FESTIVAL FOR ALL

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32879, 30 March 1972, Page 5

FESTIVAL FOR ALL

(By

MARY WOODWARD)

Adelaide, blessed by clear autumn sun, was gay with lights, lanterns, flowers and personalities during its recent, three-week 1972, Festival of the Arts.

It was undoubtedly a "people’s festival” this time, with fewer expensive big names and more emphasis on “taking part” by local people.

So we had flowers in the streets, citizens* art in the parks, national dancing by the river, poetry reading on the lawns, and Allan Ginsberg taking his shirt off to join aboriginal dancers during a poetry show at the Watersiders’ Hall.

But best of all was the enthusiasm of the young people and the cheerful weeklong "Expression ’72” organised for them in the parklands.

AH the parks were well lit with lanterns, the finest trees were floodlit. Among the frees appeared three igloolike structures made of heavy plastic and kept aloft by a pumping device. They were called “modules” and sponsored by a soft drink company and a television station whose advertising’ was no attraction, to my mind. Thousands of young people came to these modules • for music — modem, pop, rock, folk, drama, poetry, dancing, film making, sculpture, and painting. They always came to take part, not to watch. "Expression ’72” allowed the audience as much say as the artists, and speakers. A special rock service was held to open the youth festival. Young people overflowed the usualy staid Presbyterian church on to the pavement while African dancers and pop drummers honoured “creativity as a God-given gift”—a creativity that was given plenty of scope during the week. Schoolchildren were brought in, too. The festival organisers ard the Educa-

tion Department co-operated to give thousands of children some . experience in music, drama and ah: sessions inside the modules. - There was also an enormously successful painting programme ’ out of doors. About .90 schools took part in this venture. Big screens Were set up along the edge of- the park: and bus- passengers had a good view of . the children, swathed in painting Aprons, busy at group murals. The results were mixed

but always colourful. Younger children responded more creatively than the older ones, as expected, but every ’"creation” was thought-pro-voking. “Make peace, not war”, proclaimed a group, from Blackwood Primary School

I on a gory canvas featuring bleeding hands and weeping i eyes on one side, and a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol, flowers, wings ■ and "Superstar” on. the ; Other. . .

One high school group produced a frightening set of variations on the Sphinx, another showed calm fish in clear water contrasted with busy ugly people on shore. Love, peace, flowers and “Jesus Christ, Superstar*’ were very popular themes; some of the small boys competed to make a big mess. Everyone enjoyed it — the children, the young artists who supervised and the passersby who were encouraged to drop in. Given some sunshine, could the idea be adapted for Christchurch?