Take pART Act II - Virtual Ecofest

Take pART Act II - Virtual Ecofest

One change can make a difference

Virtual Ecofest 2020 is a week long event aimed at empowering the Gladstone Region community to not only understand their impact on the environment but also to make changes towards a sustainable life which will safeguard our region's natural resources.

Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum is pleased to present three new Take pART Act II projects as part of the Ecofest celebrations. 

JUNK + BUGS: GIFTS TO THE ARTIST

Jenny Fournier

With Mischa Wehner and William Debois

With a passion for re-purposing, local artist Jenny Fournier, in partnership with performance artist and life model Mischa Wehner, have created a short stop-motion video embracing the 2020 World Environment Day theme of Biodiversity. It highlights in a fun way how one small change can make a difference, alongside Ecofest’s aim for a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Relaxing amongst nature while listening to music, an accumulation of junk mysteriously piles up around Mischa, threatening the habitat of the ‘mini-beasts’ that live there. With warnings from an anxious bird, she can no longer ignore it so, in order to preserve the biodiversity of her local environment, she has a ‘rethink.’

With an artist’s eye she instead sees this pile of junk as a ‘gift’ and sets about creating quirky, re-purposed art pieces celebrating some of the diverse native creatures inhabiting the Gladstone Region and using images of the ‘real’ bugs by a local photographer to showcase their beauty.

Junk + Bugs: Gifts to the Artist, Jenny Fournier

Watch the film here. 

THE 7 R’S AND THE ORGANIC ARTIST

Melissa Peacock

With Ruby Lawler

Using fallen plant material, rocks and items from the kitchen, Melissa Peacock from A Country Arts Practice will make a selection of organic paints and paintbrushes, along with handmade paper that has been made from local fallen plant material.

Ruby Lawler a local artist with disability will then create artworks using these organic tools and materials.

The process and outcomes will be shared via social media platforms, capturing how the artist “performs” when taking into consideration the 7 R’s: Recycle, Refuse, Reduce, Re-Use, Repair, Re-gift and Recover.

Handmade brushes from fallen plant material, corn flour on ceramic coaster, an egg and burnt block of wood, Melissa Peacock

THE SECRET OF THE 7’RS

Andreia Pereira

with Luke Wrathall and Robyn Sheahan-Bright

The Secret of The 7’Rs is an online project extended from the living narrative The Story of My Murder, a joint production illustrated and performed on site by Andreia Pereira and Luke Wrathall for Ecofest 2019.

This e-book places its focus on the main characters Cory and Crowena following this year’s Eco-Fest theme Biodiversity -Every Step Counts.

The artists inspired by their personal experience with the native wild life spawned a new adventure enriched of new characters added into the story. Additions such as Barney, The Barn Owl, a nocturnal magic creature who shares his wisdom of the 7’Rs : Recycle, Refuse, Reduce, Re-Use, Repair, Re-gift and Recover. Barney also lends his voice as the narrator of the story, telling it through his bulbous eyes.

The story creates awareness of biodiversity and a need for change, giving a voice to the abundant native wildlife of the Gladstone Region.

The Barn Owl, Andreia Pereira

Read the e-book here

For more information on the Virtual Ecofest event head to facebook.com/gladstoneregionalcouncil

Supported by Gladstone Regional Council’s Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), Take pART Act II provides the opportunity for local artists to work together innovatively, making new connections across the region.

RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Gladstone Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.