Our second round for Ekphrasis writing in response to Parramatta images is due 20th April. Writers new to the project can offer responses to 1-3 of the ten images. Writers who entered work in the first round, are welcome to send additional writing related to the three new images: Maria Constantinescu’s abstract – acrylic and Lake Parramatta sediment and water; Michaela Simoni’s painting of a lone canoeist inspired by Parramatta River (the project’s motif image); and the gallery’s only night scene, by Marina Robins. Full Gallery and entry form
During January we were offered images of Parramatta by local artists. It is now the turn of writers from Parramatta, and anywhere in Western Sydney, to respond with poetry or prose. You can write a response for up to 3 separate images in the gallery. Book awards.
Please read the entry form before you write. There is a brief statement of what we’re hoping for – more than just a good description of the image… Plus details on maximum words/lines. All contributors retain full copyright. Launch is on 17 June in Parramatta. This project has been supported by a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.
In 2023, NWG Inc will publish Parramatta images by local artists and invite Western Sydney writers to respond with an *ekphrastic poem or short prose. We are looking for images that have a hint of story, movement or mood. Here is an example by Michaela Simoni (first published in ZineWest 2022). Your work might be in a very different style, but we hope this image gives you a clue to the depth we are looking for.
The Ekphrastic project is open to all creatives in Parramatta and Western Sydney generally. These works will be published in a Pop Up Zine 2023 and some will also be republished in our digital Expression which is a good place for images. In January we will be sending around an entry form for writers, but art entries are open now, to help get the project underway by January: Parramatta Expression: ENTRY FORM (ART)
Parramatta Expression will also publish a print edition of our journal Expression which will include the works of a small 2022 NWG Inc workshop group that focussed on stories longer than we can usually print publish plus some poetry from ZineWest award-winning poets.
*Ekphrasis: “Description” in Greek… An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.”https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
“Basically, an ekphrasis is a literary description of art. Like other kinds of imagery, ekphrasis paints a picture with words. What makes it different from something like pictorialism is that the picture it paints is itself a picture: ekphrasis stages an encounter between representations in two mediums, one visual and one verbal.” https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/
Parramatta Expression 2023 has been supported by a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.
