A cross cultural exchange of ideas and creativity
The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts is setting up a partnership with Instituto Silo Cultural based in Paraty, Brazil, to enrich the personal, arts and cultural practices of Indigenous students and the wider arts community in Australia and Brazil through the delivery of a collaborative exchange program that includes workshops leading to visual and performance outcomes for audiences in each country. The project actively involves Indigenous arts professionals and students from Australia and the Indigenous Quilombola and Caicara peoples from the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil and will provide a valuable opportunity for cultural exchange and professional development for members of two Indigenous arts organizations.
In the arts community there is an increasing recognition of the value of the cultural traditions of ‘first nations’. For many years these traditions were either ignored, considered as curiosity pieces or just considered ‘primitive’, and therefore of little worth. Today there is a growing awareness of the value of these practices. Among Indigenous artists there is also a growing hunger to create new cultural forms and practice through meaningful cultural exchange between Indigenous peoples. This proposal is important because it enables a cultural exchange between two Indigenous cultural traditions. While geographically far apart both cultures have had to respond to the impacts of colonialism, and indeed continue to do so. It is in these responses that points of commonality and difference will, we believe, provide vital and exciting material that will be culturally enriching for both groups.
This project is a joint collaboration between ACPA and Cultural Silo. In January 2009 The Associate Artistic Director of ACPA Penny Mullen visited Brazil for four weeks with the view to developing an exchange program for Australian Indigenous students in the performing arts area. Director of Silo Cultural, Brazil, Vanda Mota, enthusiastically contributed to the design of the proposed exchange program as a result of a warm and ongoing relationship already developed from Penny’s previous engagement as a teacher of dance at Silo Cultural in Brazil in 2006.
Paraty, Brazil is situated three hours south of Rio de Janeiro. It has recently been appointed custodian of cultural tourism by the Brazilian Government, which has resulted in Paraty being both the curator and progressive force behind cultural arts in Brazil.
Penny conducted on the ground cultural and arts practice research, together with discussions with local cultural and arts practitioners. This resulted in the design of a joint project between Silo Cultural and the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts that through an investigation of culture, music and dance, will assist the Indigenous students of ACPA and the Indigenous participants and students of Brazil to:
Preserve and celebrate the unique qualities of each Indigenous culture.
Discover and explore new cultural attributes.
Stimulate cultural and creative exchange and develop long term cultural relationships.
Develop innovative new Indigenous works within a contemporary context.
Create recordings, performances and exhibitions for a wider arts audience.
The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) was established in 1997 and is a unique national Indigenous performing arts training institution, providing high quality training in the performance disciplines of dance, music and theatre at Certificate III, through to Advanced Diploma levels. It attracts Indigenous students from urban, regional and remote communities across Australia.
The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts is setting up a partnership with Instituto Silo Cultural based in Paraty, Brazil, to enrich the personal, arts and cultural practices of Indigenous students and the wider arts community in Australia and Brazil through the delivery of a collaborative exchange program that includes workshops leading to visual and performance outcomes for audiences in each country. The project actively involves Indigenous arts professionals and students from Australia and the Indigenous Quilombola and Caicara peoples from the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil and will provide a valuable opportunity for cultural exchange and professional development for members of two Indigenous arts organizations.
In the arts community there is an increasing recognition of the value of the cultural traditions of ‘first nations’. For many years these traditions were either ignored, considered as curiosity pieces or just considered ‘primitive’, and therefore of little worth. Today there is a growing awareness of the value of these practices. Among Indigenous artists there is also a growing hunger to create new cultural forms and practice through meaningful cultural exchange between Indigenous peoples. This proposal is important because it enables a cultural exchange between two Indigenous cultural traditions. While geographically far apart both cultures have had to respond to the impacts of colonialism, and indeed continue to do so. It is in these responses that points of commonality and difference will, we believe, provide vital and exciting material that will be culturally enriching for both groups.
This project is a joint collaboration between ACPA and Cultural Silo. In January 2009 The Associate Artistic Director of ACPA Penny Mullen visited Brazil for four weeks with the view to developing an exchange program for Australian Indigenous students in the performing arts area. Director of Silo Cultural, Brazil, Vanda Mota, enthusiastically contributed to the design of the proposed exchange program as a result of a warm and ongoing relationship already developed from Penny’s previous engagement as a teacher of dance at Silo Cultural in Brazil in 2006.
Paraty, Brazil is situated three hours south of Rio de Janeiro. It has recently been appointed custodian of cultural tourism by the Brazilian Government, which has resulted in Paraty being both the curator and progressive force behind cultural arts in Brazil.
Penny conducted on the ground cultural and arts practice research, together with discussions with local cultural and arts practitioners. This resulted in the design of a joint project between Silo Cultural and the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts that through an investigation of culture, music and dance, will assist the Indigenous students of ACPA and the Indigenous participants and students of Brazil to:
The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) was established in 1997 and is a unique national Indigenous performing arts training institution, providing high quality training in the performance disciplines of dance, music and theatre at Certificate III, through to Advanced Diploma levels. It attracts Indigenous students from urban, regional and remote communities across Australia.
To learn more about ACPA contact Shane Newbery, Business Manager
Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts on (07)38467211
Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts on (07)38467211
