Leading Indigenous contemporary artists featured in new series of art+soul

Curator Hetti Perkins shares her knowledge of and passion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in a major three-part television series, art+soul, screening on ABC1 during NAIDOC week - Tuesday 8.30pm on July 8, 15 and 22.

Based around three key themes - Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and Cruelty, Love and Longing - the second series of art+soul explores how artists make sense of their history and considers how art is both political and a source of healing. For many artists, acknowledging the difficult stories that stem from colonisation lies at the heart of their life and work. The series examines the role and responsibilities artists have in setting the record straight and the relationship between the maintenance of tradition and innovation. Through this, Perkins weaves her own family story as the daughter of leading activist Charles Perkins.

Throughout the art+soul series we meet some of Australia's leading contemporary artists including Daniel Boyd, Julie Gough, Lola Greeno, Wanyubi Marika, Vernon Ah Kee, Christian Thompson, Brian Robinson, Jonathan Jones and Warwick Thornton.

Campbelltown Arts Centre celebrates youth culture in Western Sydney

Campbelltown Arts Centre presents The List, a major new art exhibition celebrating youth culture in Western Sydney, presented from 8 August until 12 October. Each new work in The List is the result of six months of collaboration and shared experiences between 13 artists and young people from the local community, establishing a platform for innovation and creative development that can expand into the future.

Director of the Campbelltown Arts Centre, Michael Dagostino, explains, "The youth population of Campbelltown sits at 22% of Campbelltown's overall population. We were therefore inspired to create a socially diverse project that really speaks to young people. By pairing this respected list of major contemporary artists with a broad range of local youth groups, we hope to explore ideas relevant to them and address social issues of utmost important to young people across the local community."

New vision for Sydney Fringe Festival

The 2014 Sydney Fringe Festival program celebrates the experimental, grass-roots cultural heart of Sydney, spanning a diverse range of art forms including theatre, music, comedy, visual art, design, film, cabaret, musical theatre, dance, circus, literature and poetry. Presented from 1 to 30 September, the Fringe will present more than 350 ticketed productions and a free events program at more than 60 venues across Sydney.

New Festival director Kerri Glassock commented, “Sydney Fringe Festival 2014 will push experimental ideas and support emerging and early-career artists across numerous art forms. We will also partner with some of the most innovative arts organisations in Sydney to further expand our reach and audiences.”

Local communities, small businesses and Sydney nightlife will be engaged through a series of dynamic street activations, lane-way bars and public artworks which will be covering Paddington, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Redfern, Chippendale, Glebe, Annandale, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Sydenham, St Peters, Newtown, Erskineville and Enmore.