2011 AWESOME Festival

The AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things is a showcase of amazing and exciting contemporary art from all over the world. Each November, young people and their grown ups are invited to enjoy an extraordinary array of both free and ticketed film, animation, theatre, contemporary dance & music, sculpture, installation and new media in the Perth CBD.

The Man the Sea Saw

USA | Australia 25–26 Nov His Majesty's Theatre

Some days a quiet picnic on a melting ice floe is not as straightforward as it seems. With a creak, a crunch and a splash, the best-laid plans can be cut adrift and a man can only surrender to the deep ebb and flow of daydreams,
memories and magic… [more]
Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones

Canada 19–27 Nov The AWESOME Spiegeltent

Hailing from Montreal, artist Jeff Achtem transforms everyday junk into surreal shadow puppets. Flying chickens and sneaky ninjas take on luminous personalities in hilarious scenarios involving brain surgery, horse racing, competitive chess and an interactive kung-fu movie where a zen master shadow puppet takes on a member of the audience. While the shadows created are imaginative beyond words, it is their unassuming creator, (a man of very little words but a very comprehensive collection of sound effects), who will make you feel warm inside, harbouring expressions of joy like an excited child. [more]
The Washing Powder Conspiracy

Netherlands 21–27 Nov PICA

The Washing Powder Conspiracy is a multi-media music and theatre concert. Creating live music from flat irons, old washing machines and laundry baskets, the group leads the audience through a series of absurd scenes, while flirting with issues of democracy, capitalism and commercialisation. The Washing Powder Conspiracy is a well-stirred melting pot of music, technology and drama. [more]
PIPS:lab under the stars SPECTACULAR!

Netherlands 26 Nov Perth Cultural Centre

Join the masters of mayhem PIPS:lab as they present a one-off Saturday night show under the stars. The Washing Powder Conspiracy (as you’ve never seen it before) will feature Perth’s newest big screen in the Perth Cultural Centre. Music, hi-jinks, theatre and ‘painting with light’ technology are combined to create an extraordinary evening for the family. Bring a cushion/folding chair and bring on the fun! [more]
Big Picture, Small People

20–27 Nov

The 2011 AWESOME Films features some of the best, brightest and most bizarre new short films and animations from all over the world. You’ll be beguiled by Marcelle the Shell with Shoes On, enthralled by Renaud Hallee’s Gravity and enchanted by the hi-jinks of the characters in Hidey. [more]
2011 Creative Challenge - 15 Minutes of Fame

Regional, rural and remote Western Australia 19–27 Nov 140 William Complex

15 Minutes of Fame is a showcase of works by budding young artists from regional, remote and rural Western Australia. Throughout 2011, AWESOME’s Creative Challenge Program placed artists in-residence in fourteen communities asking the young people to explore their ideas surrounding the notion of ‘fame’.
Participants became stars in their communities and created alter egos through the mediums of film, music videos, animation, mask-making, photo shoots, live performances, magazine-making and songs. The artworks and stories that transpired from each residency were diverse and wonderful, with each artist approaching the theme differently, bringing their unique skills and technologies to the young people. [more]
DIY Disaster Movie

Western Australia 19–25 Nov The AWESOME Spiegeltent

Sticking (mostly) to the rules of all great disaster movies ever, join Damon Lockwood and Sam Longley as they create a brand new cinematic classic before your very eyes. The audience will get to choose which of the character clichés dies in the most elaborate and horrible ways (excluding the dog and cute kid of course) and who will save the world from certain annihilation! DIY Disaster Movie culminates in the screening of a three minute film that is shot and edited throughout the course of the show by film maker extraordinaire Aaron McCann. WARNING: A Megashark may inexplicably come from nowhere and eat you while you are watching this show. [more]
Mia and the Migoo

France 24–25 Nov Perth Cultural Centre

Bring a picnic and some comfy cushions and join us under the stars at the Big Screen in the Perth Cultural Centre for a beautiful feature film, Mia and the Migoo. Created from an astonishing 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, this gorgeous feature from French animator Jacques-Rémy Girerd is a thrilling family adventure that pits a plucky, wild haired young heroine Mia against profit-hungry developers, with the future of life on Earth in the balance. A ‘must-see’ event at the AWESOME Festival. [more]
(re)Stretch

United Kingdom 19–27 Nov 214 William Street

: A blank canvas, an electro acoustic harp, minimalist and symbolic in appearance, (re)Stretch is a screen made of hundreds of strands of fine shirring elastic under tension, stretching from wall to wall across a space. It’s many miles of elastic create a permeable threshold or boundary, radically altering the architecture of the space it occupies. [more]
Twyping

Western Australia 19–27 Nov Perth Cultural Centre

Twyping = tweeting + typing. Imagine if twitter had existed when people used typewriters instead of computers. Twyping is a participatory work that blends old technology with new, examining the past through the lens of the present. Your paper tweets may not seem cutting-edge, but as a lasting, physical record of your thoughts they are somehow more ‘real’ than mere ephemeral words on a sterile screen. A selection of the best twypes will be displayed daily on the Twyping display boards and the LED Screen in the Perth Cultural Centre. Each day a Twyping Question of the Day will be offered as a challenge to all twypists. [more]
Sticky Maze

Australia 19–27 Nov Forrest Place

Sticky Maze is an interactive play space for kids of all ages where simple and everyday materials are used to transform a regular space into a labyrinth of fun. Kids and grown-ups enter a maze and help shape the walls by sticking heaps of shredded paper over the clear sticky tape maze frame. The Polyglot construction team are on hand to guide and join in games like hide ‘n seek and tag. The kids adorn the maze walls with lots of personalised notes, misleading directions and pictures. [more]
Puppet Play and Storytelling

Western Australia 20–27 Nov Creative Bubs Tent, Forrest Place

Under the gentle guidance of Fleur Hockey, toddlers and their parents will create their very own shadow puppets and then participate in the storytelling experience. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and toddlers to develop stories together, fostering connection and creativity through collective imagination. [more]
Babystages

UK | Western Australia 19–26 Nov Creative Bubs Tent, Forrest Place

Babystages enables you to spend time being creatively engaged with your pre-walking or just toddling baby. We provide a large soft fabric rug, atmospheric music and different sized buckets of cloths with different colours and textures for experiential play. These open-play resources can be used to continue diverse sensory learning at home. [more]
Round & Round Interactive Play Time

UK | Western Australia 20–27 Nov Creative Bubs Tent, Forrest Place

Lead by a puppet child, toddlers will explore circular movement combined with the joy of play using balls, balloons and hoops. This activity is accompanied by specifically composed music and a special take-home book. [more]
Disco Baby!

UK | Western Australia 10 Oct The AWESOME Spiegeltent

If you loved clubbing before you became a parent, you and your family will love Disco Baby! Throw away your inhibitions, get into the groove and then bop ‘til you drop in the fabulous AWESOME Spiegeltent. From babies to grandparents,
everyone is invited to this special family event. [more]
Better Beginnings Books-To-Go

Western Australia 19–27 Nov Forrest Place

Visit Better Beginning’s Books-To-Go and create your very own book to take home. You can even publish your work for others to enjoy, adding to the growing library of books made by families from all over Australia. Better Beginnings Books-To-Go is brought to the AWESOME Festival by the State Library of Western Australia’s Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program and Kids Own Publishing. Free fun for all the family! [more]
Tissue Interactive Play Time

UK | Western Australia 19–27 Nov Creative Bubs Tent, Forrest Place

Tissue Interactive Play Time enables younger children to experience the four elements through make-believe play. Using tissue paper to create fire, earth, water and air, little ones will be encouraged to use their imagination to create stories. [more]