Four Winds is delighted to announce the appointment of internationally celebrated and renowned Artistic and Festival Director Lindy Hume to the role of Creative Director of the Four Winds Easter Festival for the next two years; Easter 2021 and 2022. Lindy’s appointment is particularly exciting, not only because of the creative leadership she will bring to the Four Winds Festival but because of her tangible link to the Far South Coast through her home in the region.
The role of Creative Director is a freshly conceived leadership position focused on Four Winds internationally regarded Four Winds Easter Festival. The 2021 Festival will mark Four Winds 21st birthday.
Michael Darling, Chair of Four Winds, comments:
“Everyone at Four Winds is excited at the prospect of working with Lindy. Her personal commitment to the Far South Coast, to the abundant creativity of this region and to extraordinary experiences for audiences resonate really strongly with Four Winds. In these times it feels right to focus on our exceptional local community and to look forward to coming together through a Festival with music at its heart guided by a hugely experienced and visionary Creative Director such as Lindy.”
Lindy Hume comments:
‘With the recent announcement of a new artistic model for Four Winds, signalling a shift in strategic direction and expanded scope, the opportunity to take on this new role of Creative Director of Four Winds Festival for 2021 and 2022 was simply irresistible. I am delighted to embark on this new creative adventure in my home community on Yuin Country.
My deep connection with the Far South Coast of NSW began with a weekend visiting friends who live at Barragga Bay, a place whose ravishing beauty still takes my breath away. How thrilling to return here as Creative Director of Four Winds’ beloved Easter Festival, whose magnificent amphitheatre is its epicentre. Both have long been for me iconic sites of excellence in outdoor performance and regional leadership.
Since moving to the Bega Valley about 15 years ago, this creatively energised community and these stunning landscapes have been my inspirational touchstone. Moving away from the city has completely reshaped the way I think; sparking and feeding a far deeper appreciation for the art and artists of regional Australia, and their capacity to inspire our social imagination, strengthen local communities and enrich our national cultural life.
My expanded focus on regional Australia is equally at the heart of my work as Artistic Director of Tasmania’s state-wide festival Ten Days on the Island, whose program encompasses multiple regional and urban communities across Tasmania. There are many synergies to be explored between Ten Days on the Island and the Four Winds Festival, not least the riches to be discovered through a flow of ideas and creative collaborations between like-minded, equally ambitious, regional cultural enterprises.
Needless to say, we are living through stressful and complex times. As concepts of ‘local’ and ‘global’ flow into each other through the digital experience, and the voices of artists become increasingly important to our sense of shared humanity, Australia’s imaginative, resourceful regional communities are rising to meet this extraordinary moment.
The fact that this is not the easiest time to organise a festival makes it all the more vital that we do! The Four Winds team and I look forward to creating and sharing the most beautiful, brilliant and life-affirming celebration of art and artistry that we possibly can, and to once more gathering under the spotted gums in glorious Barragga Bay, at Easter 2021.’
About Lindy Hume
Lindy Hume is an award-winning director whose accomplishments include terms as Festival Director of Sydney Festival (2010-2012) and Artistic Director of Perth International Arts Festival (2004-2007). Lindy has been artistic director of several of Australasia’s major performing arts institutions including West Australian Opera, Victoria State Opera, OzOpera and Artistic Director of Opera Queensland (OperaQ).
She has created over 50 major productions around Australia, and internationally, she has directed productions for major companies including Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin, Leipzig Opera and Opernhaus Halle (Germany), Opera Theatre St Gallen (Switzerland), Musiektheater Transparant (Belgium), the Swedish Royal Opera House (2017), Aldeburgh Festival (UK) and New Zealand Opera; and in the USA, for Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera and San Diego Opera.
Her freelance productions also included a season of Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride for Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera, described by Harriet Cunningham of The Sydney Morning Herald as “a near perfect production”.
In 2007 she was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by The University of Western Australia in recognition of her contribution to the cultural life of Western Australia. A passionate advocate for excellence in regional arts in Australia, Lindy has served as Chair of South East Arts (2011-2014) and on the board of Regional Arts NSW (2010-2016). Her 2017 Currency House Platform Paper: Restless Giant: Changing Cultural values in Regional Australia imagines a future national cultural landscape in which regional creativity is a driving force.
Lindy is also presently engaged as Artistic Director for, Ten Days on the Island, Tasmania and has a home in Tathra, on the far south coast of NSW.
Gift of a song Ganbi
Gift of a song | ‘Ganbi’
A very special event has taken place in Bermagui Primary School. The gift of a new song Ganbi has been made from Four Winds Koori Choir ‘Djinama Yilaga’ to the Indigenous children at the school.
Ganbi was written by members of ‘Djinama Yilaga’ during a residency led by acclaimed Indigenous singer-songwriter Lou Bennet. The Choir joined Lou for a creative weekend in Narooma just after the summer bush-fires, and before restrictions around Covid would have prevented this song being created collaboratively.
The song calls to all our family in nature; country, trees, birds and animals to be vigilant and look out for approaching fire.
Lou and the Choir worked with linguist Trish Ellis to identify language for the song from a newly developed Dhurga dictionary. The process resulted in a song which is a direct response to the bush-fires. It also brought great joy to members of the Choir as they reconnected with their language. Like all good songwriters they hope the song will move audiences because of the significance of how, when and why it was created.
The song has been gifted by members of ‘Djinama Yilaga’ to Indigenous children in Bermagui Primary School so that they can learn and perform the song at the forthcoming Four Winds Youth Music Festival in November. Once the Indigenous children have learned it, they will gift Ganbi to the whole school so that everyone can learn and sing the song together.
Members of Djinama Yilaga gift the song Ganbi to Indigenous children at Bermagui Primary School.
Left to Right: Michelle Davison, Maria Walker, Cheryl Davison (Four Winds Aboriginal Creative Producer), Iris White, Requia Campbell, Tamsin Davison
