News
09/08/2016Notice of General Meeting for Umbrella Members
6:00pm Tuesday 13 September 2016 Umbrella Studio, 482 Flinders Street, Townsville Director Jonathan McBurnie wishes to call a General Meeting for Umbrella members. This meeting is open to all Umbrella members. The purpose of this is to ratify a proposed amendment to the Umbrella constitution, which would allow Umbrella to introduce a free one year youth membership to those under 25. The idea behind this is to increase the youth membership of Umbrella, and help foster the next generation of visual arts in Townsville, and to demystify the idea of the gallery to the uninitiated, and let them know that we are here, and we offer so many great events, workshops and services, not to mention a fantastic community of fantastic people. The youth membership will be the same as a regular membership, bar voting rights. At the expiry of the youth membership, a notice of expiry and request…
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03/08/2016Umbrella represents at MagnetiCon
In early July, Umbrella participated in MagnetiCon, Townsville’s first-ever first popular culture convention. MagnetiCon saw over 2,000 visitors over its two days, with specialty shops, cosplay, laser tag and wrestling. Umbrella sold dozens of zines, comics, artwork and apparel, distinguishing itself by offering small-run, artist made alternative and underground press. In association with this event, we held a Creative Business Workshop, thanks to a Townsville City Council RADF grant. Facilitating the workshop were young entrepreneurs Vlada Edirippulige and Phoebe Sheehy, who run Junky Comics and Phoebe Paradise respectively, both successful creative business in their own right. The weekend was an excellent learning curve for all concerned, and Umbrella hopes to do similar things in the near future!
28/07/2016Wrap up: CIAF 2016
The van was a little lighter on the way back to sunny Townsville when we returned from CIAF2016. That’s because we sold a few prints and masks at this year’s indigenous art fair! The clear winner to us was the masks by our indigenous members made in a workshop led by Obery Sambo. They attracted so many visitors to our walls for a deeper look. Children and adults enjoyed them alike! We bumped into colleagues from other galleries, and the Australia Council CEO Tony Grybowski and Visual Arts Director Laura McLeod. We shared a section with our good friends from Umi Arts – the comradery getting us through the long days! Our artists in attendance were on hand to share their stories with the visitors and media. A big thank you goes out to the CIAF Staff, the Tanks Install team, and our artists and other partners for playing a…
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29/06/2016Ready to go – CIAF 2016
Well we’re just about ready to head north for the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair! This time Umbrella Studio will be exhibiting some new linocut prints by Tommy Pau, monoprint drawings by Gail Mabo, and Alag masks by Obery Sambo and others. Tommy’s new prints are from a series called “Ad Wer: Story of the Stars from the Eastern Torres Strait” which have just premiered at James Cook University. Three prints have already been snapped up by the university’s art collection, and it is little wonder: The prints are technically superb and document the constellations that the Torres Strait Islanders have used for thousands of years to navigate, to tell the coming of seasons, and other cultural activities. This body of work is also available for tour to galleries and museums, so please contact us for a tour info pack. Gail Mabo has produced a new set of monoprint drawings in…
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27/06/2016Dry Tropics exhibition @ Gallery 48
From 11 June to 10 September 2016 Come celebrate dry tropics, an exhibition from the region. Artists Vince Bray, Anne Lord and Jill O’Sullivan would like to welcome gallery goers on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Gallery 48 from 11am to 6pm. Please phone 07 4728 7203 for alternative viewing times.
21/06/2016Printmaking and Drawing Paper for Sale
Umbrella has a selection of good quality printmaking and drawing papers available for sale. See the below table for more information about what is available and price. If you wish to make a purchase, please visit the Umbrella Studio office to make your payment for paper. A staff member will then provide you with the paper from our supply.
06/06/2016Townsville City Council supports Umbrella
Umbrella has been successful in its application to Townsville City Council for funding to support the studio for three years. Umbrella requested $10,000 annually to support its studio operations, which has been granted starting 01 July 2016. This recurring funding comes at a great time considering the instability of arts funding at the federal level. The three year commitment means Umbrella won’t have to jump from project funding to project funding, an unsustainable model for an organisation. A three year commitment means we can properly plan, deliver, and report on our activities, and garner support from other levels of government, corporates through sponsorship, and the general public – contributing to our organisation’s sustainability. Townsville City Council has demonstrated its commitment to the arts, and to a vibrant city. The grant helps us to cover some of the real costs of running: rent, electricity, repairs and maintenance. These operational costs are…
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19/05/2016Advertise in the Umbrella eNews
So you’ve got something you want to share? The Umbrella eNews is the place to do it! We have a readership of over 2,000 people who receive our emails monthly. You can make your business stand out, let people know about a specific event or promote your artwork. What you get: An ad space within the Umbrella eNews (sized 265px (w) x 220px (h) – approximately, this varies from screen to screen) An article on the Umbrella Studio website with a larger version of your image/ad, and text. The eNews ad space linked to the online article which provides further detail in text. (ie: You won’t be overloading readers within the eNews) For an example of how this works in action, see how we advertise for our own workshops! Requirements: Provide article text that is up to 50 words in length. This should include a title and any other relevant…
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16/05/2016Australia Council for the arts funding result
Dear Umbrella members, As you have probably heard, the results for the Australia Council four year funding round have been announced, and Umbrella is not one of the recipients. This is a disappointment, however, we are fast to remind ourselves, and you, that we will survive this cut. We would like to thank all of you that have called and emailed (and texted) to check in after the news, and I would like to assure you that it will take more than this to knock us down. Sadly, there are many other organizations that may not be able to, and for this reason we should be angry, not at Australia Council, but the Australian Federal Government, who made these cuts in the first place. In a time that our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, largely thought of as an intelligent man sympathetic with the arts (he is married to Robert Hughes’…
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10/05/2016Call for Illustrator
We are looking for an illustrator/cartoonist to create an original work in a digital format. Specifically, the work will be of famous sports personalities and used multiple times across different media (wall mural, colour in books, etc) for the same brand. Interested artists should contact Lotsa on 4775 1981 or email a link of their folio to nicole@lotsa.com.au We encourage all illustrators to provide their details whether they are suitable for this project or not, as we often have requests for illustrators.
