UPDATE! Connection are being made and things are linking into action…
All over Australia memories and ideas are being unearthed, pulled out of old sheds, sanded back and shaken up in preparation for October… a growing core group are emerging who will be working with artists to generate the living roving museum of recreation, holidays, relaxation and celebrating our heritage and livelihood.
Artists and co-workers Damian O’Neill and Paddy O’Sullivan are working with ideas based on solitude and how a caravan becomes ones personal shell with a local caravanner in the Kyneton/Castlemaine area in Victoria.
Another van set to be romanced by an artist in partnership with its family has played host to at least four honeymoons, while Sydney based artist Zoe Davis is working with caravanners for whom the shared project of restoring a vintage van has been a catalyst in a deepening relationship in the Blue Mountains.
Chris Symonds is busy down in North West Tasmania renovating an old Sunliner with young people from Wynyard High School and there are rumours of this caravan being recreated as an olfactory museum, evoking memories through the science of scent. Also near Wynyard, artist Kit Hiller is renovating a caravan that she created as part of the Radio Holdiay project to go ahead to Canberra in September to advertise the upcoming event.
Tech expert Kerrin Addis has visited a NSW based caravan legend to hear tales of the Jennison caravan legacy and there are plans afoot to animate an old letter detailing early phases of creation.
Big hART artist Elspeth Blunt is plotting a course from Roebourne in Western Australia where she will be working with a local indigenous family around concepts of holiday-making – the caravan she will convoy in is currently being outfitted in Melbourne, where performance and comedy maestro Bron Batten is also based. Bron is heading west to work in Millicent, SA while also Melbourne based New Zealand artist Caroline Anderson is warmly on the trail of working with Victorian based caravanner with a connection to the Percy Grainger museum.
Down south of Hobart, a CRUSADER has come board and likely to be working with a Hobart based artist…meanwhile in Maleny, vintage caravan magazine editor Lisa is planning to be involved and we are looking out for an artist to collaborate with her up there.
It’s not too late to in touch if you would like to participate or know of someone who might. beth@bighart.org