Creative minds pool their talents

Art & Culture Feature

A new research centre which draws on the strengths of music and creative writing has been launched at the University of Adelaide by its namesake, Nobel laureate for Literature, J.M. Coetzee.

The J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice has been established to explore the collaborative processes behind traditional and cutting-edge art forms, including music, opera, film, dance, ballet, and sound installations.

The official launch in the Hartley Concert Room on Thursday 8 March demonstrated the focus of the new Centre with a world premiere of Graeme Koehne and Peter Goldsworthy's complete Ring Tone Cycle, a mini-operetta that tells the story of a love affair in a text message age.

"The Centre launch illustrated what can happen when consummate artists from different disciplines pool their talents to produce outstanding works of art," said Centre Co-Director Professor Mark Carroll.

"Graeme Koehne is one of Australia's leading composers and Peter Goldsworthy an award-winning author, whose novels have sold over 400,000 copies in Australia alone. Together they have created an amazing operetta," Professor Carroll said.

The music at last month's launch was performed by the Seraphim Trio, with soprano Lisa Harper-Brown.

The J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice is unique in Australia in that it aims to produce not just conventional research outputs such as books and articles, but also multidisciplinary works of art.

The two disciplines involved at the University of Adelaide - Creative Writing and Music - are both rated above world standard by the Federal Government's official research measure ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia).

"Given Adelaide's well-deserved reputation as a cultural powerhouse, the establishment of the Centre is timely," said Professor Carroll.

"This Centre is a perfect fit for the State, situated on the cultural precinct of North Terrace and showcasing the strengths of the Elder Conservatorium and the Creative Writing discipline.

"The Elder Conservatorium is the oldest and one of the most distinguished music institutions in Australia and is home to many world-renowned musicians and researchers of international repute.

"Its sister discipline in this research centre - Creative Writing - is chaired by award-winning novelist Professor Brian Castro, a past winner of a number of state and national prizes, including The Australian/Vogel literary award, The Age Fiction Prize and the National Book Council Prize for Fiction."

Professor Castro is also a co-director of the Centre.

Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee is Professor of Literature at the University of Adelaide alongside authors Dr Peter Goldsworthy and Dr Eva Hornung, both household names in the literary scene. All are involved in the new Centre.

Professor Carroll said the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice would have a tremendous impact on South Australia's cultural scene and would also attract national attention.

"There will be some really innovative research and creative works coming out of the Centre. It will be a place where curiosity, inspiration, and innovation come together," he said.

Story by Candy Gibson