By JESSE GRAHAM
YARRA Ranges residents with grand ideas for the area are being called on to apply for the latest round of the council’s community grants, with tens of thousands in funding available.
The council’s Grants for Community program opened for applications on 1 June, asking residents to apply for funds under Community Development, Festivals and Events, or Arts and Heritage streams.
Each stream provides up to $10,000 – though Festivals and Events grants are capped at $5000 for first-time applicants – for projects in the area.
One of last year’s grant recipients, Kalorama’s Dr Gretel Taylor, created Dances with Lyrebirds – a collaboration between Dr Taylor, sound artist Anthony Magen and Warburton photographer Kate Baker.
The result was an exhibition at Healesville’s Memo Hall and Burrinja in Upwey, featuring dance performances by Dr Taylor, Jacqui Rutten, Mandy Nicholson and the Djirri Djirri Dance Group.
Material for the Dances with Lyrebirds exhibition was collected on Mount Donna Buang, Mount Riddell, in Badger Creek and the Sherbrooke Forest, with photos of Dr Taylor dancing, the forest and lyrebirds.
Dr Taylor said the exhibition featured a sound installation, with recordings of lyrebirds mimicking noises, such as camera shutters, and was designed to be a response to the iconic animal.
“We wanted to do something that was quite literally in response to the presence of these birds in our midst, living in the Yarra Ranges area,” she said.
“They are very loved birds – they bring the community together in a way, across distance and age – they’re used as symbols in lots of places around the Dandenongs, as well as the ranges.”
The group also worked with the Sherbrooke Lyrebird Study Group, with survey events around the time of the exhibition and a presentation of lyrebird ecology and folklore at Burrinja.
Dr Taylor encouraged residents with a big idea to apply for the annual grants funding, but to do their homework beforehand.
“We applied the first year and didn’t get it,” she said.
“You do need to have a developed idea, that you’ve established links with the local community already.
“You have to do a bit of the work before you get it.”
For more information and criteria for the Yarra Ranges Council’s Grants for Community, visit www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au.
For more information on Dances with Lyrebirds, visit www.lumennaturae.com.au/#/dwl/
