Summer Arts Festivities Are Same Same But Different At Bankstown Biennale

Summer arts festivities in Sydney are not only confined to the CBD but also can be found in urban hubs such as Parramatta, Penrith, Bondi and Bankstown. The Bankstown Arts Centre’s 3rd Bankstown Biennale: Same Same/Different kicked off on November 22 and runs until February 1 with a ground breaking program of recent works from 17 prominent First Nations and CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) artists.

Curated by First Nations artist Coby Edgar, Jason Wing and Bankstown Arts Centre Director Rachael Kiang, besides the standing show the exhibition will feature a program of workshops, artists’ dialogues and special events in partnership with Sydney festival including a music performance by Sallvage and an artist market.

Among the featured artists are Jazz Money, Karla Dickens, Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler and Claudia Nicholson.

“We are respectful of the First Nations framework as we are mindful that it has to be consider from an Aboriginal world view and ended up with the Same Same/Different term from the Top End that is equally used by Asian people,” Rachel Kiang said.

“What happens in January is that the entire arts centre becomes a Sydney Festival precinct of which the Bankstown Biennale is part of, and we have special programs that are designed to sync with the festival.”

Bankstown Council amalgamated with Canterbury in 2016, creating the second largest local government area in NSW and one with enormous cultural diversity, with around 129 languages spoken across the region.

Before European settlement the land was occupied by the Dharuk and Eora people whose settlement is evidenced in middens and rock paintings find across the area.

“We have quite a First Nations focus as well as the local Dhurak people who are the traditional owners of the land where the Bankstown Council sits,” Kiang said.

“While we have a lot of First Nations artists we also have artists of Asian heritage and the messaging is that we are in very divisive times and it is important to highlight the similarities, and that is the theme through the exhibition.

“We have also engaged with the local community and have brought in a number of western Sydney artists and we would like the community to see themselves or their experiences through these works.”

There is also diversity in the way that the artists exhibiting in biennale have been selected.

“It was important to represent emerging artists equally and we have also profiled mid-career artists, so you have this stretch of practices and we are showing artists of different generations alongside artists of a younger generation,” Kiang said.

In addition to the standing works on show there will be a number of workshops and breakouts across community.

“Public programs are a very good way to engage with the artists and having a more intimate conversation with artists panels and workshops,” Kiang said.

“We find that the workshops that have been designed is that it gives space fro yarning and creating conversations and finding out more about what goes on behind the scenes of an artist’s practice.”

While the Canterbury Bankstown Council supports an impressive arts program an undertaking of this scope could only be possible with the help of Create NSW.

“A lot of the outdoor area and the black box spaces can be an expensive undertaking and the state funding has been very important,” Kiang said.

Other artists participating include Edwina Green, Gary Lee, Gillian Kayrooz, Jamie Eastwood, Joan Ross, Kien Situ, Maddison Gibbs, Morgan Hogg, James Taylor and Ruth Ju-Shih.

The Bankstown Arts Centre’s Bankstown Biennale: Same Same/Different is on November 22 — February 1.