Tour venues and dates

Portland Arts Centre	Cnr Bentinck and Glenelg St, Portland VIC	18 July - 14 August	2010
Bega Valley Regional Gallery	Zingel Place, Bega, NSW	24 September - 6 November	2010

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Media release

Baseline: remnant grasslands of Weereewa/Lake George is a thought provoking account of the grassland landscape of Weereewa/Lake George in New South Wales by artists Beth Hatton and Christine James. Hatton's stitched and woven native grass sculptures depicting early surveying tools and James' panoramic format landscape paintings comment on the processes of colonisation upon this landscape.

Download the media release.

Media Contact:

• Diana Hare
• Communications and Events Coordinator
• Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre
• diana.hare [at] craftact.org.au
• (02) 6262 9333

Baselines: Colonisation and Conservation

Complimenting the exhibition at Craft ACT, Baselines: Colonisation and Conservation, was a one day forum which provided an opportunity to explore the possibilities that art and artists can bring to expand and enhance our experiences of unique environments and their conservation.

Baselines: Colonisation and Conservation brought together environment and the arts in a unique collaborative project, providing cross fertilisation and the sharing of stories to uncover new ways to understand our environment in a post colonial framework.

Session 1: A Changing Face

From colonial to contemporary, the land, its management and the practice of conservation were brought into focus. This session examined issues of sustainability and conservation of our precious environment, focusing on the Weereewa landscape.

Welcome and introduction

Barbara McConchie Executive Director, Craft ACT   Play audio

George Gundry: The True Business Of Agriculture

On the shore of Lake George, George Gundry operates Willeroo a 2000ha family property since 1894, raising Merino sheep, and of late, Angus cattle. George sees his primary role as one developing an intimate feel for natural processes to heal and rejuvenate the land. Following an enormous life changing paradigm shift, his new management regime attempts to balance the needs of the land and the needs of people whilst achieving financial security.

George is a certified Holistic Management Educator, working to assist farm families and rural enterprises in their quest for quality of life, sustainable living and a confident decision making framework. Everyone's existence is inextricably linked to the land and in these worrisome times of global warming George presents a refreshing insight and understanding which can assist us all to protect and regenerate our lives and landscapes.

Ruth Corrigan

Ruth Corrigan has had a lifelong interest in natural history processes; in 1987 she moved from Canberra to the present property, Gilead in Taylor's Creek Road which led her to develop a passion for grasslands and grassland plants. Grassland Field Guide in hand, Ruth studied the land until she could identify most of the plants she found; and over time, plant communities and associations became apparent to her. Twenty years later, with the land fenced from stock, and grazed moderately by kangaroos, the grassland has developed a great diversity of plant species, which have continued to thrive through the seasons. Ruth discusses the changes to the vegetation in this land.

Frances Ingram

Raised in the Southern Monaro, Frances Ingram relocated to Adelaide in 1980 for university education and has since returned to the ACT. Her qualifications include an Advanced Diploma in Western Herbal Medicine. Through extensive research, trust, and sensitive consultation with Aboriginal elders, Frances has created Australian Medicinal Plants of Arid and Temperate Regions. The research established Frances' credentials to accurately and wisely represent traditional healing methods as an ancient and respected art in Australia. Frances discusses Indigenous history and plant use in the Lake George area and the impact of colonisation and European farming practices.

Session 2: Opening Doors

Art can be a focus and a cultural tool to express a comment to a diverse audience. This session reflected upon art as a medium for exchange of dialogue and an expression of new ideas.

Christine James and Beth Hatton: Making Connections

Christine James and Beth Hatton are artists from different disciplines but share the same concerns. They discuss their collaboration for the exhibition Baseline which involved contemplation of the environmental history of Weereewa/Lake George.

Christine James

Christine James has been researching, walking and painting Weereewa/Lake George country for over a sixteen years. Her Weereewa works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has been a recipient of environmental art awards and artist residencies. Her current works in Baseline have moved from a critique of Colonial inappropriate usage of Weereewa's lake bed and catchment land to works that document the resilience of its remnant (remaining) vegetation.

Beth Hatton

Beth Hatton is a textile artist whose rugs, using recycled fabrics and more recently kangaroo skin off cuts, have been exhibited across Australia and internationally. She has received many awards, and in 2006 was named Master of Australian Craft. In 2003 Hatton began to construct forms from native and introduced plant materials using an Aboriginal stitching technique and this is the medium used for her works in the exhibition Baseline.

Paull McKee Artist: Common Sense Common Ground

What interests me at present is the relationships between heritage, environment and the arts, the values these areas share and how contemporary art practices are well placed to open dialogues between these sectors. Through our art practices we are able to find creative ways of interpreting and making visible these shared values of empathy, concern, generosity, curiosity, enjoyment and hope.

McKee discusses how bringing these areas together can build relationships and grow future endeavors, referencing the 2005 project Memories in Place: Art in High Country Huts, a joint venture between Craft ACT and the Namadgi National Park.

Jennifer Lamb: Environment as context for art

Former Director of Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 1983 to 2007

On the premise that many artists have a deep concern for the natural environment, the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery curated exhibitions that had the environment as the subject for art research and making. Beginning in the late 1990s these exhibitions initially involved school students working with regional artists. From 2001 the focus was on regional artists researching and making works about local environmental concerns.

Craft ACT wishes to acknowledge the generous support given by George Gundry, in the development and implementation of this project.

And the support of Erica Gundry and the Tarago Pre-School for the catering of this event.

This project was supported by HIREALL