About Engaging Visions Field Study

The goal of the Engaging Visions Research Project was for visual artists to participate in, and/or engage with, Murray Darling Basin catchment communities to help address environmental concerns.

Artists went to three field studies:

1. St George, Queensland on the Balonne River where we were guests of Mayor Robert Buchan. Here I was fortunate enough to be invited out into the field with Indigenous Aunties collecting flora of the region and discussing known medicinal properties of such. Dorothy Noble and I did a series of work using natural dyes from this local vegetation. This research work was a major part of my Masters. 

2. Benalla at Lake Mokoan, VIC. which culminated in an exhibition at the Benalla Regional Gallery.

3. Calperum in South Australia near Renmark which is a conservation property of approx 240,000 hectares of diverse and protected landscape. It’s one third of the RAMSAR floodplain and considered an internationally significant wetlands system.

On all research Sites co-ordinators  Mr John Reid from the ANU School of Art and Dr Rod Lamberts from CPAS made available interaction with community members, farmers, ecologists, artists and other significant stakeholders in the area. Artworks generated through this experience were exhibited in the local community and further afield in Galleries and at Universities on the Eastern SeaBoard.

Book link http://soa.anu.edu.au/publication/engaging-visions