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KEN DONE SUES COMMONWEALTH BANK
Australian artist and designer, Ken Done, is suing the Commonwealth Bank for $53 million alleging financial advice he received from the bank was bad.
Done, 67, made his fortune from licensing the reproduction of his work on merchandise including clothing and homewares.
His colourful illustration of a sunny Sydney Harbour and Australian native animals were popular in the 1980s and 90s, particularly with overseas tourists.
Done also designed the official 2000 Sydney Olympic games logo.
Done claims that if the bank's advisers followed his general instructions, he and his wife, Judith Done, would now have a trust fund worth $61.5 million. Instead they have been left with just $8 million and a number of Sydney properties.
The Commonwealth Bank is defending the action.
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HATCHED NATIONAL GRADUATE SHOW
Hatched 08 the National Graduate Show, will open at PICA, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, in April.
The National Graduate Show, now in its 17th year, is a comprehensive annual survey of emerging artists. This year's show will present the work of 62 artists from over 20 art schools.
Hatched 08 will be open to the public from 11 April until 25 May at PICA in the Northbridge cultural precinct of Perth.
The exhibition, again this year, is complemented with an Arts Industry Forum and a Research Seminar. Attendance at both the forum and seminar on 12 April, is free, but bookings are essential through PICA on (08) 9228 6300.
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NEWCASTLE PREMIERES AT TRIBECA
The Australian surfing drama 'Newcastle', featuring Kenny star Shane Jacobsen and retired rugby league international Andrew Johns, will have its world premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York next month.
'Newcastle' tells the story of Jesse, a 17-year-old surfer who treads the fine line between success and self-destruction as he and his mates pursue fresh loves and handle personal tragedies.
Set in the one-time steel town of Newcastle and on its beaches, the film is the feature film directorial debut of US film maker, Dan Castle. The cast includes Australians Anthony Hayes, Barry Otto, Joy Smithers and Shane Jacobson.
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QLD POET IN RESIDENCE
Queensland's Arts Minister Rod Welford has announced that Michael Hofmann, originally from Freiburg, Germany, will become the state's fourth poet-in-residence, and he will be in Queensland from August to October this year.
Hofmann, who divides his time between the UK and the USA, is a celebrated poet and translator of more than 50 texts including works by Patrick Suskind, Berthold Brecht and Franz Kafta.
During his time in Queensland, Professor Hofmann will play a key role at local literary events including the Queensland Poetry Festival and the Brisbane Writers Festival, in addition to conducting activities at the Queensland Writers Centre.
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AFC-FFC-FA MERGER
Legislation was passed in the Commonwealth Parliament on 13 March to merge the Australian Film Commission, the Film Finance Corporation and Film Australia, to form a new peak Commonwealth film agency, Screen Australia.
The Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett, has now announced the appointment of Lyn Maddock as Interim Chief Executive of the new agency.
Ms Maddock previously oversaw the creation of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and currently serves as ACMA's Deputy Chair.
As Interim CEO, Ms Maddock will have responsibility for making decision on the operations of Screen Australia before its official commencement.
Her secondment from ACMA will conclude one month after Screen Australia comes into operation on 1 July this year.
The government hopes to revitalise Australia's film and television industry and expects the creation of Screen Australia to play a key role in expanding the industry and employment opportunities for the more than 50,000 people the industry currently employs, mostly on a part-time or casual basis.
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ADELAIDE FRINGE
The CEO of the Adelaide Fringe, Sandy Verschoor, has confirmed that over 187,000 tickets were sold to Fringe events this year.
Last year, the first year the Fringe became an annual event, 130,000 tickets were sold with an additional 10,000 sales by national ticketing partners.
Final box office income for this year is estimated to exceed $5.3 million. The majority of the box office revenue is passed directly back to the performers.
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DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER: DEC 2013
A firm time table for the switch-over to digital television has been set by the Commonwealth government.
Although free-to-air digital TV has been available for some time, Australian viewers have been reluctant to re-equip their lounge rooms for the new technology.
Now Communications minister Stephen Conroy has told the Australian Broadcasting Summit that analogue services will switch off at the end of December 2013. In addition, he told the summit that the government would fund a $37.9 million strategy to drive the transition.
Viewers who don't want to buy a new TV set will have to acquire a converter, know as a set top box, to receive the new broadcast format. At present, set top boxes cost about $50 for a basic model.
No decision has yet been made, however, on deadline for the switch-over to digital radio broadcasting in Australia.
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