Community News

Creative Connections: Together // Alone

Together//Alone is a joint rapid response engagement program in the time of COVID-19 from The Quad & Lismore Regional Gallery funded by Create NSW. We are thrilled to announce the first round of the Together//Alone Artists: Sound Installation Artist: Brett Canning and Choreographer & Dance Maker; Philip Channels and collaborators; Sean Campbell, Kevin Privett, Annie Tinning, Robbie Tinning.

Sound Installation Artist, Brett Canning with his work Sound Connections:

Sound Connections is a sound-art work focusing on school student perspectives during isolation.

The project asks students to make audio recordings of responses to a few questions around how they are feeling at the moment, how they are connecting with family and the outside world, what community looks like for them at the moment, what they are looking forward to doing once restrictions ease.

These recordings – along with the natural sounds of the Northern Rivers – will be used as source material for the work, giving a voice to school students and encouraging meaningful connection in this time of social distancing. Students listening to the finished work can know that they are not alone in the way that they may feel at the moment. The natural sounds element of the work encourages the listener to take this opportunity to make stronger connection with our environment.

 

Philip Channels and Collaborators:

Dance Integrated Australia (DIA), led by Philip Channells (Creative Director / Producer) is a socially engaged, non-incorporated, artist led co-operative working within the contexts of diversity in the arts. 

DIA developed face-to-face dance classes: MOVE IT for all abilities and aged group in the Northern Rivers region over the past 18 months. Up until the last week of March, MOVE IT was growing in its popularity and established a new class in Brunswick Heads. By order of the NSW Health Department, venues were forced to close due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

Teamed up with Sean Campbell and collaborators / teachers Kevin Privett (Rosebank), Annie Tinning & Rob Tinning (Clunes), immediate discussions took place. This project is about us as practitioners adapting to the new//current normal.

– What the f*ck are we gunna do now?/ How do we stay connected to our audience / class participants when we’re ordered to stay at home?/ How do we continue to engage with our community in a way that combats against social exclusion when we are practicing social distancing?/ How do we earn a living and pay our bills when all our gigs and casual work has ceased? / How do we continue to offer a much-needed activity that promotes positive mental health and physical well-being particularly to an age group of people who are more vulnerable to contracting the Coronavirus?

Our response:  – Let’s create accessible content. / Let’s take MOVE IT – Live Online from our living room in Rosebank and try to beam it out to everyone’s homes in the Northern Rivers and beyond./Let’s capture the essence of MOVE IT, the fun, the silliness, the cool music and daggy dance moves, and bring the best of what we delivered in person and create weekly content that can be broadcast digitally.