Performers lure protesters
When does a concert become a political rally and vice versa? That question needs to be asked after the Wilderness Society claimed a free concert held last Friday in Melbourne’s Federation Square was actually a protest against the James Price Point gas hub in the Kimberley.
The John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins and Clare Bowditch, along with former Greens leader Bob Brown, were the drawcards, apparently luring “thousands” to the event.
All four have been campaigning against James Price Point, so it is likely that many at the concert were genuine protesters. But, without wanting to be too mischievous, The Note could not help but wonder if a few of those attendees were just enjoying a free concert.
Artful event
Property developer Nigel Satterley is doing for art in Western Australia what high-profile promoter Don King did for boxing – adding some glitz and putting it on the map.
While we may not see an art version of Rumble in the Jungle, Mr Satterley has certainly used the spare time created by a lull in the property market to swing his energy into promoting the work of some leading artists.
This week the Satterley family’s Swansea Gallery had another successful opening night with its Tim Maguire exhibition, hosting a big crowd at the event, which was opened by Michael Chaney. Mr Satterley said eight of the 21 paintings on offer were sold for $880,000, with an untitled, two-panel, oil-on-canvas featuring brightly coloured poppies going for a cool $200,000.
Clearly, not everyone is feeling the pinch in Perth yet. The cheapest was $88,000, so we’ll let you do the maths on the rest of them, with at least one destined for a boardroom and one for a beach house.
The exhibition, in a vacant Peppermint Grove pad that he owns, has a week to run, so it will be interesting to see how it compares with Swansea’s previous such effort with works by Jeffrey Smart that raised $4 million over 12 days earlier this year.
Mr Satterley reckons a lot prospective buyers like to consult with their partners before making the commitment on such a big outlay. It is a bit like buying a house, we suppose.