girgarre revival
THE SOUND OF OUR SPIRIT RISING
the TRANSFORMATION
A LEGACY FOR THE TOWN
Girgarre was fortunate to be one of six communities awarded a Regional Arts Victoria project grant to engage in the SMALL TOWNS TRANSFORMATION initiative ~ 'an ambitious adventure that puts artistic practice at the centre of community life'.
Coined 'The Girgarre Revival' this project lifted the town's spirit and created an audible and lasting identity for the community and its residents.
People from across the district and state explored common ground and connection to place through sound, while also developing new skills and fostering talents in sound expression.
The project featured works developed by the people of Girgarre in collaboration with internationally-renowned artists.
the WORKS
CREATIVE COLLABORATION
JUNKESTRA
The renowned Graeme Leak participated in an extensive artist-in-residence program in Girgarre.
Graeme worked with the community to develop instruments and installations from reclaimed materials and other people's junk, with the official launch and inauguration of
our Gargarro Soundshell on April 21st 2018.
He set up a Music Supermarket in the former Supermarket building, attracting equal donations of junk and treasure that formed the basis of our Girgarre Junkestra.
Graeme formed a lasting bond with the community and will continue his relationship with Girgarre long into the future.
Read more at Graeme's blog:
QUILT CURTAIN
Gloria Loughman is a celebrated
fabric and quilt artist. From the Bellarine Peninsula, Gloria travels the world hosting fabric art and quilting workshops, exhibiting her work and curating exhibitions.
She led a series of four workshops with the Girgarre Quilting Group to design and create a beautiful 5 paneled quilt - The Fabric of Girgarre: Past, Present and Future which is now located in the Girgarre Memorial Hall.
Read more at Gloria's site:
SOUND & LIGHT
Robin Fox is a leading Australian audio-visual artist working across live performance,
exhibitions, public art projects and designs for contemporary dance. His laser works which synchronize sound and visual electricity in hyper-amplified 3D space have been performed in over 50 cities worldwide.
Robin is the artist behind the Giant Theremin which is on loan to Girgarre from the City of Melbourne.
Robin conducted a world-premiere performance of his new composition "The Great Girgarre Constellation" live at Girgarre Memorial Hall in June 2018. We were treated to an extraordinary, immersive performance and were amazed!
the ACTIVITIES
WORKSHOPS, CLASSES, DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
The community developed their skills through a series of artist-led sound, language and performance workshops, focused on the transformation of salvaged materials into musical instruments and sound installations which were used to form a community orchestra that we called The Girgarre Junkestra.
Activities were located in the ex-supermarket which became a music making and playing ‘shed’. The community dropped in and worked on their creations, attended workshops and music skills classes.
the SOUNDSHELL
OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE SPACE
One of the project's key features was the creation of The Gargarro Soundshell ~ an exciting new outdoor performance space that will be a lasting legacy, celebrating the audible sound of a community spirit rising.
This is located within the Gargarro Gardens precinct ~ a unique and world-class botanical installation celebrating our indigenous flora and precious water resources.
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
