Hello <<First Name>>,
This is the last ecoBYTE for 2021, with a much needed break on the calendar for the Christmas/New Year period. It's almost time to down tools and recharge the batteries for all the things already on the 2022 calendar.
VALUES. VOICES. ACTION. >> The MOSSES AND MARSHES International Panel Discussion we ran on 11 November in partnership with Dubbo Regional Council's Cultural Development team ran according to plan. Despite our registered audience number of 50 not quite matching up the attending numbers, we still had 25+ people from diverse sectors across the country and globe join our six panelists and facilitator for what was a really thought-provoking 1.5 hours. The six provocations presented to the panel kept the conversation moving and has given us many threads to explore further. Three key areas that ecoPULSE will focus on will be Values. Voices. Action.
So, what now? The recording of the event is now available for viewing online (click on the button below to go to the Voices. Values. Action. page). You can be part of the ongoing conversation by completing the form at the bottom of the Voices. Values. Action. page.
Feel free to share it with others.
The Values. Voices. Action. conversation will also continue offline, in our local communities. We'll keep you updated about when and where that will happen in the year ahead (it will be funding dependent). There's still a long way to go in terms of hearing all the voices who should be part of this discussion and taking meaningful action. However, we've already seen the power of art at play in being able to bring a diverse group of people together to discuss the future of our wetlands, so we know we're on to a good thing.
A few comments from the audience chat at the International Panel Discussion:
From Tim Ralph: Some very important and passionate perspectives shared here tonight - thanks to everyone!
From Sue Challis: I feel excited and grateful to hear these diverse [views] especially from Australia - thanks
From Juliet Mootz: This has been incredibly inspiring to hear others talk of the essence I introduce into my own work, looking at symbiotic enchantments to connect audiences with nature, I feel is the future, experiencing the connections that we have lost as a people, those gifts that indigenous peoples have treasured and kept. We need to listen and relearn.
From Liz Charpleix: Fascinating discussion, panel members and audience. And big thanks to Kim and Andrew for the art creation that started this particular discussion, linking into other discussions that are going on around the world about how we value water and our natural places.
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SHARING THE STORY >> The MOSSES AND MARSHES project was recently described by ABC Western Plains presenter, Nic Healey, as the project that keeps on giving. He wasn't wrong. It's captured the imagination of so many, locally, regionally and internationally.
Last week I had the pleasure of sharing the MOSSES AND MARSHES story at the Dubbo Macquarie Rotary Club - from its inception in Iceland in 2019 to the field trips at the end of the drought in February 2020, through to the recording of water returning to the Marshes over the following year, the making of the artworks, the book and the more recent international panel discussion. There are still two exhibitions and more public events to come in Australia, so this project is far from over.
More than 100 copies of the MOSSES AND MARSHES book are now out in the world. It's still available online with prepaid postage within Australia for $35, or for anyone close to or in Dubbo, at West Dubbo Post Office for $25. It is a limited edition publication, so there's no intention of publishing more copies, and I'll be soon holding back books for the Canberra and Coonamble exhibitions and events in 2022. Andrew Howe still has copies available from his online shop, which is probably the more economical way of getting hold of one if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. International postage from Australia is about $25-$30/book.
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WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK - IT TAKES LESS THAN 5 MINUTES TO COMPLETE
If you were part of the panel discussion on 11 November or have bought and read a copy of the MOSSES AND MARSHES book, we'd love your feedback. Did you find it interesting? What thoughts did it provoke? Did you learn anything new about wetlands? Have you had conversations with others about it? Has it made you think differently about anything?
We have been evaluating the project throughout the year, and we will be doing another evaluation very soon to wrap up the year and to prepare our grant acquittals. We'd also love a few more testimonials we can share in our marketing around the book too.
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INHALARE ARTIST TALK >> The six Inhalare/breathe upon Stage 1 artists have been working on soundscapes and text works since October, with some works already submitted. These are soundscapes that capture the beauty and complexity of environments in our own backyards, that we came to know well during COVID lockdowns. This project is about making the familiar, unfamiliar and sharing these spaces with others as a way of deepening our connection to the natural world. Jason Richardson (Leeton), Anna Glynn (Jaspers Brush), Danja Derkenne (Milton), Andrew Hull (Bourke/Mildura), Dr Greg Pritchard (Wagga Wagga), and me, Kim V. Goldsmith (Dubbo) will be talking about what we've done and what it's meant to us as artists at 7pm, on 15 December in a public roundtable event on Zoom. REGISTER BELOW. Stage 1 was funded by a Create NSW COVID Development Grant.
Artist, Andrew Hull (Bourke/Mildura) speaking about the Gundabooka National Park near Bourke: I feel like an explorer every time I go there...It had that duality of being a place I could go to when I could cross the border, but locked out of when I couldn't.
This event is being supported by NSW Regional Arts Development Organisation (RADO), Orana Arts through their Studio Co!Lab Talks series. Kim V. Goldsmith is a member of Studio Co!Lab and works with Orana Arts communications and content production.
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INHALARE FUNDING DRIVE >> A reminder that all tax-deductible donations made through the Australian Cultural Fund between now and February 2022 are going to the Inhalare project to fund two of the Stage 2 visual artists (the remaining four will hopefully be funded by a grant), project administration, and the exhibition costs that will showcase the sound, text and visual works in the year ahead. The visual artists have now been finalised and will be announced at the artist talk on 15 December. We're also looking for philanthropic support for the project to help with the presentation and extension of it...we think it has the potential to be international.
Finally, one last big thank you for your support this year. It's one that needs a bit of digesting. There's so much more to come in the year head, but in the meantime, I'd like to wish you all the very best for the season ahead.
Kim V. Goldsmith
ARTIST I PRODUCER I FACILITATOR
Email I +61 419 439 923
MOSSES AND MARSHES SOUNDSCAPES
INHALARE/ BREATHE UPON
ALL PROJECT UPDATES
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Developing this work in tandem with the other participating regional artists created the opportunity to focus on my rainforest home environment and also to imagine the locations of the other artists. This then focuses contemplation on the many different environments that we are working from and in. The diverse locations, geography, topography, sounds, smells all shape our works and responses. We are remote but connected in our endeavours as regional artists.
Anna Glynn, on the experience of developing soundscapes and writing for the Inhalare project, November 2021
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