries program Sunday 30th June 2013)
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There’s an old tradition in parts of Australia called a Twiggy—stopping by the side of the road, lighting a fire and settling in for a chat. The idea was recently revived to create collaborations between a Victorian artist, Trevor Flinn, and a series of farming families. The result is The Twig Project.
(This feature was first broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Creative Instinct program Saturday 14th July 2012)
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Do rural artists need to kowtow to their city counterparts? In 2011, a group of artists and arts organisations, under the banner of ACRE 2, gathered to discuss the role of rural culture in modern times.
(This feature was first broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Artworks program Sunday 12th June 2011)
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A conversation with Irish artist and co-curator of Yak Yak, Fiona Woods—speaking to Michael Shirrefs from her home in County Clare.
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An interview with Mathieu Vrijman—co-founder of the Swedish art and farming collective called Kultivar. He’s speaking to Michael Shirrefs from the Kultivator farm on the island of Öland, off the east coast of Sweden.
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An interview with Kirsten Stolz, co-founder of the Colorado-based art and architecture collective M12, and Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery Director Ian Tully. They’re speaking to Michael Shirrefs from a studio in Denver in the US.
Further information:
- Yak Yak
- Yak Yak online publication
- Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery
- Fiona Woods—Ireland
- Browns Cows—Neil Berecry Brown—Australia
- A Collection of Minds
- Trevor Flinn—Australia
- M12 Art & Architecture Collective—USA
- Veronica Nicholson—Ireland
- We’re Still Here—Shaun Mackrell—Australia
- Kultivator Art & Farming Collective—Sweden
- Centro Rural de Arte—Argentina
- ABC Radio National
© 2013—Michael Shirrefs, ABC RN and Yak Yak