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ARIA HALL OF FAME
Max Merritt, lead singer of the 1960s band Max Merritt and the Meteors, and the 1990s Perth band, The Triffids, will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame next month alongside Dragon and Russell Morris.
Merritt now suffers from Goodpasture's Syndrome, a condition that attacks kidneys and lungs and, last year, singers including Daryl Braithwaite, Jon English and Ross Wilson, raised almost $200,000 at a benefit concert to help him.
The 66-year-old Merritt, now living in Los Angles, will return to Melbourne for the induction and to thank his peers and the public for their support.
Triffids' singer Dave McComb was also struck down by illness and died in 1999. The Triffids split in 1990, but there has been a revival of interest in the band after they reclaimed the rights to their back catalogue and re-issued recordings of their work in 2004.
The bands will be inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame in Melbourne on 1 July.
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HENSON PHOTOS CLEARED (AND CENSORED) FOR GENERAL RELEASE
Images declared "absolutely revolting" by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, at the beginning of the Bill Henson frenzy have been cleared for general release. The assessment followed a complaint about images on media websites, after the NSW police closed his exhibition at the Roselyn Oxley9 gallery on May 23.
The Classification Board, part of the Attorney General's department, swiftly assessed five Henson images and rated them all "G" or "general exhibition". Some or all of the images are partly censored with bars covering nipples and genital areas.
Responsibility for policing the Internet was given to the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2006. Since then, it has referred fewer than a dozen complaints to the Classification Board. The Henson complaint is the first to be cleared absolutely by the Board, which is expected to release a full report on the classifications.
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POLICE MONTIORED NUDE BOYS EXHIBITS, TOOK NO ACTION
Police attended an exhibition of nude photographs of 11-year-old boys exhibited in Melbourne on 3 June, but took no action suggesting that the works were not considered pornographic.
Artist Victoria Larielle exhibited the collection in protest against the recent attacks on Bill Henson's work. One photograph shows a full body shot of a naked boy lying on the ground on his side in the fetal position.
Police spokeswoman Marika Fengler said child pornography was classified under the Crimes Act as a photograph that depicts a minor either engaged in sexual activity or in an indecent sexual manner or context.
The collection includes 30-40 photographs of two 11-year-old boys taken in 2001. The subjects, now aged 17, gave their consent to the exhibition on a video screen in a Melbourne backstreet bar, The Loop.
Hetty Johnston, of BraveHearts, one of the sources of the original complaints against Henson's work, claimed that Larielle was cashing in on the Henson controversy for free publicity.
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PIGGOTT AWARDED HELEN MACPHERSON SMITH COMMISSION
Melbourne artist Rosslynd Piggott has been awarded this year's Helen Macpherson Smith Commission which has a budget of $100,000.
The Commission is administered by the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, better know as ACCA, and previous winners include Callum Morton and Daniel von Sturmer, each of whom represented Australia at last year's Venice Biennale.
50-year-old Piggott is notable for her quiet work of great delicacy. Beginning in 1981, she has maintained a prolific practice, focusing on 3-dimensional works, painting and drawing. Piggott's style is slow and deliberate, often using natural forms and systems as a starting point for her work.
Piggott's new work, 'Extract: in 3 parts' will employ film, painting and sculpture across three galleries at ACCA. It will be open to the public in August.
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ARCHIE EXHIBITION A WINNER IN BENDIGO
The Bendigo Art Gallery in regional Victoria is reporting that record crowds are attending the exhibition of finalists and the winner of the Archibald prize.
In its first weekend, the show attracted 3,000 visitors including the first night crowd of 500, more than any weekend in its 120-year history.
Attendance was nearly three times the previous record set a decade ago for an exhibition of historic works from the Bendigo district.
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RUBY AWARDS
The Ruby Awards are calling for nominations. The awards celebrate the contribution to the arts and culture of South Australia by its creative citizens working within the public and private sector.
Awards are open to artists, arts organisations, facilitators, volunteers, community participants, cultural sector workers and not-for-profit organisations. Local Government, in particular, is encouraged to submit nominations.
The principal criterion for nominations is that an individual, group, organisation or event has made an impact on South Australia's cultural life.
Nominations close at 5.15pm on Friday 20 June, and the Ruby Awards will be presented in partnership with the Australia Business Arts Foundation SA Awards on 4 September at Her Majesty's Theatre, in Grote street.
For further information, nomination forms and judging criteria, visit www.rubyawards.com.au or contact Mandy-Jane Giannopoulos, at Arts SA on (08) 8463 5454, or email giannopoulos.mj@dpc.sa.gov.au.
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