22 September 2013

Saturday in Hobart

One of my favourite pastimes is playing tourist. And one of the things I love about Hobart is that I don't even have to leave home to do it! Take today, for instance.

First I had to go to work, teaching my regular Saturday drawing lesson. As it was a nice day we spent a couple of hours outside in Princes Park.
drawing in Princes Park

Back at the Salamanca Arts Centre I found 40 Artists from the Island, an exhibition of paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, textiles, assemblages and more, opening at the Long Gallery. This is one part of Rediscover Bruny, a three-part showcase of Bruny Island arts. It seems practically every artist I meet these days lives on Bruny, or at least has a holiday house there, and this event has almost a hundred participants – not bad, when you consider there are only seven hundred people living on the island.

Of course, they are not all visual artists. In the Sidespace Gallery beside the Long Gallery there is a charming exhibition of Childhood Treasures, precious items people have kept for most of their lives: teddy bear, puppet, building blocks, favourite books, each with an explanation by its owner telling us just what makes this particular toy so special.


40 Artists from the Island opens in the Long Gallery
The third part of the Bruny Island spectacular is As Time Goes By, written by Barry Weston and directed by Megan Weston, a theatre piece "written, directed and performed by Bruny Islanders for Bruny Islanders and about Bruny Islanders”, which played in the Peacock Theatre on 20th and 21st September. 

I was really impressed by the overall quality of the artwork in the main exhibition – some truly lovely work, and I took my time enjoying it, along with a glass of white wine and some super Bruny Island cheese.

Tall ships, a carousel,  live music, terrific food . . . 
Returning to the sunshine outdoors I wandered through Salamanca Market to the Tall Ships Festival. Lunched on a delicious goatmeat-and-elderberry-wine pie at Princes Pier, tried some apple, pear and cherry cider (more, please!) and strolled round listening to musicians, admiring ships and generally enjoying the atmosphere. Here are some of the things I saw.




This wonderful steam carousel, complete with calliope to provide music, always brings a lump to my throat, and true to form I had a little Stendhal Moment in front of it today.



Europa's figurehead caused some comment.
This old Greek tale of woe should serve as warning to all
young ladies not to believe that bull . . .




Is this the youngest jazz band in town? They played very well.



Of course, Preana isn't a tall ship, but she's so pretty another photo
of her doesn't hurt. And there's a real Tall Ship there, too.

Lots of history here at Constitution Dock - some of Australia's
oldest wooden boats and the old Customs House

The Vikings are back!



It was time to return to the car and head for home. Stopped for a while on the lawns of Parliament House to listen to the Hobart Old Time String Band along the way.




By now the market was closed and stall-holders were packing up.



The sky was beginning to cloud over. I made it home just before a brief shower of drizzly rain, tired but happy. Who wouldn't love this place?

just a little corner of  our garden

No comments:

Post a Comment