THE Moonbird Festival and Exhibition opening, Lifeforce, welcomed a small but enthusiastic group on Saturday night to the Waterwings Studio Gallery on Netherby Rd, Currie.
The event was hosted by Ken and Marilyn Chapman and included a short performance by the musicians from the Bowerbird Collective. The Bowerbird Collective are the organisers of the week-long music and art festival, which runs until Sunday, April 21.
The gallery walls displayed artworks by Jason Roberts, Andrew Blake, Anna Jesset, Liz Butcher, Dianne Blake, Caroline Kininmonth and Marilyn Chapman.
By evening’s end there were red dots on much of the art on display, as patrons purchased works for their walls.
The Moonbird activities shifted to the King Island Gallery at Currie Harbour on Sunday for artist-in-residence talks with Emily Shepherd and Rachel Myers and a short performance as part of the gallery’s Birds exhibition.This was followed by a ‘sounds’ walk.
The opening concert will be a cinematic concert with live music by Van Diemen’s Fiddle, and will be held tonight in the Currie Town Hall, commencing at 7pm. The closing concert will feature all the festival performers and will take place at 5.30 pm on Sunday (April 21).
A free school holiday special will also be held today at the King Island gallery starting at 2.30pm. Georgina Adamson (aka Noisy Nonna) will tell stories about care for nature using a traditional Japanese Kamishibai (paper theatre).
The festival is not all music and art. Natural capital accounting expert Matthew Taylor will be speaking in the Currie Town Hall from 5pm Wednesday, followed by food and drinks at 6pm.
Mr Taylor will speak about the implications and emerging opportunities on King Island. He is an Ecological consultant and advises on a world-leading environmental accounting framework to inform better investment, policy and management decisions in natural capital and will explore frameworks to support innovative ways to account for nature’s value in agricultural practices.
The Moonbird events will continue through to Sunday and include an evening Folk recital at the Brewhouse tomorrow and a weekend of performances around the island.
Go to Moonbird.com for the program and to purchase raffle tickets, which support King Island Landcare.
For enquiries and private viewings until April30 at Waterwings Gallery , contact Marilyn Chapman on 0427593 233