Bringing Noosa's Native Plants to the Surface: Design for Place
A Sunshine Coast Council RADF project in building community cultural capacity organised by NICA
Vision of the Project
The aim of the project is to increase community awareness, knowledge, value and pride in the importance of place defined by local ecosystems and biodiversity through professionally executed artworks.
The importance of the flora identified and depicted in the Noosa integrated Catchment Association (NICA) publication 2004, 2011 'Noosa's Native Plants' by Stephanie Haslam, as a response to the NICA strategy, is the driver of the proposed project activities: NICA is targeting an audience outside the usual scope of its awareness-raising projects through art. An analogy if the importance of art portraying 'sense of place' can be made with Central Australian indigenous art and North Queensland 'rainforest and reef' designs, including indigenous interpretations: no longer do exotic desert cacti or coconut palms dominate their respective 'sense of place'.
NICA wishes to replace the overused exotic palm, frangipani & hibiscus on resort wear and tourism promotion, with Noosa & Sunshine Coast endemic plants in private and public design work and product, and we wish to achieve this through both community and professional participation.
In 2013, Arts Qld and Sunshine Coast RADF has provided NICA with funds to engage six professional artists that meet professional eligibility requirements, to develop designs representing a specific ecosystem:
1. Seacoast and foredunes
2. Tidal Wetlands
3. Fresh Water Wetlands
4. Heathlands / Wallum - Lenni Semmelink
5. Eucalypt Forest
6. Rainforest
Artists are commissioned to design an artwork to represent their chosen ecosystem which will be displayed at Floating Land 2013 (and further promotional exhibitions) and reproduced onto six banners to be permanently displayed at the Noosa Library.
Vision of the Project
The aim of the project is to increase community awareness, knowledge, value and pride in the importance of place defined by local ecosystems and biodiversity through professionally executed artworks.
The importance of the flora identified and depicted in the Noosa integrated Catchment Association (NICA) publication 2004, 2011 'Noosa's Native Plants' by Stephanie Haslam, as a response to the NICA strategy, is the driver of the proposed project activities: NICA is targeting an audience outside the usual scope of its awareness-raising projects through art. An analogy if the importance of art portraying 'sense of place' can be made with Central Australian indigenous art and North Queensland 'rainforest and reef' designs, including indigenous interpretations: no longer do exotic desert cacti or coconut palms dominate their respective 'sense of place'.
NICA wishes to replace the overused exotic palm, frangipani & hibiscus on resort wear and tourism promotion, with Noosa & Sunshine Coast endemic plants in private and public design work and product, and we wish to achieve this through both community and professional participation.
In 2013, Arts Qld and Sunshine Coast RADF has provided NICA with funds to engage six professional artists that meet professional eligibility requirements, to develop designs representing a specific ecosystem:
1. Seacoast and foredunes
2. Tidal Wetlands
3. Fresh Water Wetlands
4. Heathlands / Wallum - Lenni Semmelink
5. Eucalypt Forest
6. Rainforest
Artists are commissioned to design an artwork to represent their chosen ecosystem which will be displayed at Floating Land 2013 (and further promotional exhibitions) and reproduced onto six banners to be permanently displayed at the Noosa Library.
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The Regional Arts Development Fund is a Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Sunshine Coast Council partnership to support local arts and culture.
Embellish Organics - Peregian Beach
Works can be seen at Embellish Organics at Peregian Beach. This new cool little cafe & wholefoods store has delicious and nutritious meals made and served with love in a place you just want to hang out in. The coffee is Blackstar and uses the yummiest organic milks and the staff are simply huggable! A perfect place to check out Lenni's works and take in the lovely place that Peregian is.
Earthsong at Floating Land 2013
Floating Land is a very special green arts festival that happens on the Sunshine Coast every two years.
From May 31st to June 9th 2013, this Sunshine Coast Council initiative encourages artists and community to play with nature's ingenuity through immersive workshops, performances, installations and presentations that celebrate our rich biodiversity. By merging arts and culture with science and the environment, the event aims to contribute to positive global change through education and conversations.
In addition, around the world, artists, academics and the community participate in Floating Land through virtual platforms. The artistic diversity offered through this digital interface presents a range of interactive and engaging experiences while conveying the messages of these conversations, ideas and visions.
The 2013 theme of 'Nature's Dialogue' explores the intersection between artistic perspectives, the principles of natural design and community dynamics. This thematic framework is drawn from biomimicry; bringing the science of nature deeply into the conversation and providing a powerful platform for the creative industries, science, technology and culture to
enter simultaneously.
Earthsong Project Overview
Earthsong creates an immersive space enhancing the human experience of the natural world through amplifying the bioacoustics of the local environment and projecting the cymatics of these sounds (naturally occurring geometric patterns representative of sound vibrations) onto the trees. It will be set amongst native plants in an outdoor area.
The project has two parts to its experience. Firstly it is an interactive space- people nearby will hear the amplified natural sounds and as they enter the space they will hear their own impact on the area – they will hear their footsteps and hear the effects of when they touch the plants. Secondly the space is used as a performance area. The audience will be given a short talk about the space and how it works. This will be followed by a performance of percussionists ‘playing’ the trees and ground (with light touches and taps). Anyone wanting to dance to these earthly sounds will also become a part of the soundscape through their movement on the ground.
