As a kid, I took great satisfaction when I heard the satisfying ‘clunk’ of pulling a little wooden Babushka doll apart. I can now re-live my childhood Russian affiliation thanks to Fred Studio’s M-Cups measuring cups. The six little cups fit neatly into a Babushka (or Matryoshka) arrangement, and are cute as a button on a Moscovian blazer. The measuring cups are becoming a staple item on the shelves of Brisbane’s boutique homewares shops, so it’s hard to miss the little Matryoshkas beaming at you from their red and white packaging. With Russian beauties taking over the catwalks, versions of beef stroganoff creeping onto our menus and Russian vodka a staple in our bars, it seems only fitting to add some Red Square flair to our kitchens.
Archive for the 'Arts/Culture' Category
Before the movie business embraced the green screen, CGI effects or million-dollar budgets, the art of the motion picture honed in on our imagination to create our own colour scheme, script and soundtrack. Only one copy of this 1903 silent version of Alice in Wonderland remains, and it was restored by the British Film Institute.
The great thing about the internet is that it gives a voice to any who wants one (and has a computer); the bad thing is that sometimes it’s hard to sort through the chaff to find something that truly piques your interest. New Yorkers Piera Gelardi and Philippe von Borries are two people who have managed to pique the interest of close to a million fashion lovers across the world with their online fashion publication REFINERY29. The cool-savvy duo will be sharing some of their online wisdom this week as part of the ‘Portable Presents‘ series, which delivers international leaders in digital and online businesses to Australia. Each series follows trends and those leaders that create them across areas as diverse as television, music, fashion, education and politics. Hosted by The Edge at SLQ, Piera, Philippe and friends will share their thoughts on fashion-based social media, trends in online retail, and new directions in fashion reporting and business.
map magazine is giving away a free ticket to the presentation at SLQ’s The Edge this Friday March 12 at 3:00 pm. To win, email mikki@mapmagazine.com.au by Wednesday March 10.
If not for the Education Minister’s Art Award in 1994, Jemima Wyman may well be moving to LA to pursue a career in the performing arts. Instead she’s donning her best flannels and a balaclava, cashing in her lottery-winning green card, and heading to the city of angels to continue her successful practice as a contemporary visual artist. Somewhere in her busy schedule she has found time to take part in the Institute of Modern Art’s current exhibition, Feminism Never Happened, and will also take up the invitation to appear at Sydney Biennale 2010. Raised in a creative and open-minded family in Mackay, Jemima attended a state secondary school that encouraged arts and cultural studies as an entree into university studies. Continue reading ‘live dreamer - jemima wyman’
Sometimes a talent is truly discovered when its possessor is challenged to redefine everything they thought they knew and start from the beginning. For 26-year-old Kym Ellery, the eponymous founder of blooming Australian fashion label Ellery, there was never a question of whether or not she would become a fashion designer. But the moment that she truly began her journey to success was whilst doing a short course at Central St Martins College in London, when one particular tutor took everything she thought she knew about art and design, and turned it on its head. Some fashion designers find their inspiration for collections in the shape of nature, others in an iconic period of history, or in the architecture of a foreign city. Continue reading ‘national dreamer - kym ellery’
Multitasking is the order of the day, especially considering that any given day we tend to spend a sizeable amount of time at a desk, whether professionally or at home. Needless to say, a comfortable, attractive, and functional workstation is a welcome upgrade from the standard swivel chair and filing cabinet combo. Spark your imagination with the Four Works Station a multi-faceted workstation from Danish design company, Four Design. The workstation features a lounge-like chair, built-in laptop hub, storage space for stationery, ring binders and paperwork, and coffee cup spot takes pride of place. The workstation combines functionality with edgy design and also features built-in power plugs and light. The four-part desk arrangement was designed by Danish design team Patricia Terrazas and Michael Swan.
As a general rule, the education system in Australia allows for a somewhat seamless transition between high school and university. Students in Uganda, females in particular, are not always so fortunate. The team at Sseko Designs (pronounced say-ko) provides opportunities for impoverished Uganda women to earn money, and build life skills during the transition from high school to university. The women create sandals with interchangeable coloured straps, which are shipped internationally and are garnering worldwide attention. During their employment with Sseko, the women receive training, accommodation, and the opportunity to save for university tuition. Sseko Designs strives to empower its employees with a sense of sustainable economic independence, and encourages responsible and proactive consumerism on a global scale.
The museum of The International Table Tennis Federation can teach us many things. One such fact being that the term ‘table tennis’ originated during a board and dice game in 1887, in New York. Table tennis, or ping pong, has returned with a bang to The Big Apple, with a 13, 000 square-foot ping-pong club taking up residency on Park Avenue. SPiN New York gives inner-city ping-pong enthusiasts the opportunity to convene in a dynamic space, and brush up their skills whilst sipping concoctions from the in-house bar. The ping-pong haven features 17 individual playing tables, a lounge, bar, restaurant facilities and robotic ball machines. The club even features a ping-pong table fashioned completely out of mirrors. The Perhaps SPiN New York got word of the ping pong table that takes pride of place in the map magazine office. Ping pong has never been so in vogue.
Some nights when our heads hit the pillow, we realise that we have spent so much time on our mobiles or immersed in cyberspace, that we haven’t conducted a substantial conversation with a living, breathing human being. The sleep-easy team at gt goods has designed a thought-provoking pillow for the restless mind. Thanks to the clever pillow case, even if we sleep alone, we can communicate our daily musings and thoughts. The pillow features a simple question, neatly printed in cursive script, ‘What did you do today?’ The pillow is designed in conjunction with After These Messages, a mindful-communication awareness campaign group, which encourages society to collectively ‘think twice before we communicate.’ In any case, whether the pillow sparks your desire to brush up your calligraphy skills, address your daily routine, or inspires you to sit in a park and chat with a long-forgotten friend, the natural-cotton pillow slip will help you clock up on your beauty sleep.
Wildlife conservationists often view the world through eyes of hope, beauty and positivity, and through active conservation work they strive to encourage people to care for the world with a loving attitude. Paula Kahumbu is a passionate conservationist and fierce wildlife guardian, and lives and breathes the importance of saving wild African landscapes and animals. Paula is the executive director of Wildlife Direct, a Kenyan and US charitable organisation that provides support to conservationists in Africa through a hands-on blogging platform. Paula is in charge of ensuring that Wildlife Direct’s projects are addressing conservation matters appropriately and effectively. Paula dreams of educating people about the importance of loving nature’s beauty and inhabitants. In 2009, she was acknowledged as a PopTech fellow, a global community of cutting-edge leaders and innovators.
Not long to wait for the release of the new album from Broken Bells, a wicked collaboration between Danger Mouse and The Shins frontman, James Mercer.
Many young people with a yearning to change the world now choose to gain their tertiary education from the ‘university of the world’, by spending a few years wandering the globe. But for those who still value the worth of a real degree, the opportunities to study are more diverse than ever. University of Southern Queensland’s Bachelor of Social Science is a valuable starting point for any budding social entrepreneur, offering studies across community, environment, politics and social justice, and is one of the many intriguing degrees on offer at the university.
Pause midway through chasing your dreams and take stock of your happiness quota, and soak up Bobby McFerrin’s manta, Don’t Worry Be Happy. As Bobby jived his way through 1988 with his hit single, he brought to life the reality that human beings are programmed to search for happiness. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we spend a large proportion of our days aiming to achieve a state of contentment, satisfaction and to find those heart-warming-eye-crinkling good vibes. His Holiness the Dalai Lama believes that, “…The most fundamental aspiration of all human beings is to seek happiness, to overcome suffering. We may go to bed at night confronted with many problems in our lives. But we go to bed hoping we will wake up the next morning! And then the next morning, in a way, it is hope that motivates us to get out of bed and carry on with our lives – the hope that we will eventually be able to achieve our aspiration for happiness.” So when we wake up tomorrow morning, let’s try to remember to put a smile on our faces before we jump out of bed.
We have all heard the phrase, ‘when I was your age’, and as soon as we do, we tend to block out the following advice because we assume it’s probably exaggerated, irrelevant, or expired. As Charles Wadsworth once quoted, ‘by the time a man realises that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.’ To solve this generational problem, Walker Lamond, a writer and producer, wrote a book of rules for his (not then born) son, rules that were comprised before Lamond could become old and somewhat uncool. For example, Lamond advises to his son that there are only a few times that he can wear velvet, New Year’s Eve would be one. He also tells his son to take a vacation from the internet, lose the adverbs, to not jog shirtless and to always accept drinking challenges. In fact, Lamond, together with contributing bloggers, has collated a list of more than 450 very useful and learned lessons for any son to apply in life. You can read a full list of his suggestions on his blog and also make contributions to the list. May fathers never be doubted again.
“Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship.” – Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General. While many of us in the Western world view education as a given right, children in Third World countries are forced to relinquish their right to an education – an education that could enable them to escape poverty. The vicious cycle of lack of education and its link to poverty is well-recognised, and remains a significant humanitarian challenge that must be overcome, with more than 774 million illiterate people in the world. For every year a girl is educated above the average, her wages will increase by 15%. It is powerful facts like these that have driven organisations to invest in providing desperately needed educational resources. Room to Read is a foundation that aims to provide an education to underprivileged children in Asia and Africa. Their main objectives are to run programs that provide and create access to educational resources such as libraries, increase the awareness of literacy in schools and communities, and to provide administration support to facilitate educational centers. You can help Room to Read continue their efforts by donating to their website through personal contributions, fundraising, employee involvement, or hosting book drives.
Health retreats are the ultimate in regenerative relaxation, where you can unwind on your exotic holiday while enriching your body with treatments and pampering sessions. Vulkana is unlike any other, set in the picturesque coastal landscape of Norway. This getaway takes place on a traditional 19th-century fisherman’s boat that resembles the vessels used by the Vikings. However, the insides of the vessel have been remodelled to incorporate design principles from Japan, creating a soothing and peaceful ambience that focuses on the beautiful surrounds and the calming effects of the Arctic Ocean. The boat has a Zen lounge, built in an area that once housed more than 60 caught fish, sits underneath the water surface, and has a Turkish bath that uses fresh seawater, a library, and a skylight that allows you to gaze at the Northern Lights shining above. A sauna and a salt-water hot tub sit on deck and feature spectacular views any time of the day or night. Both can be followed by a refreshing dip in the Arctic Ocean – your own private bath. The small space above the cargo room has been converted into a bistro, which can seat up to 14 guests, and serves delicious dishes made from local ingredients. Vulkana can take 12 passengers and promises a truly unique experience that will renew your body and spirit.
In a world where surveillance is almost a given and our privacy is not what it used to be, the path of our everyday movements are often documented more than we might realise. Who knows who might have been filming, photographing or watching on your journey to work this morning? And now with Google Earth’s ubiquitous documentation of the planet, you never know when you’ve inadvertently been immortalised on film. A tongue-in-cheek response to such technologies is the ‘You Are Here’ umbrella designed by Cabracega Studios for a project commissioned for a Coca-Cola Light Exhibition within ExperimentaDesign Biennale’s 2009 program. The challenge consisted in re-inventing secondhand objects collected during Coca-Cola Light campaign. The designers of the umbrella intended not only to create new objects/installations but also to place them on a broader context, thus telling a new story. Within the contemporary context of information and surveillance, they cheekily transformed an umbrella into a geographical/spatial symbol so that air surveillance and Google Earth will have no trouble locating your whereabouts. Perhaps this will be the futuristic version of Where’s Wally/Waldo?
Photography Gianluca Colla. by As humans, we are constantly searching for ways to increase our life span, and we celebrate those who live well into their old age. Dan Buettner, an American explorer, writer and Emmy-award winning documentary producer, has identified places in the world where a large proportion of people live beyond 100 years of age, having the longest life expectancy, and are free from disabilities. He has named these clusters ‘blue zones’, and after uncovering some preliminary research, he teamed up with National Geographic to identify Earth’s blue zones. Buettner has uncovered zones in Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Loma Linda in California. Each place has characteristics that create living conditions that lengthen life spans and avoid diseases. He found that, in Sardinia, wine contained the highest levels of known antioxidants. In Ikaria, Greece, people drink herbal tea, which significantly lowers blood pressure. Buettner questions Western practices, and urges us to rethink our own living habits including diet, exercise and social patterns. His research into ancient civilisations could uncover health practices that could significantly increase our life expectancies. It is yet another reminder for us to shake up our diet, incorporate exercise into our lives, and to aim to live more naturally.
An up-and-coming, straight, hotshot actor falls head over heels for another man, who has a newly pregnant ex-girlfriend. Throw a savvy talent agent in the mix and you have The Little Dog Laughed. Just the right mix of naughty, funny and glossy Hollywood drama, this Queensland Theatre Company production keeps nothing in the closet. The Little Dog Laughed is a clever commentary on our society’s obsession with celebrity and QTC artistic director Michael Gow says the Hollywood jabs and insights are “cutting but never cruel”. See for yourself if this little dog is barking up the right tree, with tickets available through QPAC.
Growing up in rural Australia, a sensitive and caring young girl experienced the hardship that people often face when they are deemed to be different. When, as a teenager, she moved to the big city and into one of the country’s most culturally diverse communities, the innocent young girl witnessed social injustice on a global scale. Now 28, founder of The Social Studio, Dr Grace McQuilten is determined that Australia must become a more accepting country. In her efforts to help initiate that change, this positive young woman has armed herself with humility, generosity and an infectious laugh that comes straight from a heart of gold. Continue reading ‘national dreamer - grace mcquilten’
