Aug
6
to Sep 5

Waterland Exhibition

THE ART, SCIENCE + MAGIC OF WATER IN OUR LANDSCAPES

KSCA is thrilled to be collaborating with The Mulloon Institute to stage this exhibition. Showcasing the work of artists, designers, land stewards, students and storytellers, it’s a tribute to water, the shape-shifter. You'll find waterways in microcosm, scaled-up plants, puzzles, games, maps, storyboards and many other curious things that reveal water’s awe-inspiring energy as it shapes our environment. It's all about harnessing the power of art and play to share knowledge about we can heal our broken water cycle and create resilient landscapes.

The exhibition is curated by KSCA’s Laura Fisher and Kim Williams, and Land Studio veteran and emerging curator Vashti Pearce.

Artists and collaborators include:
Susan Banki, Bridget Baskerville, Franks’ Breakaway, Toni Bird, Kerrie Cooke, Charlie Cooper, Judi Earl, Laura Fisher, Marnee Fox, Glen Alice Public School, Ilford Public School, Kandos Public School, Kandos High School, Eloise Lindeback, Capertee Valley Landcare, Josh Harle, David Hardwick, Emily Ianno, Kylie Kiu, Sophia Konti, Josh McConnell, Vashti Pearce, North East Wiradjuri Cultural Centre, Gary McGuigan, Jesse Newman, Sarah Peterswald, Georgie Pollard, Imogen Semmler, Angela South, Emma Syme, Leanne Thompson, Kingsley Tonkin, Hugh Tory, Nicholas Tory, Kim Williams.

This exhibition is part of ‘Modelling Landscape Rehydration for Catchments, Communities and Curriculum’, which has received Citizen Science grant funding from the Australian Government

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An artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar
May
18
6:00 PM18:00

An artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar

Within the immersive environment of The Clothing Store, landscape architect, educator and host Costa Georgiadis sits at the “bar” with artist Ian Milliss, farmer Erika Watson (Epicurean Harvest), scientist Tim Cavagnaro (University of Adelaide) and Imogen Semmler (artist and emerging scientist) to discuss their diverse collaborative projects and the intersections between the three disciplines.

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KSCA's ART AND FARMING PICNIC - with Epicurean Harvest at Bula Mirri Farm
Apr
28
10:30 AM10:30

KSCA's ART AND FARMING PICNIC - with Epicurean Harvest at Bula Mirri Farm

KSCA's ART AND FARMING PICNIC

with EPICUREAN HARVEST at Bula Mirri Farm, Hartley, NSW.


Sunday 28th April, 10:30am – 2:30pm

Tickets $20, bookings essential.

BYO Picnic and drink!

For event information and tickets, click here.

Explore the creative future of farming in the era of ever-changing climate at Bula Mirri Farm, now home to an exciting project combining horticulture and solar technology.

Epicurean Harvest (Erika Watson and Hayden Druce) have embarked on a collaboration with award-winning sculptor Mark Swartz and solar scientist Bjorn Sturmberg as part of KSCA's "An Artist, a Farmer and a Scientist walk into a bar..." Join this amazing team for a tour of the farm and a conversation about their project, along with members of KSCA and special guest artist Allan Giddy – a path-breaker in the use of alternative energy systems in art.

In the spirit of fostering small scale creative farming livelihoods, this picnic is a fundraiser for Epicurean Harvest so they can continue to implement land management strategies to conserve water and make their land more resilient to volatile weather.
BOOK TICKETS HERE

PS. While you’re in the Blue Mountains, drop into Lyttleton Stores Atelier in Lawson to see the ‘Art, Farming and Cultural Change’ KSCA exhibition! Click here for info.

THE DAY!

10:30am - WELCOME, introductions and house keeping.

11am FARM TOUR! Led by Erika and Hayden. Learn about the regenerative farming practices that supply top restaurants in Sydney and see the site of the solar energy project.

12:30pm/1pm - LUNCH, Set up under a tree with your picnic lunch and get to know each other. KSCA members, Hayden, Erika, Mark, Bjorn and Allan will lead an open conversation about why farmers are behaving like artists, artists are behaving like engineers, and why this makes complete sense in the 21st century!

2:30pm - DEPART (and head to Lyttleton Stores in Lawson to catch the KSCA exhibition).

FAQS

How do I get to the Farm? Hartley is on the Great Western Highway two and a quarter hours from the Sydney CBD through the scenic Blue Mountains. It is a perfect Sunday day trip, and you can easily drop into some of the tourist spots of the Mountains on the way home. Bula Mirri Farm has a dirt driveway, but is suitable for 2WD and buses. Please car pool, parking is limited. There will be a paddock available to park in.

Where does the Farm Tour take me? You will join us for a short walk over the 120 acre property, where you will see the two acre vege garden that services some of Sydney's top restaurants, get an introduction to the cows and the story of how they are managed. You will see the water management system based on PA Yeomans Keyline system, regenerative ecosystem processes and the site of the solar energy project.

What should I bring? Bring your own picnic lunch, plenty of water, a picnic rug, sensible shoes and clothes, a hat and sunblock, a jumper and a raincoat (we can hope). Also bring an interest in art and culture, farms and farm innovation, and a good sense of humour.

What should I expect? This is a day for connection and education in the country air. However it is an operating farm, which means it can be dirty, there are dangerous machinery and tools, uneven ground, wildlife, livestock, stinging nettle and electric fences. That said, being responsible and taking care of yourself and others, respecting animals, the land, signs and directions given to you, mixed with some good old common sense and you will have a BRILLIANT time outdoors learning and being with friends.

Can I bring the kids? This is an adult event; kids are welcome and free but must have careful adult supervision.
How can I contact the organiser with any questions? You can contact us via email - info@ksca.land. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

What's the refund policy? This is a social event and fundraiser to help Epicurean Harvest towards securing a water supply to the vegetable garden and greater farm. Attendees can receive a refund up to 7 days before the event.


ABOUT EPICUREAN HARVEST
Erika Watson and Hayden Druce are first generation young farmers, and owners of Epicurean Harvest, growing organic vegetables for Sydney restaurants (such as Quay, Ester, Freds and more) on 2.5 acres of their 120-acre farm, Bula Mirri. Bula Mirri is located on Wiradjuri Country, Hartley, NSW, bordering the Blue Mountains and Central West. They have relied on the weather and land for an income for five years, and have been at Bula Mirri for only 2 years. They are dedicating Bula Mirri to regenerative and collaborative practices to provide people with connection to land, provenance, arts and food. They are part of a global movement to monitor agricultural practice and measure the regeneration of the environment for ecological improvement. Erika and Hayden both have a Diploma of Holistic Management in Sustainable Rural Lands, Business and Communities; Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Hons1); Hayden a Masters in Flavour and Aroma; Erika is experienced in project management, outreach and extension and both have backgrounds in art and music. Now at Bula Mirri and with the combination of art and science, they are farmers reigniting their creative focus on art based on regenerative land management, climate, biology and ecosystem processes.

Their farming and produce has gained great recognition though numerous Gold Medals in the delicious. produce awards, and appeared in ABC Organic Gardener Magazine, ABC TV Gardening Australia, Gourmet Traveller magazine, Country Style Magazine.


ABOUT ALLAN GIDDY

Sydney-based public artist Allan Giddy is a pioneer in the use of sustainable energy systems and light in ‘time-based sculpture’, and is the founding director of the Environmental Research Institute for Art (ERIA) at UNSW Art & Design. His work has been shown at the Tate Modern, in ISEA and TISEA (International Symposia on Electronic Art), and numerous other venues internationally, and is in the collection of the MCA, Sydney.A past winner of the prestigious NSW (now called the Helen Lempriere) Travelling Art Scholarship, Allan regularly engages in industry and other partnerships to achieve his projects. Over the last decade Allan has expanded his practice into the public domain, specifically public sited ‘active sculpture’, and has completed a number of large public commissions, in Australia (including permanent works for City of Sydney and Sydney Olympic Park Authority), China, Ireland, Germany, the UK and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Allan has also conceived and curated several high-profile public exhibitions involving energy, including La Lune: Energy Producing Art (2014), which was runner-up in two categories of the Australian Event Awards that year (Best New Event and Best Achievement in Sustainability), and NOX Night Sculpture , which won a Highly Commended award in the Creative Communities category of the NSW Local Government Excellence Awards. His current celebrated work Flow uses the natural flow of water to convey the voices of Indigenous children in honour of first nations languages and is being toured across the country.

Clear here for more on Allan’s past work.

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'Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy' at MUMA
Feb
9
to Apr 13

'Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy' at MUMA

  • Ground Floor, Building F Monash University (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

What if farmers were paid to adopt farming methods that ensured that the carbon that is causing trouble in our atmosphere was sequestered in their soils? 

Lucas Ihlein's collaborative project 'Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy' explores this possibility, which is being debated around the world at the moment as a strategy to mitigate climate change. This project is currently part of the exhibition Shapes of Knowledge, curated by Hannah Mathews at Monash University Museum of Art, February 9 – April 13, 2019. For the exhibition, Lucas and Allan are presenting a fully operational demonstration model of the Yeomans Carbon Still, which will be used to test the carbon content of soils of various farms throughout regional Victoria. Excursions to collect the soil samples may involve Monash University students, scholars and members of the wider community and will double as opportunities for learning about regenerative farming processes more broadly.

Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy is part of the exhibition Shapes of Knowledge at Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA).
Find out more about the exhibition here. Public programs associated with the exhibition are listed below.

Exhibition Dates:
9 Feb – 13 April

Exhibition Hours:
Tues-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat 12-5pm

MUMA Address:
Ground Floor, Building F
Monash University,
Caulfield Campus
900 Dandenong Road
Caulfield East
(Melbourne) VIC 3145

Public Programs:

Live demonstrations of the Yeomans Carbon Still with Allan Yeomans (free, no bookings required):
Tuesday 12 February, 10am-3pm
Wednesday 13 February, 10am-3pm
Thursday 7 March, 10am-3pm
Friday 8 March, 10am-3pm
Thursday 21 March, 10am-3pm
Friday 22 March, 10am-3pm

Field Trip to Niels Olsen’s Farm to gather soil samples (limited seats, book online here):
Saturday 9 March, 10am-4pm
Departing from MUMA
Ground Floor, Building F, Monash University, Caulfield Campus
900 Dandenong Rd, Caulfield East 
Details about this field trip here.

Round table discussion: Soil and the Carbon Economy (free, all welcome):
A round table discussion about soil carbon sequestration, its opportunities and challenges. How to do it, how to measure it, and how to legislate for it. With Allan Yeomans (inventor of the Yeomans Carbon Still), Louisa Kiely (Carbon Farmers of Australia), Dru Marsh (Victorian Government Environment Dept), Lucas Ihlein (artist), farmers and engineers.
Full details here.

Read more about this project here and here

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Mid Western Foragers Training Workshop
Aug
11
10:00 AM10:00

Mid Western Foragers Training Workshop

Would you like to learn how to earn cash providing wild edible weeds for the restaurant and catering market in the city?

This workshop is for people in the Mudgee region interested in taking part in a pilot program that will harvest, package and deliver wild foods to Sydney chefs. The project has been devised by wild food expert Diego Bonetto after many years’ experience in the catering industry.

When: Sat 11 August - 10am-12:30pm
Where: Near Mudgee, to be advised.
Tickets: $10. To book go to www.diegobonetto.com/shop/mid-western-foragers-training-aug11
Bring: lunch (some snacks and drinks will be provided).
Contact: Diego Bonetto 0411 293 178 or info@diegobonetto.com

WHAT WE WILL DO
We will gather in a location near Mudgee where Diego Bonetto will teach you what the chefs expect from a harvest. You will learn about:

  • Packaging
  • Handling
  • Storage
  • Distribution
  •  Organic Produce
  • The ten most desirable plants
  • How much you will earn for your harvest

This workshop has been subsidised by the NSW Government via a grant from the Regional Partnerships scheme of Create NSW. It is part of the ‘An artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar…’ project, visit ksca.land for details.

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Carbon Science: Carbon Culture
Jun
24
10:30 AM10:30

Carbon Science: Carbon Culture

BUY TICKETS TO THE WORKSHOP HERE

Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, and in our bodies. It gives us fire, diamonds, graphite and coal. Friend and foe, creator and destroyer, Carbon is a source of fertility in our landscapes and chaos in our climate.  

Join us for a fascinating workshop at The Living Classroom (TLC), with artists, farmers and scientists, to gain a fresh perspective on Carbon.

We will:

Learn about biochar, a charcoal-based soil additive that has been used to re-purpose farm waste and build soil fertility for centuries. We will hear from those directly involved in the Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS) project, active in China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, Vietnam and Peru. 

Build a Kon-Tiki biochar kiln on site and produce a batch of biochar that you can take home with you. We will also test a charcoal drum kiln built by Peter Turnbull, who will describe his adaptation of a gasifier to convert chipped wood mass into electricity, hot water, gas and charcoal. 

Learn about the recently launched Carbon Farm, a world-first demonstration site at TLC showcasing carbon sequestration methods in farming and land management.

Join a discussion and activities led by four artists in residence at TLC involved in the ‘An artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar…’ project. We will explore how carbon features in the artists’ projects, and speculate on how carbon can be re-imagined in modern society.

This event is facilitated by:

Ruy Anaya de la Rosa (environmental scientist/ B4SS Project Director)

Adam Blakester (sustainability entrepreneur/founding Director of Starfish Initiatives)

Georgie Pollard, Alex Wisser, Jono Bolitho, Laura Fisher (artists)

Rick Hutton (educator/CEO, The Living Classroom)

Garry McDouall (farmer/Chair, The Carbon Farm)
 

Event details:

Where: The Living Classroom, 1 Killarney Gap Rd, Bingara

When: Sunday June 24 10:30am to 3:00pm.

Tickets: $20, buy them through eventbrite here. Children are welcome!

Bring: a light lunch – we will provide damper, soup, tea and coffee. Wear sensible clothing for outdoor work. 

Contact: Rick Hutton 0438 355 197 or at rhutton@gwydir.nsw.gov.au

Get in quick, places are limited!!

 

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Announcing the AFS Project launch dinner and theatre event!
May
5
7:00 PM19:00

Announcing the AFS Project launch dinner and theatre event!

an artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar… [a serious comedy in one act]

“In every true artist, or farmer, or scientist there is a spark, as precious as that first tiny spark with which life itself began…” Louis Bromfield, 1951

Sparks flew last year when Rick Hutton from The Living Classroom in Bingara proposed to stage a play inspired by KSCA’s AFS Project at Bingara’s dazzling Roxy Theatre. Rick’s vision was to use theatre to introduce the project to the community in the New England region of NSW.

What a rollicking good idea we said!

We are delighted to announce that this spark ignited some very creative work. In just a few weeks, the North West Theatre Company will host the launch dinner for our project. Their production will be complemented by a locavore’s feast fit for carnivore and herbivore alike. Dinner and a show!

KSCA wild foods guru Diego Bonetto will work with stylist Marnie Fox, local caterers Friends of Touriandi, and farmer Glenn Morris of Figtree Organic Farms to feed the multitudes. Several of the AFS Project artists will be there to share their brand new collaborative projects with the audience. We can’t wait! Come join us – tickets are limited!

Where: The Roxy Theatre, 74 Maitland street, Bingara, NSW

When: 7.00pm, Saturday 5th May 2018.

How much: $50 per person for “dinner and a show”. BYO Drinks.

Click HERE to buy tickets.

Read more about the AFS Project HERE. And click HERE to read an ABC story about The Roxy Theatre, only recently restored to its 1930s glory and reopened!

STOP PRESS: KSCA is likely to be able to offer free accommodation at The Living Classroom’s bunkhouse to a few punters between May 4th-6th. But get in quick! To register your interest email info@ksca.land

20161112_feast1.jpg

 

The Foragers' Feast at Futurelands2, Kandos, 2016.

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