Dust & Good Bones
In a nutshell
- Think Lonely Planet crossed with WikiCamps Australia, but mapping out the world of creativity in the country across each state
- This guide will highlight the best campsites and locations for photography and art opportunities, and showcase galleries and quirky shops throughout Australia. As well as put a spotlight on emerging and established artists and attractions throughout the small communities across country Australia
- The original concept will be shaped around an online free-access website that will eventually be also available as an app and in print
- This project will work in conjunction with Facebook and Instagram to reveal new locations and share creative information, tips, and inspiring stories
- Collecting data will be on the ground, through submissions, and input from the social media communities
- As a starting point, In October 2022 I will be participating in the Hay Dust and Rust Charity rally to raise funds for remote community health issues. I am taking this opportunity to start mapping out some trails and locations along the 5000km trip
- Dust & Good Bones will be infused with creative photography and artwork, interesting accommodation and campsites, plus some great route suggestions.
- Designed for those who want to make the most of their country experience
HELP SUPPORT
Donate
THE GUIDE TO A CREATIVE COUNTRY
A project that aims to support, inspire, and motivate art communities and individuals.
It is Creative Tourism that helps creative people living in the country and their communities. Showcasing the beauty, variety, quality of the arts, and inspirational locations.
Encouraging artists, art lovers, photographers, and everyday adventurers into the “creative country”.
Where to Start
In October, I will be participating in the Hay Dust and Rust Charity rally to raise funds for remote community health issues. I am taking this opportunity to start mapping out some trails and locations along the 5000km trip
This country project will also allow me to build on my creative photography portfolio as well as my illustrative works. Using the images taken and artworks created along the way, coupled with the other location and artist discoveries, to form the skeleton of the “Guide to a Creative Country”
Guide to a Creative Country
Because its a great way to boost a decimated cultural sector after fire, flood and covid. Bringing it back into the valuable entity that it is for all Australians.
With the current situation, most of us are still hesitant to travel on planes to other countries.
What better way to social distance than a visit to the outback? Caravan sales have gone through the roof, and road trips are on the top of everyone’s list.
It’s an excellent time for the arts to take advantage of the shift in destination options if only people knew where to look.
This guide will highlight emerging and established artists as well as the galleries and quirky arty shops and attractions throughout the small communities in Australia.
Think Lonely Planet crossed with WikiCamps Australia but mapping out the world of creative country.
Including trails to follow that map out not only artists, art trails, art festivals, and galleries but also unique accommodation and creative locations for inspiration.
Feature tips for the best creative experience. For example, best time of day and year to get the best photo of a location, flowering season, opening hours of galleries etc
Including local artists in the project will create a stronger repour and interest in the broader community at each location. Providing communities with a subtle opportunity to connect with each other and the arts.
The final works will be shared across different mediums; print, digital, video, and social media, making it become more accessible to a larger demographic and audiences. The digital format also has the added benefit that it can also reach back into the towns and communities where the artworks were discovered or inspired by
Including a few new arts in the project increases artistic participation from regional communities. Giving them a visibility avenue that reaches further than their existing communities.
As an artist and photographer, I have travelled country Australia for over 40 years. Crossing thousands of km through QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, and a bit of NT.
Before each trip, it takes weeks for me to map out my trails. Spending hours on google street view researching each town and location I pass through. Just so I don’t miss anything interesting.
And to be honest with you, I have no interest in stopping the night at a gravel pit on the side of the road. Especially if I knew I could travel just an extra 10km South to find a gorgeous creek-side camp or boutique accommodation with a private gallery.
No one has time to plan trips in depth, and there is a lot of nothingness out there if you don’t know where to look
Project Start Date
Abstract Photographical Discovery Approach:
In addition to the obvious beauty of each location, I would discover the unnoticed but notice-worthy sides of the country. Not tourist shots. But representing the country from an alternate and artistic viewpoint. Highlighting the unusual with creative photography, sound captures, and video
A spotlight on country and culture, looking through the creative lens. It’s finding the things of worth that don’t scream “here I am”.
The unexpected delights that lay quiet and you would not usually notice. Giving value back to the mere essence of the country.
The consept is a Kaleidoscope viewpoint; Light travels in a straight line. When light bumps into something, it changes direction. The light enters the kaleidoscope and reflects back and forth between the shiny surfaces inside. It’s the back and forth and different angles that reveal the beauty and wonder.
The artistic view pinpoints different angles to differentiate between what everyone sees and what exists. A subject’s clarification or distortion is afforded by a particular viewpoint.
It is a reinvigorating of the thought process. With the rise of covid we are forced to rediscover our location.
Not that everyone should look and love the specifics of quiet streets at night. But a representation of the idea. Giving value to the unexpected. Encourage people to look at what and who surrounds them without pretence or familiarity. Give worth to all that exists and not just that which is thrown in your face or expected. And in doing so, add extra value to everyone’s lives, regardless of location.
Shoot small country towns at night. When it is still and so quiet, you can almost feel the town breathe. The structures, without their purpose, reflect the bones of the town. The night lighting and shadows reflect its mood and emotion.
Not a tourist shoot but spotlighting the every day quiet, artistic offerings. Photograph buildings, industry, animals, etc. that represent the country. Capturing their essence. For example, the country industry’s grit, power, beauty, gentleness, or harshness.
What’s beneath the surface that holds the towns and country together but is rarely noticed or given worth to their existence. Capturing some fascinating outback human characters, but mostly just the unsung heroes, the marks left behind that have no voice.
The photographic aspect of the projects idea has come from a couple of night walks with family through some small outback towns.
Between the fires and the launch of covid, our family put a pin on the map of Australia, roughly halfway between where everyone lived.
Travelling from Victoria, South Australia, NSW, And Queensland landed us in Tooraweenah
A spec of a town. But on our night walk, it was like it had transformed into an abandoned movie set, a visual attractiveness I had not expected. An emotive scene: The stillness and street lighting created the most amazing feeling of vastness, isolation, and presence at the same time. I fell in love with this little town that I had never heard of in the middle of nowhere.
Moving forward:
Submissions for inclusion in the guide will be opened to country locations after mapping out the first few trails. There will be a small one-off fee if selected to cover the setup.
The guides promotional campaign will start with a series of exhibitions of the artworks and photographs created and discovered along the trails. Visitors to the exhibitions will be invited to submit their favourite country locations, and this will aid in the further progress of the guide.
HELP SUPPORT
The Guide to a Creative Country Project
By donating you will be helping support the arts & Australian communities.
As thanks, you will be one of the first to get access to the online guide & exclusive invitation to the launch event