QPAC to Present A CELEBRATION OF COUNTRY

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) annual festival Clancestry, A Celebration of Country will run from 30 November to 6 December 2015 across QPAC and in The Courier-Mail Piazza in Brisbane's Cultural Precinct at South Bank.

Clancestry has cemented its place on Queensland's arts and cultural calendar encouraging people from all over Australia to connect with and take pride in the arts and culture of First Nations peoples.

Drawing crowds of over 17,000 Clancestry showcases both traditional and contemporary art forms across a number of genres, highlighting the continuation, revitalization and dynamic evolution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia.

QPAC Chief Executive Mr John Kotzas said that curating a festival such as Clancestry at QPAC is about creating a sense of connection.

"The land on which QPAC stands has long been a meeting place. For countless generations Kurilpa has been an area where people come to tell stories and connect with community.

"Today, the Cultural Precinct stands on this land and we continue to work with Elders and community to ensure the continuation of those longstanding storytelling and gathering traditions", said Mr Kotzas.

QPAC's pedestrian tunnel will house Clancestry's Living History exhibition curated by Nadine McDonald-Dowd from 30 November for the duration of the festival.

The Living History project showcases key relationships that have shaped the lives and careers of a number of significant Aboriginal and Torres Strat Islander community members.

QPAC's Cremorne Theatre will be home to Clancestry's Conversation Series from 2 to 4 December. Guest curated by QUT's Dr Chelsea Bond the series seeks to engage a broad audience interested in contemporary Indigenous issues.

"The Conversations Series in 2015 celebrates the social, cultural and intellectual strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

"From individual life narratives of deadly black Australians, the rise of black media in an advancing the movement, to the articulation of sovereignty by black Australia, the Clancestry Conversation Series is unashamedly black", said Dr Bond.

Continuing on the theme of each conversation nightly the Conversation Series will be framed by Clancestry's Black Screen Film program, supported in partnership with National Film and Sound Archive.

Clancestry continues into the weekend with two days of entertainment, starting with a traditional opening event on Saturday 5 December that brings together the five Aboriginal nations of South East Queensland, programmed by guest curator Shannon Ruska.

Running across both the Melbourne Street Green and the Playhouse Green, the weekend's festival program, curated by Nancy Bamaga, features a range of activities including but not limited to, a kids program, workshops, song, dance, visual art and market stalls.

Clancestry 2015 continues into the evening on Saturday 5 December with a contemporary music program featuring artists such as Kahl Wallis (The Medics), Robbie Miller, Mop and the Dropouts, Radical Son, Uncle Buddy Knox and Adam James along with many others.

The Courier-Mail Piazza, South Bank will once again be the location for the closing event, Yawar, A Gathering, on Sunday 6 December.

Guest Curated by Fred Leone Yawar is a coming together of Traditional Owners, Elders, dancers and Songmen and has become the largest gathering of clan groups in the area since settlement.

Clancestry, A Celebration of Country is a FREE event and runs from 30 November to 6 December 2015, across QPAC and in The Courier-Mail Piazza, South Bank, featuring a comprehensive program that puts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in the spotlight.