Watchwords

Happy New Year!

‘The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to.’ – P.J. O'Rourke. (Creator of artwork unknown)

Watchwords

Coming up - lots of events for March 2020. See below the quick list for further information and go to pages 1, 2, 3, and 5 for more events.  

  • The Medibank​ Feel Good Program FREE FITNESS PROGRAM is back in 2020, with 12 different classes to choose from including yoga and dancing. There are two class locations – South Bank Parklands and the City. There is also a program for 7 WAYS TO GET FIT IN BRISBANE, with hundreds of free and low-cost active and healthy classes, workshops and green spaces to exercise in across Brisbane. See the main listing for details.
  • The NEW WOMAN exhibition presents a snapshot of the art, personal stories and enduring legacies of Brisbane’s most significant and ground-breaking women artists between 1920–2019, reflected in painting, photography, sculpture, performance and installation works on a scale never before seen. The exhibition is ON NOW at the Museum of Brisbane, Gallery 1 in Brisbane City Hall, Brisbane CBD, and continues daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., and from 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on Fridays, until Sunday, 15 March 2020.
  • SPOKEN: CELEBRATING QUEENSLAND LANGUAGES, is a FREE EXHIBITION discovering the survival and revival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Spoken presents an alternative retelling of the prevailing colonial narrative – placing rare historical records alongside the inspiring work of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who tell their own language stories through art, song and creativity. The exhibition is ON NOW at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), and will run until Sunday, 19 April 2020.  
  • Music enthusiasts won’t want to miss the HIGH ROTATION EXHIBITION, which dives into the songs, stories and images of the Brisbane music scene, exploring a world of musicians and managers, labels and producers, venues and fans over the past 30 years. It reveals a snapshot of how popular music in Brisbane exploded from the local scene onto national and international stages. The exhibition is ON NOW at the Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane City Hall, and runs until Monday, 20 April 2020.
  • Feeling brave? At the SPIDERS EXHIBITION, visitors can explore the fascinating world of spiders, one of the most formidable and often feared creatures in Australia. Get up close and personal with 200 spider specimens and 12 live species. If you’re up for it, head for the Queensland Museum, Cultural Precinct, Corner of Melbourne and Grey Streets, South Bank, Brisbane. The creepy crawlies exhibition is ON NOW and runs until Monday, 4 May 2020.

 

The Event: ENJOY FREE FITNESS CLASSES AT SOUTH BANK AND IN THE CITY, PLUS 7 WAYS TO GET FIT IN BRISBANE FOR FREE OR LOW COST

Date and time: ON NOW at various venues and times. See the websites below.

Venue: South Bank Parklands, The City, and across Brisbane.

Ticket price: FREE to attend. Go to https://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/feelgood for more information and a video of the program.

What’s happening: The Medibank​ Feel Good Program FREE FITNESS PROGRAM returns from 27 January 2020, with 12 different classes to choose from including yoga and dancing. There are two class locations – South Bank Parklands and The City. Check out the class timetables now and plan your workout now.

7 WAYS TO GET FIT IN BRISBANE FOR FREE! Brisbane City Council says that with hundreds of free and low-cost active and healthy classes, workshops and green spaces to exercise in across Brisbane, there's no need to lock yourself into a gym membership. Put your wallet away and get fit while having fun outdoors!

Here is a seven day program to make you sweat for free or for less than the cost of your morning coffee. For more information, go to the website at https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/things-to-do-blog/7-days-7-ways-to-get-fit-for-free-in-brisbane

Monday – first steps: DAY ONE. Are you ready? Lace-up your walking shoes and set out along one of Brisbane's walking trails. Hike from J. C. Slaughter Falls up the 1.9-kilometre Summit Track to the Mt Coot-tha Lookout, or try one of the many other Mt Coot-tha Forest tracks. For a more urban walk, discover four public art trails, or join your local Heart Foundation walking group for some extra motivation. 

Tuesday – free gyms: Got your high-energy playlist ready? Press play and make your way to one of more than 150 local parks with outdoor gyms. From simple, static equipment for chin-ups, sit-ups and step-ups, to interactive and moveable equipment for cardio and resistance, Brisbane’s outdoor gyms are perfect for a free workout. There are even step-by-step instructions on the equipment to help you!

Personal trainer, Roger from @mind_and_muscel_pt went to one of Council’s outdoor gyms to guide you through workouts for the upper body and core and legs. Watch the videos on Council's YouTube channel for inspiration before heading to a park with exercise equipment.

Wednesday – yoga or dance: Get through ‘hump’ day saying ‘namaste’ at one of Council’s free or low-cost yoga classes. The classes are designed for all experience levels and will leave you feeling centred, calm and stretched. 

Thursday – pool day: You've been working up a sweat all week, so switch pace and dive into an aqua class at one of Council's 22 local pools. There are free or low-cost aqua aerobics, Zumba and yoga, and deep water running classes. Most classes are free, but you'll still need to pay the pool entry fee. If swimming laps is more your thing and you want some instruction or competition, some pools have swimming squads or offer stroke development classes.

Friday – party day: Get your heart rate up with a dance class. There are a variety of dance-style classes including Zumba®, U-Jam, line dancing, Bollywood dance and more. The best thing is, you'll have so much fun, it will hardly feel like exercise!

Saturday – cycle or scooter: If you've got a bike, there are weekend cycling workshops to help get you out and about. Council’s learn to maintain your bike sessions teach you how to look after your bike and keep your bike rolling. There are also girls and guys mountain bike skills sessions, Wheely Fun and Become a Wheel World Wizard for kids, speed date an electric bike and bike riding skills.

If you are already a regular rider, go for a weekend ride along Brisbane’s beautiful bikeways. Check out Council’s Cycling Brisbane rides to try. Want to try something new or out of the ordinary? Test your bike skills at one of Council's 20 BMX parks, or hire a CityCycle for a casual pedal.

Sunday – take it slow with tai chi: Sundays are for taking it slow. Finish your week with a tai chi session at Woolcock Park, Red Hill. If water activity is more your thing and you have access to a stand-up paddleboard, canoe or kayak, set out for a water adventure from one of Brisbane River recreation hubs

Free or low-cost fitness every day: Now you've done 7 days of activity, keep up the good work with free and low-cost active and healthy events. In 2019, Council held 13,000 free fitness classes. In 2020, they are ready to help you keep active and healthy.

Related links: Find more things to see and do in Brisbane. Check out the Hibiscus Sports Complex in Upper Mount Gravatt, and Riding in Brisbane.

Where to take visitors in Brisbane: Read the blog for top tips on the best things to do with visitors in Brisbane. It will help you plan a day out exploring the places that make our city great. Council invites you to Read our blog.

 

The Event: MUSEUM OF BRISBANE –THE NEW WOMAN! EXHIBITION

Date and time: ON NOW and continues daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., and from 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on Fridays, until Sunday, 15 March 2020.

Venue: Gallery 1, Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, King George Square, Brisbane CBD.

Ticket price: FREE ENTRY. Go to https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au for more information about the museum and https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/new-woman for more about the exhibition.

What’s happening: The NEW WOMAN exhibition presents a snapshot of the art, personal stories and enduring legacies of Brisbane’s most significant and ground-breaking women artists between 1920–2019, reflected in painting, photography, sculpture, performance and installation works on a scale never before seen.

New Woman recognises the lives of Brisbane women artists over the past 100 years from the independent and adventurous to the often overlooked, exploring the trailblazing women who have continued to take the lead in Brisbane art. It features artwork from more than 80 artists following each decade from Brisbane’s decreasing isolation, the introduction of new ideas of modernism and abstraction to internationally regarded contemporary works in a range of media.

Brisbane’s unique geographic location has always provided its own idiosyncrasies due to its climate and distance from major world cultural centres, and so necessitated a resourceful and close-knit arts community that fostered teachers, advocates and leaders in their fields, leaving in their wake a strong legacy for future generations.

Artists featured include Tracey Moffatt, Margaret Cilento, Gwendolyn Grant, Carol McGregor, Olive Ashworth, Judy Watson, Fiona Foley, Pamela See, Jay Younger, Davida Allen, James Barth, Megan Cope, Sancintya Mohini Simpson, Naomi Blacklock, Courtney Coombs, Emma Coulter, Rachael Haynes and Elisa Jane Carmichael.

Curator Miranda Hine on the impact of Brisbane women artists: In a new blog post, Miranda Hine takes you behind the scenes of her creative process as she reflects on her curatorial journey to bring the New Woman exhibition to life at the Museum. Miranda discusses the crucial roles played by women artists over the past 100 years to push boundaries and cement a place for themselves in the national and international arts landscape. Head to the MoB Feed to Find out more at https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/blog/the-impact-of-brisbane-women-artists-by-miranda-hine

Artist Profile: Naomi Blacklock: Naomi Blacklock is an Anglo-Indian artist who works primarily with sound installation, text works and performance. Her artworks are an exploration and examination of mythologies and archetypes, as well as gender and cultural identity histories. Go to https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/blog/artist-profile-naomi-blacklock for an interview with the artist about her evolving practice, and her inclusion in the New Woman exhibition. 

 

The Event: SPOKEN: CELEBRATING QUEENSLAND LANGUAGES – A FREE EXHIBITION AT SLQ

Date and time: ON NOW and runs until Sunday, 19 April 2020.

Venue: State Library of Queensland (SLQ), Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane.

Cost: FREE to attend. Go to https://www.slq.qld.gov.au for more information.

What’s happening: SPOKEN: CELEBRATING QUEENSLAND LANGUAGES, is a FREE EXHIBITION discovering the survival and revival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Over 125 Queensland languages were once spoken; now around 50 of these remain spoken daily. Join the journey of six Queensland communities saving their traditional languages, and rediscover Queensland languages lost and reawakened by the strength of culture, identity and connection to Country.

Spoken presents an alternative retelling of the prevailing colonial narrative – placing rare historical records alongside the inspiring work of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who tell their own language stories through art, song and creativity.

View Australia’s most significant historical document in a new light. James Cook’s Endeavour journal (on loan from the National Library of Australia until 10 March 2020) holds the first 130 Aboriginal words ever recorded by Europeans in the Guugu Yimidhirr language, but then hear the Guugu Yimidhirr perspective of those interactions with the foreign explorers.

 

The Event: MUSEUM OF BRISBANE – HIGH ROTATION EXHIBITION

Date and time: ON NOW and runs until Monday, 20 April 2020. Times: 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., and 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on Fridays.

Venue: Museum of Brisbane, Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, 64 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City. To find out more, go to https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au

Ticket price: Adult $12, Concession/student $9, Family $30, children under 12 FREE. Access all areas Season Pass from $15. Bookings are essential – go to https://museumofbrisbane.rezdy.com/323528/high-rotation.

What’s happening: Turn up the volume as HIGH ROTATION dives into the songs, stories and images of the Brisbane music scene, exploring a world of musicians and managers, labels and producers, venue managers, record label reps, and fans.

Featuring highlights over the past 30 years, High Rotation reveals a snapshot of how popular music in Brisbane exploded from the local scene onto national and international stages. This exhibition will take music lovers down memory lane, while introducing a new generation to this seminal musical period.

From the people who made the local music industry what it is today, see and hear how Brisbane’s popular music has adapted and responded to dynamic influences ranging from the social and political to the technological. Discover and revisit the iconic songs, music videos, photographs, instruments and souvenirs from 1989 to the present day, from the likes of Powderfinger, Regurgitator, Kate Miller-Heidke, Keith Urban, Thelma Plum, Violent Soho, Sheppard, SavageGarden, Emma Louise, The Grates, and many more.

 

The Event: SPIDERS – THE EXHIBITION AT THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

Date and time: ON NOW and runs until Monday, 4 May 2020.

Venue: Queensland Museum, Cultural Precinct, Corner of Melbourne and Grey Streets, South Bank, Brisbane. Visit https://spiders.qm.qld.gov.au to find out more, and go to http://www.qm.qld.gov.au to find visitor information.

Cost: Cost: $15.50 per adult, $13.50 per student, $12.50 per child (5-15 years), $46 per family (2 adults and 2 kids) and free for kids under 5 years.

What’s happening: The SPIDERS EXHIBITION, jointly developed by Questacon and the Australian Museum will give visitors a chance to come face to face with Australia’s amazing arachnids. At this exhibition, you can explore the fascinating world of spiders, one of the most formidable and often feared creatures in Australia.

Discover these impressive creatures as you get up close and personal with 200 spider specimens and 12 live species, including the Sydney funnel web, trapdoor, huntsman, redback and tarantula spiders. The exhibition will showcase the amazing lives of spiders from their unique diet, morphology and venom to their adaptations, reproduction and growth strategies in different habitats.

If you dare, you will get the chance to enjoy some hands-on fun with interactive displays. Highlights include the chance to challenge a colourful peacock spider to a dance-off, the opportunity to ‘hold’ a virtual wolf spider in your hand, take a peek into the insides of a spider using 3D scanning technology, see some spider feeding and step into the web of a net-casting spider for a photo. There is a dedicated children’s area where kids can become an Arachnologist for a day. Shudder!

 

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WATCHWORDS HOME

‘Dear God, My prayer for 2020 is a FAT bank account and a THIN body. Please don't mix it up like you did this year.’ – Anon. (Greeting Card Courtesy of 123NewYear.com)