What
creative outcomes emerge when a group of artists gather on Peel Island
to research significant historical and environmental issues?
PROJECT BACKGROUND
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife,
Queensland College of Arts & Griffith Film School recently
commenced a collaborative, experiential arts project, placing a small
group of postgraduate visual artists on the historic Peel Island to
reflect, research and respond to the environment.
Many fascinating features of the Island's checkered history (including it's quarantine station, sanitorium for inebriates, and the Lazaret for the patients suffering Hansen's Disease)
will no doubt emerge in the works to come forth, but Peel Island also
captivates imagination through it's raw, natural beauty.
Sincere thanks are due to the
Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers, particulary to Roland Dowling
for stimulating us with such a comprehensive induction into the
island's most notable features.
We're all very curious to discover what will arise from the experience...
FILM PROJECTS BLOG
KICKING THE CAN...
What happens when we allow American culture to inform and overwhelm Australian
culture? What can we do to stimulate healthier
experiences and excitement in our young people, as alternatives to self-harming
and community-harming ways? What social consequences exist for families and communities when substance
abuse occurs? What additional support do communities need to help prevent and heal these
issues?
How do creative expressions benefit
communities?
In
2008 Logan Beaudesert Health Coalition (Queensland Health) commissioned my wife Teone to provide media training in creative
performance and technical facility for Indigenous youth within
Beaudesert community. The training project sought to raise stories
derived from
community consulted dialogues about youth health issues (substance
abuse,
under-age joy-riding etc).
The
project, originally planned as a short-term (6 week) visual arts
intervention
engagement has since gathered momentum, having now spanned twelve
months, and
continues to expand. A range of emerging works have been developed to
culminate in several outcomes - Rain Painting, a short narrative drama,
a collection of new music and an exhibition of production stills by Steve Reinthal, KTC (1 & 2),
documentaries that make comment on the tough issues of chroming and
community-driven response to healing these problems.
We've just completed the filming
stage of this extraordinary project. The very talented students and
production team have returned from our camp with so much to be proud
of.
Well done!
An incredible amount of energy and dedication was
brought to the project and many stories will roll out of our
experiences for quite some time... The film was officially and successfully launched on
July 16th at The Centre Beaudesert. The following blog of notes and images is a billboard of emerging project news.
The drama "Rain Painting"
is a narrative drama about a series of events unfolding around a group
of young adults entranced by toxic features of contemporary American
culture.
The companion documentary "Kicking the Can" explores the group's developmental processes as we collaboratively seek to raise
and answer questions, generate new stories and offer strong learning outcomes that
continue to flourish in the community.
GOSSAMER ROADS
- a film about the Salaam Project
The Salaam
Project is an arts-based collaboration between the Islamic Women's
Association of Queensland, Access Arts and Arts Queensland. The project
hosts a number of dynamic
workshops led by Muslim women artists and craftswomen living in and
around Brisbane. The workshops are freely offered as a way of
stimulating the wider community's interest in the diverse cultures and
traditions of Islam. Each of the artists represents
her own cultural traditions, which includes some of the beautiful
traditions of Egypt, Iran, Bosnia, Sudan, Lebanon, South Africa and
beyond, and in addition each of the artists is also very talented at
drawing forth rich discussion and cultural expression from the
participants. This makes for a very beautiful tapestry of creative
ideas. The workshops run for ten weeks and include sketching and
painting with Salam El-Merebi and Sudabeh Ramhormoz, weaving and
crochet from Aida and Nagia Khalaf,
children's art classes with Shamime Mustapha, Mehndi (henna hand
painting) with Sumaiya Latif, and Bosnian dancing with Sevkija Hodzic.
The workshops have been fully
attended by members of the Muslim community as well as women and
children from the wider community, and it's been delightful to see so
many positive interactions, all of which are opening doors to better
understanding and integration across communities in Brisbane. One of
the strongest features of the workshops has been the opportunity to
demystify many customary aspects of Muslim women's culture, whereby
women can get to know each other, simply as people; as mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers and aunties, and to discover that we all enjoy Fausia's delicious cakes!
The documentary is a record of
this very stimulating and enjoyable event. The beautiful soundtrack
music was composed and performed in series of improvised first-take
recordings which has emerged as a fine collection of inspired
compositions from Steve Reinthal. The CD is also entitled Gossamer
Roads.
Narrated by the dynamically inspiring director of IWAQ, Galila
Abdelsalam, the film, Gossamer Roads was launched in 2008 at Eidfest in
Brisbane, exhibited with a selection of the artworks, and the Salaam
project will finally culminate in an exhibition destined to tour in
2009.
YUGAMBEH YOUTH
- community well-being in a digital magazine of cultural expressions -
This project aims to produce a
‘portable library’ collection of strong visual and auditory resources
that showcase various cultural features of Indigenous
community-building activities occurring in the Logan region. The
digital magazine contains films and stories that introduce some
marvellous members of the community, both young and old.
The following photographs and video have been gathered
from Yugambeh Dreaming Youth Program, The Big Trip (Stylin' Up Regional
Youth Camp ) and Stylin' Up 2009 at Inala.
"I'm very proud to be part of
this program, we've been going for four years and this is starting to
be the culmination of all our workshops...it's
a great thing to be involved in with the kids, I've seen a lot grow up
over the four years... I think we've got a really good connection going
with our youth program. I'm really enthused because this year we've got
37 kids here from Logan, and probably could have had anotother 20. So
we know the system's working..." Uncle Martin Watego May 2009
Many thanks to the elders,
youth, families and community members who appeared in the project.
Thanks to Karrina and Becky from Speakout for arranging permission to
film at the Big Trip, thanks to Stylin' Up Regional for permission to
film at Stylin' Up, thanks to Yugambeh Dreaming for permission to film
the lead up to the events.
YARRABAH
The opportunity to visit
Yarrabah community came last year to produce, in collaboration with
Gurriny's amazing team of health workers, a documentary promoting
positive models in parenting, particularly aimed at young
parents-to-be. Dixie Hari performed an incredible job of recruiting,
consulting, production assisting, and, as the time-frame was tight,
stepped in and featured as the lead actor in the film. Steve and I
spent a wonderful week with the team, getting to know some of the
culture of Yarrabah, it's strengths and how it manages to overcome it's
struggles. The films show just what an extraordinary group
of people belong to Yarrie'.
BLUE COLOUR
nominated for:- The QUT Creative Industries Award for
Best Tertiary Drama 10-30 minutes &
The Warner Roadshow Studios Award for
Best Overall Film 2008
SYNOPSIS - A
troubled boy runs away. Exploring the turbulent joy of his sudden
freedom he enters the creative maelstrom of an artist's worldto
discover a powerful new reality. What will he leave behind?
Escaping
the destructive influences of city living, Neil, an Aboriginal artist
strives to revive his identity by going bush. Experiencing his own
troubles, Tomi, a twelve-year old boy with disabilities struggles to
liberate himself from the intensely clinical environment of his highly
managed life.
Similarly plagued
by externally imposed limits and social demands, their chance encounter
provides a powerful stimulus for both characters to initiate profound
change.
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