By JESSE GRAHAM
WHAT do you love about the Yarra Ranges’ environment?
That will be the question put to residents as part of a storytelling session taking place on Wednesday 9 April in Warburton, as part of a special arts project.
The Tall Trees and Tributaries project aims to create performance art, artworks and films for a presentation next year at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr.
Around 20 local artists are taking part in the project, which has a focus on the forests surrounding Warburton, Toolangi and the Dandenong Ranges and involves five days of art workshops and excursions.
The last day of the workshops will be an afternoon session at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre, where community members can discuss their favourite aspects of the local environment with the artists, or stories regarding local forests.
The community session will begin at 2.30pm, and residents speaking at the session must be willing to be filmed for submission into the project.
Member of the organising group Jeminah Reidy said the artists involved all have a passion for performance art and instillations, along with the environment in the Yarra Ranges.
She said that environmentalists, Aboriginal historians, scientists and zoologists will all meet with the artists involved in the project, which has been funded by the Yarra Ranges Council and Melbourne Water.
Ms Reidy said on the morning of the community meeting the artists will be working in the Mechanics’ Institute Hall in Warburton, and that residents can come and see their art being developed.
Following the meeting, the artists involved will then work on their pieces for six months, and the final performances and screenings are set to take place around February 2015.
The project has been organised by Warburton Environment and Scenes on the Yarra, and also has the aim of driving the Great Forest National Park campaign.
For more information, or to make a booking for the storytelling session, call Jeminah Reidy on 0414 419 182, or visit www.scenesontheyarra.com.
