Tawdry presents: a celebration of Brisbane live performance culture featuring: Laneous and the Family Yah, burlesque beauty La Viola Vixen, the Smokestack Orchestra, re:enactment, cabaret Stop It I Love It, Banawurun, the view from Madeleine’s Couch, Audiopollen Social Club + the Mute Canary Project, No’osphere contemporary orchestra, pear and the awkward orchestra, tattoo art by mit rix, fashion by Athan-Jon, burlesque and belly dance, body art and more…

$10 conc. + 4ZZZ subscribers + Fort Members / $15
2pm-11pm
Saturday 18th july
THE FORT (Room 8)
Cnr Brunswick & Water st

“In The Flesh” is a mini-festival, a celebration of brisbane live performance culture in many facets across multiple art forms. A circus of live music, burlesque dance, tattoo art presented in the flesh, spoken word, VJ’s and visual artists, local fashion designers and performance makers. The festival will be presented by tawdry and the Fort (ROOM 8) at the Fort in Fortitude Valley. Tawdry is a not-for-profit presentation and promotions collective of Brisbane artists and artsworkers facilitated by Stephanie Barros Lees, who have curated and presented many events across Brisbane since inception August 2006. tawdry events are a celebration of the small, the intimate, the awkward, with as small a line as possible drawn between the artist and the audience; supporting emerging artists and all artists by creating performance spaces and environments which encourage a receptive and attentive audience focused on arts appreciation and involvement. The Fort is Brisbane’s innovative new centre for the arts, providing a community approach to the creation and presentation of art. The Fort is managed by artists, for artists and aims to grow many artistic endeavours drawing on collective resources, skills and networks, with a special focus on environmental and community sustainability. The festival will be Saturday 18th July 2pm until 11pm, $10 for conc. and 4ZZZ subscribers and $15 for full fare entry.

www.myspace.com/inthefleshfestival

RUN SHEET IN THE FLESH

The elegance of champagne officialdom started the evening in the chandelier-lit foyer for an invite-only V.I.P. party . THE FORT Co-directors Kelly Timmons and Peter Gorrie spoke on The Fort’s history and amazed the crowd with how much support has already been received from businesses and artists alike. David Hinchliffe gave some rousing words of welcome and declared modestly the much-anticipated centre open to the public. With the champagne flowing, string quartet playing from the mezzanine, and the (gorgeous) girls serving edibles, the night was gathering momentum for the huge open-invitation party.

Of all the striking features of the event, it was the feeling of a new beginning, of opportunity and inspiration that interwove the conversations of the supporters. The crowd mingled amidst the bass swelling, swilling around the stairs like a ghost train urge in an atmosphere of tangible artistic inspiration:  A fellow was pretending to speak French whilst gesticulating wildly about the carpark graffiti-art, a young artist was furiously interpreting the live performances on his sketch pad, two girls were busting out synchronised hiphop dancing, hand-made crosswords were distributed, some people chose to joyously stand in the rain, and the delicious three-tiered vegan birthday cake was eaten from hypercoloured-top downwards with spoons!   Although none of these pursuits were planned, they certainly made for an interesting and colourful night.

[SinglePic not found] THE FORT wishes to extend a warm thankyou to everyone involved in making the party an incredible success!    We have had great feedback from the event and would love to host more like it. With your continued support we can make this possible!

Thanks to the lovely Tash, winner of the two free tickets to The Fort launch competition, for her contributions to this article. Thanks also to Manny for the great sketches!! (check out Manny’s Myspace profile here).

Special thanks to The Fort’s sponsors for making this all possible – Renegade Empire; Coopers; Nutrient Water; Steffan Town Planning; 4zzZ, and all the the artists.

Click here to view the photo gallery

[Gallery not found] ]]> http://www.thefort.org.au/2009/04/19/the-fort-launched-in-style/feed/ 2 http://www.thefort.org.au/2009/03/08/hey-kids-don%e2%80%99t-move-to-melbourne-%e2%80%93-the-fort-is-here/ http://www.thefort.org.au/2009/03/08/hey-kids-don%e2%80%99t-move-to-melbourne-%e2%80%93-the-fort-is-here/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:19:24 +0000 sk http://localhost/TheFortInc/?p=51 HEY KIDS don’t move to Melbourne – THE FORT is here!

In Australia’s fastest growing city, many of us are “feeling the squeeze” in some way.  For artists, inner-city suburbs which have been creative hot-spots are no longer affordable. Rent is sky-high, warehouses and share-houses must make way for construction and development, and our public transport… well let’s just say “it’s a hard job and they’re doing their best”.  Question is as Brisbane prepares itself for “Living in 2026”, how do we keep the city artist-friendly?

A collective of vibrant and enthusiastic young artists have come together to establish a very special arts project for Brisbane.  In a few weeks the beautiful Bell Brother’s Building in Fortitude Valley will again be open to the public – and proud home to an innovative new cultural centre – THE FORT arts hub.  Tenants and friends of THE FORT are busily preparing a record store, art galleries (first exhibition opens 21 March), artist studios, recording and rehearsal studios, clothing design, film, web and photography studios, permeculture gardens and lots more!

THE FORT is managed by artists, for artists, and aims to grow many artistic endeavours by drawing on collective resources, skills and networks.  Located at 57 Brunswick Street, THE FORT is only a few footsteps away from big cultural institutions like the Valley’s Entertainment Precinct and further down Brunswick Street to the Judith Wright Centre, 381 Brunswick, and the Powerhouse.   Co-founder and President of THE FORT arts hub Inc., Pete Gorrie says “There have been lots of challenges involved in getting this awesome project off the ground, but thanks to a lot of hard work, and the support of friends and members of the arts community who also realise the importance of this project, we are nearly ready to open.  We can’t wait to share our hub with Brisbane and, eventually, the rest of the world.”

On Friday 3 April THE FORT will hold its very first fundraising extravaganza (launching the various spaces), with a night of performance, live art, market stalls, organic bbq, giveaways and more.  THE FORT has tapped gallons of its finest resources to present Grass Roots Street Orchestra, Mr Laneous & The Family Yah, The Kelly Gang, Samedi Sound System, Rainman Live, Yuin Huzami, art works by some of Brisbane’s best visual artists, break dancers, multimedia displays and more fresh local talent to be announced.

Entry to this massive event is only $15 or $10 conc. (and 4ZZZ subs) or become an official “FRIEND of THE FORT” for just $25 ($20 conc.) to receive free entry and ongoing discounts, benefits and general kudos.

Media enquiries please contact Kelly Timmons Ph: 0405 105 299