Blog — Page 215 of 279

Banksia Sustainability Awards 2017

Doltone House

Sydney, Australia

November 1, 2017

The yearly Banksia Sustainability Awards recognise and reward achievements made by Australian Individuals; Community Groups; Primary and Secondary Schools; Not-for-profit organisations; Small, Medium and Large Businesses; Tertiary Institutions and Government.

This year’s awards covered a wide, diverse range to honour disruptive thinking high-quality projects, ranging from environmentally sound furniture through to beer produced to environmental and social standards: The list was eventually narrowed down to 39 finalists across 11 categories, among which are companies such as Eden, producing world-first nano-filtration devices which provide low cost, off-grid energy solutions.

Winners were announced at the awards night– a thriving hub of ideas, excitement ample opportunity of cross-pollination in the sustainability community.

Each finalist was also awarded the chance to pitch their ideas to the audience at the preceding Finalist Insights event.

The 2017 incarnation of the The Banksia Sustainability Awards cemented its status as a provider of a forum that brings together and celebrates the most innovative, effective and outstanding people contributing to improving Australia’s sustainability and elevates and encourages their ongoing involvement.

Banksia will work with award winners and finalists to investigate how these leaders and innovators have become just that. In addition, they will identify how they envisage going forward towards 2020, adopting innovative approaches to promoting sustainability in their particular areas. The Banksia White Paper concept is an extension of the Banksia Sustainability Awards program.

Having collected a wealth of knowledge over the years and having been into contact with many new initiatives, the Banksia Foundation is making use of the information gathered in the individual award categories to inform their White Paper publications, which are aimed at making this type of information accessible to the broader community and is available to the general public.

The 2017 incarnation of the The Banksia Sustainability Awards cemented its status as a provider of a forum that brings together and celebrates the most innovative, effective and outstanding people contributing to improving Australia’s sustainability and elevates and encourages their ongoing involvement.

Design-Made.

Sunstudios

Alexandria, Sydney

October 27-29, 017

Milton Glaser claimed that there are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no and WOW!

Design-Made. definitely aims for the latter as. 

Founded by Kobe Johns of FACTORY DESIGN DISTRICT and JP Finsbury Bespoke Joiners (left) and AUTHENTIC DESIGN ALLIANCE director Anne-Maree Sargeant, Design-Made. is a three-day celebration of design for Australia and proved that design is not meant to be something just for an alcove for the well-heeled and blessed, but makes it accessible for everyone:
 
Independent in nature, produced independently and informed by a careful curation, it expands on the solid foundation built by the Australia Design Australia and Factory Design District to educate the broader Australian community about the importance of supporting original design.

The event aims to stimulate “design  thinking by unmasking and demystifying the design process.”

Showcasing a wide spectrum  of contemporary design it promotes and builds a better understanding about the nature of of design in Australia, a desired side effect of which is to move consumers to look into the process and buy locally and sustainably.

Held over two locations in Alexandria, visitors to Design-Made. have the opportunity to directly engage and connect – be it with the emissions of exhibitors, participate in Q & A sessions, floor talks, meet main protagonists and learn from them in workshops or have their books signed.

Opportunities to indulge were plentiful, specifically the well-curated dining experiences are worth a mention and the food trucks that proffered local craft beer and organic food.

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Photos by KAVV

The Bronx

Oxford Art Factory

Sydney, Australia

October 30, 2017

Tonight was a side-show from The Bronx’ current Australia tour with Pennywise and how great it was to see incarnate them within the intimate confines of the sold out Oxford Art Factory.

Devoted to punk rock with rough edges even in their more tempered, melodic moments blended with a healthy dose of detached garage rock swagger and infused with the essence of what fueled early hardcore bands – The Bronx are in fine form.

Frontman and focal point of the band, Matt Caughthran did the Caesar thing in his own mischievous way – veni, vidi, vici – he inhabited the stage, declared the objectives of the night and jumped straight into implementation phase – literally, as he preferred the pit to the stage and spent a good deal of the show either crowd surfing or amidst the crowd, evoking reckless levels of energy in his wake and creating special moments galore that the audience lapped up.

An evening with no barriers, no pause for breath, just a sheer endless barrage of vitriolic LA punk with explosive finishes.

The Bronx is a rare breed: A soulful, violent, passionate and furious beast with a tinge of melancholy that is a lot of fun to ride with.

With a knack for song-writing and chant-worthy music, having found their niche with their fast obnoxious emissions that pay homage and respect to a myriad of punk territories, in a live environment The Bronx delivers the perfectly calibrated dose of showmanship and thrilling music.

An evening heavy on audience participation that cements The Bronx’ powerhouse status.

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Photos by KAVV

Jewish Film Festival Opening Night

Cinema Bondi Jumction

Sydney, AU

October 26, 2017

A jam-packed Event Cinema Bondi Junction played host to Jewish International Film Festival Opening Night, as the 2017 Jewish Film Festival was kicked off in style with a Premiere screening of the extraordinary Yiddish feature, Menashe, with jazz and klezmer tunes from Marcello Maio and Mark Ginsburg, drinks and finger food preceding.

The stories of this year’s incarnation reach far into history and deep into human experience: from the cornerstone achievements of Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, J.D. Salinger and Joseph Pulitzer to the quirky detail of Louis Armstrong with his Magen David ode to the Jewish family that bought him his first trumpet.

The tradition of screening the cream of the new crop of Israeli films continues with over 30 Ophir (Israeli Oscar) award nominations amongst them.

Another endeavour JIFF is the support of Australian filmmakers with their first Short Film Fund: a funding initiative aimed at encouraging and supporting the production and exhibition of short films on themes that engage with Jewish life, history and culture.

The high caliber entries from around Australia were adjudicated over by industry professionals Mike Selwyn, former Managing Director Paramount Australia, Vice President Australia / New Zealand and current Distribution Consultant, and Israeli producer Gal Greenspan, Managing Director of Green Productions.

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Photos by KAVV

Ministry

Fillmore Auditorium

Denver, Colorado

Oct. 28, 2017

With the passing of Lemmy Kilminster, Al Jorgensen has become the last man standing in regards to what amount of excess the human body can endure. And when Ministry rolled into town on Sunday, Uncle Al made it clear that he’s not ready to pack it in yet.  With a sly grin and an assumed twinkle in his eye behind those ubiquitous sunglasses, the band tore through an all-too-brief and interestingly selected set.

Ministry has had a long and storied history throughout the years with some ups and downs in their recorded legacy. But since the departure of original members Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin, one would think the real task over the years would be to find musicians capable of bring these songs to the stage.

in this instance, Jorgensen has assembled a smaller group (by Ministry standards) of folks up to the task, beginning with guitarist Sin Quirin who, bookended with guitarist Cesar Soto provided all the speed, precision and aggression needed to hammer home their point.

Ever the rapscalion, Jorgensen flanked the band on either side of the stage with two enormous inflatable chickens with the all too prevalent nazi-punks-fuck-off symbol and on top of their heads, the just as familiar coif of a current sitting president.

Opening with Let’s Go from the band’s 2007 album The Last Sucker, the 1st half of the set was comprised of latter-day Ministry, from albums like Rio Grande Blood and Dark Side of the Spoon - also including two songs from their upcoming album Amerikkkant - Wargasm and Antifa, one of the highlights of the set, with balaclava-clad protesters marching behind. 

Never a band to shy away from making political statements, the screen images projected made their stance on the current administration crystal clear, which can be a downer for some folks in these divisive times, but with Ol’ Uncle Al stalking the stage with a genuine affection toward the crowd like a less-hunched Ozzy Ozbourne, it becomes a party.

Setlist 

Let’s Go

Punch In The Face

Antifa

Señor Peligro

LiesLiesLies

Wargasm

Bad Blood

N.W.O.

Just One Fix

Thieves

So What

Encore

Gates of Steel (Devo)