Perth Voice Interactive

THE CBD looked like an American tourist’s dream this week with a score of kangaroos populating Central Park and the Enex 100 building.

Turns out the 20 fibreglass roos being painted was a publicity stunt by the owners of Miami Bakehouse, Simone Sanders and David Palmer, who plan to install the finished pieces along Forrest Highway at their new Myalup branch.

Cricketer Mitch Johnson, reality TV contestants Matt Di Costa and Kim Owen from the Block and artists like Wendy Binks, Mel McVee and Tankateo were amongst those invited to add some glam to the pieces.

The roos will be in place for viewing till the end of the week: after that you’ll have to visit Myalup.

by DAVID BELL

THE ailing Maylands Tennis Club is lobbying for a $750,000 redevelopment to turn its fortunes around.

The historic 1930s club, located on the peninsula at Clarkson Reserve, has predominantly grass courts and around 80 mostly elderly members.

In 2014 Bayswater city council, stung by an annual maintenance bill of $110,000, voted to cut the number of grass courts from 17 to 11.

Club president John Hogben, in conjunction with Tennis West, is proposing the WA sport department and council both contribute $250,000 towards a new state-of-the-art tennis facility, with nine acrylic hard courts, eight grass courts, two junior “hotshot” courts and new floodlights.

Tennis Australia and Tennis West have committed to provide the remaining $250,000.

“Juniors are the lifeblood of the game and they need to be practising on hard courts, which the majority of tournaments are played on,” Mr Hogben says.

“So we needed to look at having more hard courts to ensure the club has a healthy young membership.

“We also want to make the club more accessible and provide food and tea/coffee vans, because there are limited facilities for parents watching their kids play.”

Over the past decade, spiralling maintenance costs on old buildings and plummeting membership have pressured clubs to merge and become more self-sufficient.

In 2013, then-mayor Terry Kenyon ordered a review of bowling and tennis clubs which lease buildings from the council at subsidised—in some cases negligible—rates.

His successor, Sylvan Albert, says clubs must look at options that make them more economically viable. “It’s early days but I applaud the tennis club for being creative and looking at a solution which would benefit not only them, but the local community,” he says.

The redevelopment motion comes before council this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

ARTIST Harry Hummerston (pictured, right) guides his scroll saw along intricate corners to cut foliage from a plastic bonsai tree.

He points out his edges are so clean a laser could have cut them. Good thing too, the expert printmaker says, because he’s the kind of artist who doesn’t like the look of most raw handiwork.

“I don’t like to see the hand in the work and that’s because of my screen-printing background,” the 62-year-old says.

He’s piecing together an exhibition, Walking Spanish, in Northbridge this month, and says his works have accents of duality that will challenge onlookers.

“Don’t believe what you see,” he says. “Look behind the obvious.”

Some pieces, called Made in Japan, will have two opposing elements. He says his bonsai represents growth and the real world. Acting like the bonsai’s shadow or reflection, a constructed ninja positioned below depicts killing and death.

“There are other layers of meaning, too,” Hummerston says. He picks up the pieces of his handiwork and shows how vinyl acts as faux wood or stone.

“It appears to be one thing, but it’s not.”

Hummerston will share William Street’s Turner Galleries with world-renowned street artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers for a month from Friday, June 26.

Hughes-Odgers is best known for painting cartoon-like characters and is behind a giant street painting in Northbridge (pictured above by Jarrad Seng) as well as The Giants View—artwork of two characters dressed in blue on a building near the Mitchell Freeway.

by EMMIE DOWLING

GETTING Telstra on board as a major sponsor has seen gobs of cash flung towards the Perth Fashion Festival, but that hasn’t tempered Perth city council’s generosity. Last year James Limnios wondered if the PCC oughtta look at cutting its funding given Telstra gets the big accolades (and pays the PFF handsomely for the right). But this year PCC staff still want to hand over $313,000—the same as last year’s spend. The organisers wanted $320,000 but PCC staff say “$313,000 is recommended due to budget constraints”. Oily rag, and all that. Organisers reckon last year the PFF generated $61.8 million worth of local and national media coverage. PCC staff reckon it draws in visitors from all over the place, and that bolsters the economy. The final amount will be settled at the next full council meeting.

PERTH city councillors will once again get to vote themselves free tickets to a swanky do. If they hand $8000 of your money over to the WA chamber of commerce and industry’s “City of Light Business Dinner of the Year” each elected member gets a free VIP ticket worth $250. The Perth city council crest also gets emblazoned everywhere and the lord mayor is invited to present an award. City staff reckon it’s worth the spend because “the city’s image will be enhanced through the naming rights of the most prestigious award of the night”. It’ll also mean “networking opportunities for local businesses… [which] assists them in connecting with community leaders including local and state government officials”. Because “community leaders” meandering into shops for a yammer with traders is so old-fashioned and sans canape.

WHILE $313,000 of ratepayers’ cash will go to the Perth Fashion Festival and $100,000 looks to be headed towards the Hopman Cup, Perth city council staff reckon there’s no money to sponsor a conference on affordable housing. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute asked for $16,500 for a conference that intends to highlight the PCC’s pioneering Penny Lane (the first affordable housing project built by a council in Australia) as an example of how to do it right. But staff say “timing” issues means there’s not cash budgeted for it, and have recommended refusal. Councillors on the finance committee want to see it go ahead and reckon there’s money to spare in the corporate sponsorship budget. They hope to win over the rest of the council at the next full meeting.

THE ever popular Awesome Arts festival for young ’uns looks due to score another $100,000 from Perth city council this year. The Awesome International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things has had near-universal acclaim in previous years, scoring a 97 per cent approval rating for its arts, theatre, music and new media events held over the school holidays to keep kids busy. Now in its 19th year, the 14 day festival will be on in October’s holidays.

A BIG Christmas spend is in the works with the PCC lining up a couple of hundred grand for a decorative architectural projection on the GPO building and $85,000 for two Christmas trees for the next few years. A 12-metre tree’s planned for Forrest Place along with a wee one for council house, while the projection will see a colourful tableau splashed across the post office.

by DAVID BELL