Grow the Passion …
The Two Fires Festival taps into the powerful combination of art and activism to create change at both the personal and community levels.
* The 2015 festival will honour the legacy of
Judith Wright - for the 100th anniversary of her birth - 31st May 1915. Judith was an early
activist for the environment and Aboriginal rights through her poetry and prose. The inaugural Judith Wright Address will be delivered
by the Hon. Linda Burney, MP - the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the NSW Parliament. Linda started her career as a teacher and was insrumental in developing the first Aboriginal education policy in Autralia.
Help us make this great little festival happen by donating and telling your friends. Donations can be any amount, every bit will help us make this festival happen.
* We will acknowledge Aboriginal people's history and ancient cultural connection to the Braidwood area with
a public art installation, The Dhurga Rock, in our central park. This will be unveiled with ceremony and celebration.
* An Art Exhibition showcasing current expressions of activist arts and artists’ activism.
* We connect people to a Yuin elder's gaze on our local environment. An open interview with Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison will become the first Aboriginal oral history item presented to our local museum.
* We listen and learn in conversation about conservation, land use & Indigenous knowledge. Contemporary poets and musicians will perform for us.
Judith Wright spent the last three decades of her life in and around our heritage-listed village of Braidwood. Our festival is small & intimate. All venues are easy to walk to. There is a fire burning in the park for the whole of the festival & people meet
& gather there. Usually there is hay bale seating. You can approach & talk to anyone in the friendly atmosphere.
Immerse yourself …
The 2013 Two Fires Festival showcased the artworks of 19 Aboriginal artists in our “Deadly Art Show” at Altenburg & Co. – a prestigious local gallery. Works came from the South Coast of NSW, Canberra, Sydney & Ernabella. The opening saw 5 of the artists with
us, and food & live music in the courtyard. Many of the works sold over the 3 weeks of the exhibition.
Catherine Moore's painting Amala Groom's painting
Step out of your Culture Zone …
One local woman told me she’d had her first conversation with an Aboriginal person at this festival in 2009 - & that it was a really meaningful exchange, not just small talk, as they sat under a tree in the park – just the two of them.
Activate …
We held an “Activist Poster Show” and an “Activism in the Digital Age” session (after which one author remarked that he “hadn’t been this excited by anything for a long time”).
Bill Gammage talked about his book “The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia” – which won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History in 2012.
Children’s workshops on Humpy Building and Creative Re-Use were held in the park. Donald Atkinson showed others his leaching basket techniques.
There were two concerts – one with Chris Latham and world class chamber musicians, & the other featuring the satirical “Shortis & Simpson” and “Microwave Jenny”.
We encourage Braidwoodians to billet people for the festival period. This keeps costs down, fosters relationships and gives residents a chance to play host. Some locals (and others) also volunteer to help over the weekend – of great help to us, and inspiring
for them.
To affect CHANGE we need to touch people. We want to empower festival-comers to be more “Activist” in their own lives – to speak up, take a risk, talk to people you might consider “other”, engage in the centuries-old practice of yarning around a fire….. This
little festival inspires & excites as it provides the rare opportunity to really look and hear and connect and then go back to your busy life, rejuvenated. You could even take more away than that!
Please help us get our message out through your own networks.
Please help us make this great little festival happen by donating and telling your friend. Donations can be any amount, every bit will help us present this festival...and come along and join
us in Braidwood for the weekend 16 -17 May 2015.
Donations of $20 will supply tea and coffee, $50 hires PA equipment for a day; $100 buys accommodation for an artist; $250 one venue hire for a day; $500 buys transport,
accommodation and a nominal appearance fee for artists.
You can also support us by sharing this project on your social media, your email lists and talk to your friends and colleagues.
