Andrea Stretton
Encyclopedia
Andrea Stretton was an Australia
n arts
journalist
and television presenter. She was known as a major advocate
for the arts in Australia
.
career in 1985 when she took a job with SBS Radio
. She remained at SBS
television and radio for more than a decade. She also worked as a series editor and presenter for the SBS television programs The Book Show
and Masterpiece
.
Stretton went on to present on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
's Sunday Afternoon
, a network arts program, from 1998 until 2001.
Stretton's interest in the arts also extended into the publishing
world as a long time book reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald. She was a contributing book editor for Art & Australia Magazine. She was also a well known figure at Australian writers' festivals, including the Sydney Writers Week.
She was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters in 2002 by the government of France
for her contributions to the arts
. She was the creative director
of the 1998 and 1999 Olympic arts festivals.
at Prince of Wales Hospital
in Randwick
on November 16, 2007 at the age of 55. She was survived by her partner Alan, her son, and her granddaughter.
Her funeral, which was held at St Canice's Roman Catholic Church in Sydney
, included readings from the Tibetan Book of the Dead and T. S. Eliot
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and television presenter. She was known as a major advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
for the arts in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Career
Andrea Stretton began her major network broadcastingBroadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
career in 1985 when she took a job with SBS Radio
SBS Radio
SBS Radio is a service provided by the Special Broadcasting Service '..to inform, educate and entertain Australians, especially those of non-English speaking backgrounds'. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the...
. She remained at SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
television and radio for more than a decade. She also worked as a series editor and presenter for the SBS television programs The Book Show
The Book Show
The Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
and Masterpiece
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
.
Stretton went on to present on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Sunday Afternoon
Sunday Afternoon
Sunday Afternoon is the fifth studio album by Canadian country music artist Aaron Lines. It was released on March 16, 2010 by On Ramp Records...
, a network arts program, from 1998 until 2001.
Stretton's interest in the arts also extended into the publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
world as a long time book reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald. She was a contributing book editor for Art & Australia Magazine. She was also a well known figure at Australian writers' festivals, including the Sydney Writers Week.
She was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters in 2002 by the government of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for her contributions to the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
. She was the creative director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
of the 1998 and 1999 Olympic arts festivals.
Death
Andrea Stretton died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at Prince of Wales Hospital
Prince of Wales Hospital
Prince of Wales Hospital is a major public and teaching hospital located in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong. The hospital is affiliated with the Medical Faculty of the Chinese University of Hong Kong....
in Randwick
Randwick, New South Wales
Randwick is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwick...
on November 16, 2007 at the age of 55. She was survived by her partner Alan, her son, and her granddaughter.
Her funeral, which was held at St Canice's Roman Catholic Church in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, included readings from the Tibetan Book of the Dead and T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
.