The Critical Animals Creative research symposium is looking for a new Co-Director for the 2012 and 2013 Festivals. The successful applicant will work alongside current directors Yolande Norris and Julia Shaw.

Interested researchers, thinkers, artists and organisers should send a CV and covering letter to critical.animals@gmail.com. Click here to view the Position Description.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Ella, Yolande and Julia

Co-Directors, Critical Animals 2011

We’ve had a few weeks now to recover (mostly), and to soak it all in, and it’s safe to say that Critical Animals 2011 was a hands-down success. We had diverse, challenging and thoroughly entertaining panels, rip-roaring ‘Nights at the Gun Bar’, and the most fun workshop ever had by anyone, anywhere (we think).

A wonderful surprise was the huge audience turnout – our venues were packed full of lovely folk contributing to passionate discussion, asking interesting questions and ultimately making Critical Animals everything that it aims to be about. Not even a torrential deluge and unsettlingly close lightening strikes could keep you lot at bay, so thank you all who came along, participated and became part of the Critical Animals family – you make it all worthwhile.

Huge gratitude goes out to our 2011 artists – to all those who travelled at their own cost, from far and wide, to join the conversation and to share their skills, talents and research. Thank you for your generosity – it was an honour to work with each and every one of you, and we can’t wait to see what amazing things you do next!

We must also say a huge thank you to our awesome venues and their staff who went far above and beyond. Thanks to Dean at The Royal Exchange for being so accommodating, keeping the place looking great and our sound running smoothly. Thanks also to Lance at The Lock Up for being the best problem-solver ever – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Thank you to our TINA family – to coordinator Eliza Adam and to the directors and staff of Crack Theatre Festival, Electrofringe and the National Young Writers Festival. We couldn’t ask for a more inspiring crew to be surrounded by, or a more amazing festival to be associated with.

Last, but not least, a massive thank you to our generous sponsors: Newcastle University, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney and Copyright Agency Limited, and thank you to everyone who has offered us support, advice, or has volunteered a helping hand.

It’s been swell, we miss you all already.

xo the CA team

PS: pics from the festival coming soon!!

We’re madly printing, stamping, shopping, arranging, despatching and the phone’s running off the hook! Most of all we’re excited to get the festival underway, meet you all and to bring to fruition the last twelve month’s work.

Don’t forget to join us at The Royal Exchange, Bolton Street, at 4pm tomorrow (Thursday the 28th of September) for our Critical Animals meet and greet. After that, we will all head across to the This Is Not Art festival launch, 6pm at the Great Northern Hotel.

If you’re a newcomer to This Is Not Art, or just need some refreshing, there are some great lists of how-tos and hints on the Octapod Arts & Culture blog, as well as on the This Is Not Art site. You can also follow both Critical Animals and This Is Not Art on Twitter for to-the-minute updates and recommendations.

Time to get out your highlighters, peruse the Critical Animals program, and formulate your plan of attack.

…And it is amazing! Head on over to the This Is Not Art site to download the full program of this year’s events.

NEWS JUST IN

You’ve been anxiously waiting and we’ve been dying to share. Here it is, the complete program of Critical Animals events for 2011! Click on a day to find out what’s in store…

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1

SUNDAY OCTOBER 2

If you’re going to be in town on Thursday September 29th (the first official day of This Is Not Art) you’re warmly invited to our Critical Animals meet and greet, 4pm at The Royal Exchange, our incredible hub for 2011, before TINA is officially launched at 6pm.

Rest up kids, it’s going to be HUGE.

It takes (at least) two to run a festival

We’re looking for folk who are coming along to this year’s festival (September 29 – October 3) and are able to donate a few hours of time to help with our Critical Animals events. No special skills needed, just friendliness and enthusiasm. You won’t miss out on any of the action, rather you’ll be right amongst it! Not only that, the CA events are mostly held during the day, leaving you free to party all night! It’s a great chance to be an integral part of the beast that is This Is Not Art festival, to make new connections, gain new experience and feel all warm and fuzzy.

To get involved please drop us a line at criticalanimals@gmail.com and introduce yourself – we’d love to have you on board!

There are plenty of affordable hotels and hostels in the vicinity of the festival, with something for every taste – check out the accommodation information page at the This Is Not Art site. If this is out of your price range, or you just yearn for a more authentic experience, then maybe This Is Not Art’s legendary Tent City is for you! Hundreds of punters camp out at TINA every year, and many even regard it to be as much of an unmissable ‘event’ as the festival proper.

This Is Not Art has set up a temporary campground to provide festival goers with the cheapest accommodation option for the festival.

Open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

The Campground is for those in tents, swags, vans and trucks, or those who wanted to sleep under the stars. So if you were unsure whether you could afford to stay for the whole five days of the festival – we’ve just answered your question!

It’s lo-fi and BYO everything, but Aunty Jenny and her team of lovely volunteers will do their best to make it feel like your home away from home – hot showers, cups of tea, and happy campers all around!

Click on over to the Tent City page on the TINA site for full information, pricing and directions on how to register.

We encourage all our Critical Animals attendees to get in touch with us if you have any questions while planning your trip, or require a little local knowledge. One early warning though: Newcastle is a city all too easily fallen in love with!

Naturally you’re all falling over yourselves to find out what’s in store for Critical Animals and This Is Not Art this year. While we’re putting the final touches on the program overall, we can reveal to you our 2011 TINA highlights package! Click HERE to check it out.

This Is Not Art and Octapod would like to express our heart-felt gratitude for the incredible community support which  has  raised a massive $9,250 and counting through the Pozible site.  This show of support has also been  the catalyst for additional financial support.

Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) has recently come forward and generously pledged to deliver another $9,000 by matching donations dollar for dollar.

CAL is a not-for-profit, member-based company which provides practical support to artists, authors and those working within the creative industries, in regards to management of copyright.  Connecting  the creators, owners and users of copyright material.

CAL Cultural Fund Manager, Zoë Rodriguez, has indicated “TINA is an amazing five day showcase of young and emerging Australian talent. It’s vital we continue to do all we can to assist in mentoring new talent and deliver exciting creative works and performances from these established festivals,” Rodriguez said.

In addition to this we have received a strengthening of in-kind support from local businesses and  RPM Productions  has graciously pledged $2,000 of in-kind technical  support .

To add to this, Newcastle City Council  discussed TINA as an agenda item at the most recent council meeting deciding to increase their financial support and include provisions for better planning and assistance for TINA into the future.

The This Is Not Art festival coordinators and the Octapod Association have been overwhelmed by the amount of support shown, it has  reasserted the relevance of the festival and boosted morale in a way that can not be described.

Crisis averted

And so TINA and Critical Animals is set to go ahead better than ever, September 29 – October 3, Newcastle NSW. Visit the spiffy new This Is Not Art site to get you in the mood.

Critical Animals would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who donated toward TINA 2011, or helped get word out about our funding – none of this is possible without you, and we can’t wait to bring you this year’s festival.