News Brief

NIDA gathers Australia’s best environmentalists
The 2011 Banksia Awards, celebrating environmental achievement, open tomorrow night with the theme ‘Art of Sustainability’.
The night, held at the National Institute of Dramatic Art will feature multi-award winning artist, Charles Billich, putting the final brushstrokes on his painting Ecotopia and internationally renowned pianist and composer, Allan Zavod, who will play his own composition Flying Willow.
Ant Hampel, one of the awards producers said:
“We are proud to be producing the Banksia Awards this year and in particular, to be creating a platform for some of Australia’s best, recognised and soon to be discovered talent to share their self expression in the name of sustainability.”
He said the event this year will bear a smaller cost to the environment than last year’s event.
Awards on the night including The Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award, will be awarded by a panel of three independent judges.

China Town art
City of Sydney and the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art joined forces last Friday to discuss a new major artistic space in China Town.
Artists, writers, academics and community leaders gave their thoughts on the closure of Thomas St to allow the construction of a public plaza and Chinese sculpture garden.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said art is a major factor of Council’s plan to invigorate the China Town area.
“The proposed closure of Thomas St gives us a very exciting opportunity to develop a brand new space for art in the city centre,” the Lord Mayor said.
The City’s Design Director and a guest speaker at the forum Bridget Smyth said: “We want to bring artists, designers, architects and other professionals on board to collaborate on a new public art project that pushes the boundaries of what our public spaces look like, how they reflect their social, cultural and historical contexts, and how they interact with their local communities.”
“Aaron Seeto has come up with the idea of a ‘new century garden’, which reflects the importance of the traditional sculpture garden to Chinese culture, but brings this idea into a more contemporary, urban context.”

Fraud
Two policemen were taken to hospital last Saturday following a car chase with thieves.
The two officers were admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital without serious injury after their car crashed into a wall during the chase.
Police originally heard reports of youths breaking and entering into cars at 2:30am; two police officers arrived soon after and instigated a chase.
Police have been unable to find the culprits and are asking for witnesses of the event.