P.D. James 1920-2014

The hugely popular writer  Phyllis Dorothy (P.D.) James has died at the age of 94. She was well known for her series of novels featuring the policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh who made his debut in Cover her Face.(1962) She has also written the dystopian novel The Children of Men, which was adapted into a film staring Clive Owen, Julieanne Moore and Michael Caine in 2006. Her final novel  Death Comes to Permberley, was a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice but featuring a murder mystery. Made into a BBC television series it premieres on the ABC this Friday 28 February.

As well as pursuing her writing career, James led an interesting and varied life. She had a long career as a civil servant, working at one time in the forensic science section of the Home Office. In 1991 she was created a life peer as Baroness James of Holland Park and sat in the House of Lords. From 1988 to 1993 she was a governor of the BBC. One famous story from her time there reounts that on a tour of the BBC Television Centre she visited the set of Doctor Who and refused to leave until she'd had her photo taken with the story's monster!

She wrote about the craft of detective fiction and shared her personal thoughts and observations on one of the most popular forms of literature in her book, Talking About Detective Fiction.  In an interview in 2013 James said she was working on another novel as it was, "important to write one more." Her many fans may get to enjoy her work one last time.

St George Art Awards 2014

What's your favourite artwork?

Written by Iris, Hurstville Museum & Gallery volunteer

The St George Art Awards finalists’ show has a wide variety of different artworks, such as sculptures and paintings, ranging from colourful to black and white, and from big to small. Each of these artworks is unique in its own way and can captivate the eyes of any audience.

Selfie in Excess, by Amy Dynan, particularly appeals to me as it is a reflection of how people in society (mainly teenagers) are now taking pictures of themselves. It reflects our current society and culture. The black and white colour scheme stands out to me as it appears old-fashioned yet with a contemporary feeling at the same time. The medium of this artwork is charcoal powder printed on paper creating the black and white effect of the artwork. The white background makes the feature image stand out. Selfie in Excess is intricately detailed, with each accessory that the figure is wearing drawn with great care. The tones and shading are quite nicely blended together. It appears to be a photograph as Amy Dynan has succeeded in producing a very realistic artwork that looks like an actual ‘selfie’.

Selfie in Excess is a contemporary artwork with much attention to detail. It can appeal to many audiences as it is a reflection of today’s culture and society, allowing it to be easily understood by everyone.

Selfie in Excess by Amy Dynan
Image: Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection

Don’t miss your chance to see Selfie in Excess and many other great artworks at the St George Art Awards on show until Sunday 14 December 2014. 

Vote for your favourite before Sunday 30 December 2014 and come along to our People’s Choice Presentation & Party on 5 December 2014 where we will reveal everyone’s favourite works.

Hurstville City Library off to Lugarno

Book giveaway at Mortdale Station  2012

Hurstville City Library turns 50 this year and to help us celebrate half a decade of continuous service to the community why not  not join us at Chivers Hill Shopping Centre, Lugarno on Monday 24 November between 2.00- 4.00pm.
We'll be giving away free books, information packs and letting you know about the wide range of materials and services available at your local library.



Dami Im and the Allman Brothers band together on the same website?

How is this possible? Isn’t there a slight age gap and a difference in musical stylings, not to mention the outfits? Well, Greg Allman was with Cher at one time, so I’ll bet he wore sparkle when the boys weren’t around.
You can download songs from these artists and many more from Freegal music with your Library membership. Visit our website for more information.
http://lmg.hurstville.nsw.gov.au/e-Library.html

ST GEORGE ART AWARDS 2014

WARHORSE METAMORPHOSIS

Adam Galea's Warhorse Metamorphosis in the St George Art Awards 2014 exhibition

To transform into something out of convenience, quite literally a soldier and a horse combined... Such an amazing thought, but perhaps not the most practical – Adam Galea

The theme of Transformation in this year’s St George Art Awards brought us an array of creative and intriguing works. The winner of the St George 3D Art Prize, Warhorse Metamorphosis by Adam Galea, was a most deserving and thoughtful piece.

Adam Galea is a very talented, emerging young artist who has achieved great success in 2014. Since completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Arts School in 2010, Adam’s sculptures have received popular acclaim in a number of exhibitions. Recently, another sculpture in the Warhorse series was featured in the Hidden exhibition at Rookwood Cemetery, and also at Clarkes Point Reserve, Woolwich, in Harbour Sculpture. Earlier in 2014, Adam was the winner of the Rockdale Outdoor Gallery Art Prize for his work Home Shell.

We are very excited to have Adam’s work on display at the Museum & Gallery. The St George Art Awards are on show now until Sunday 14 December 2014. 

Don’t miss your chance to see Warhorse Metamorphosis for yourself!

To read about the St George Art Prize winner, Motion of Light by Hadieh Afshani, visit our blog here

Show us your #bookface!

Hurstville Library Museum & Gallery are jumping on the #bookface bandwagon!

To celebrate Hurstville Library’s 50^th birthday and the 75^th anniversary of the Library Act, we want you to show us your bookface.

What is a bookface you ask? Put very simply, it involves you finding a cover of a book that in some alternate universe, could replace your face. The more creative, the better!

To get involved, take a photo of you and your bookface and post it to Instagram or Twitter. Use the hashtag #bookface and tag @hurstvillelmg so we can what you come up with.

Hurstville LMG will share the ones that made us smile on our social media sites – so get posting! 

Need some inspiration? Take a look at some of the examples Hurstville Library staff had too much fun taking below.

Hint: Come in to Hurstville Library and have a look through our biography section. There’s lots of famous faces that could be your #bookface!

Terms & Conditions

1. The promoter of this promotion is Hurstville Library Museum & Gallery of 12-22 Dora Street, Hurstville NSW 2220 (“Promoter”).

2. To post a submission, entrants must use the hashtag #bookface and tag @hurstvillelmg

3. By posting a submission to Hurstville Library Museum & Gallery’s Instagram or Twitter account, entrants agree to allow the Promoter to repost their submission on the Promoter’s and Hurstville City Council’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, the Promoter’s websites (http://lmg.hurstville.nsw.gov.au; www.hurstville.nsw.gov.au ) and within the Promoter’s electronic direct mail (EDM) communication pieces.

4. All Submissions will be the property of the Promoter. The Promoter may use the name and any photos from the Submission for promotional, marketing and publicity purposes without compensation. By participating in this promotional event, each entrant assigns to the Promoter the whole of the copyright in their entries and, to the extent permitted by law, waives his or her moral rights in respect of it. Each entrant warrants to the Promoter that his or her entry does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any person.

5. The Promoter and its associated agencies and companies will not be liable for any loss (including, without limitation, indirect, special or consequential loss or loss of profits), expense, damage, personal injury or death which is suffered or sustained (whether or not arising from any person’s negligence) in connection with this promotion.

6. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered or associated with Instagram or Twitter.