Socialising

After several invitations I finally attended the ACT Arts Awards event delivered by the Canberra Critics' Circle.  It was at Drill Hall Gallery, pretty much filled with a coterie of artists and critics from all manner of the arts, music, theatre, dance, visual arts, writing.  I recognised various faces but not many and chatted as best I could (given the very reverberant space) with a few groups of people I didn't.  Two chatters were from arts centres and craft councils so new to me.  The dance was very unknown to me.  I have a very successful dancer in my family but never much followed that art.  I had an interesting chat with two ANU historians who were each to win awards for their new books of various history.  I seemed to have been typecast as conservative (maybe given my recent find in Salvo's, a jacket by Pierre Cardin, no less) but managed to avoid that image by talking of SoundOut and with some help from Richard J.  Louis won a prize on behalf of NCO for our recent film music concert, Heroes & Villains, which was very successful and hugely attractive.  There were awards for Canberra Bach Ensemble and Luminescence and the Neemans and Queanbeyan Players and amusingly for some actors at that very instant performing at the Street Theatre in Waiting for Godot, so that one was collected by a ring-in.  I did fall into a chat on Israel/Gaza but it was too difficult given the noise in the back room and the dense issues of the topic.  I was stunned by the list of critics who selected these performers: ~25 critics for ~30 awards.  Whatever, it was fun and comfortably short with few speeches.  And thanks to Helen Musa and mates who make this all happen.  Quite an enjoyable and sociable outing, really.

The Canberra Critics' Circle convened the ACT Arts Awards at the Drill Hall Gallery.