LOCATION: Natimuk, the Wimmera, Victoria
IN COLLABORATION WITH: Mars Drum (visual artist)
SUPPORTED BY: Natimuk Frinj Festival & Australia Council for the Arts Community Partnerships
PARTICIPANTS: Ten residents at the Natimuk nursing home / about 20 students from Natimuk Primary School and Goroke P-12 College
WHAT: A month of daily visits to the nursing home to chat and interview residents about ideas around 'extremes'. The Wimmera is no stranger to extreme weather conditions and floods, fires and mouse plagues are all fresh in peoples' memories. Regular sessions with the students to write and record music inspired by the elders' stories. Mars Drum worked with the students to design large visual art backdrops that were then painted on live during the performance.
OUTCOME: A performance for the Natimuk Frinj Festival including live painting and performance by the school students with a beautiful soundtrack made from the elders' recorded stories and the students' original music.