The Pacific Arts Alliance

Durban : 29 September - 4 October 2008

29 September to 4 October promises to be a stirring week of words, rhymes, performance and ideas, as the 12th Poetry Africa international poetry festival ignites Durban with over twenty poets from around South Africa, Africa, and the world.

Hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Centre for Creative Arts, Poetry Africa's intensive week-long programme kicks off with a pre-festival showcase of Durban poets at The Workshop Shopping Centre's Amphitheatre on 28 September at 11h00.

The showcase forms part of the Imagine Africa initiative which seeks to create platforms for challenging stereotypical ideas of Africa and imagining a better continent. The week encompasses introductory performances by the full lineup of participating poets at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on opening night 29 September, and will thereafter feature 5 poets every evening, through to 3 October, before the rousing Festival Finale at the BAT Centre on 4 October.

The Pacific Writers Forum in association with School of Language, Arts & Media Invitation to All Staff and Students

Former Fiji resident and Victoria University of Wellington Pacific Studies lecturer, Teresia Teaiwa makes her debut as a solo recording artist with the release of a cd of poetry and sound titled "I Can See Fiji".

The album will be launched in Suva, Fiji on Monday 15 September, 2008, at USP's Oceania Centre for Arts & Culture at 6.00pm. The album's sound design and production is the result of the poet's collaboration with acclaimed Maori poet and singer/songwriter, Hinemoana Baker.-031-6547Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Thirty-Six Designers to Showcase at Islands of the World Fashion Week. Mode & Circles Ltd., organizer of Islands of the World Fashion Week, has announced the names of the designers committed, to-date, to present their creations at the premiere of the event scheduled for the 5th - 8th November at the historic British Colonial Hilton and the Atlantis Resort.

The designers, creators of both garments and accessories, will showcase their fashions on the catwalks during the four days of the event. Both new and established designers will present styles ranging from couture to casual, bridalwear, sports, swimwear, and ready-to-wear. Arianne Etuk, Chief Operations Officer and spokesperson for the organizers, noted that "these designers represent thirteen island states, each with its unique culture and fashion perspective. The event will truly be a mosaic of cultures and fashions, and promises to be very illuminating"

To Pacific Island Libraries, Archives, Museums, and National Commissions for UNESCO

Please find below a notice on the comprehensive support to Pacific Island libraries and archives from the British Library Endangered Archives Programme (EAP).
More information on the EAP can be found at: http://www.bl.uk/about/policies/endangeredarch/homepage.html

The EAP is highly related to UNESCO's Memory of the World (MOW) Programme: http://www/unesco.org/webworld.mow

More information on the British Library can be found at: http://www.bl.uk/

You can also visit the EAP websites or to contact the UNESCO Apia Office for more information.

UNESCO Office for the Pacific States
1 UN House, Matautu, PO Box 615
Apia, Samoa
Ph: +685 24276
http://www.unesco.org/apia

Kevan Hall, fashion designer to stars such as Vanessa Williams, Sharon Stone, Katherine Heigl, Felicity Huffman, Ruby Dee, Debra Messing, Angela Bassett, Salma Hayek and Charlize Theron, will close out the week of activities during the Islands of the World Fashion Week in November with the presentation of his latest collection of stunning garments on the catwalk of the Closing Reception at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

hand in hand was a multi-artform, cross-cultural exhibition held in conjunction with the 2008 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras over two spaces, Boomalli in the inner western suburb of Leichhardt and Performance Space at Carriageworks in the former rail workshops at Eveleigh.

The exhibiting artists were Jeffrey Samuels, Tracey Moffatt, Arone Raymond Meeks, r e a, Clinton Nain, Gary Lee, Jenny Fraser (curator), Dianne Jones, Adrian Wills, Sionelagi Falemaka, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, Moana Nepia, Claudine Sartain, Darrell Sibosado, Niwhai Tupaea, Salote Tawale and Shigeyuki Kihara (curator).

The artists are all indigenous to the Pacific. Progressively over the past few years, I have watched Indigenous art and culture slip incrementally from the agenda of the Mardi Gras cultural festival. In the festival program, we and our artists are a mere blip. Over the past few years Boomalli has done the work of Mardi Gras, agreeing to fund and host an exhibition of Indigenous gay and lesbian artists. 

The threading of the ula (garland) has begun in Pagopago. And in two weeks, when this cultural adventure ends, the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts hopes for a coulier that will not only celebrate our uniqueness in the diverse web of what is Pacific but also a much stronger connection across the vast ocean.

In a major first for the Pacific region, content packages from the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts will be beamed to TV audiences in the Australasia region.

With the assistance of KVZK, SPC Media Centre, Television New Zealand, Maori TV and Fiji's Stockwell Limited, around 11 hours of LIVE content and highlights packages will be sent to 10 TV stations including those in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii.

"This is an amazing feat and one that brings together so many partners - we thank them all for their fantastic contribution" said the organizing committee's Consultant Richard Broadbridge.

Maori TV and TVNZ have been instrumental in lending the organizers the resources to make the event on television possible. Confirmed broadcast partners include Fiji's Mai TV, two broadcasters in Samoa - TV3 and SBC, TONFON Tonga, VBTC Vanuatu, One News Limited Solomon Islands, BCN Niue, Maori TV, TVNZ and PNCC Palau.

The following broadcasters are yet to confirm their participation: EMTV PNG, RFO New Caledonia, RFO Tahiti and RFO Wallis& Futuna.

Other broadcasters need to contact:

Richard Broadbridge
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +679 9927721.

Click here for more details: tv_news

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