.............Bela's lullaby........................... ...the music.................a blessing
......a little rain............... .....we had to leave .....now that people travel................................
...in the late 1890s.......................
.....fearless of the water.... .....cyclone circus ................bush turkey............. ...anchor me.. ..................1927
born in the refugee camps
...a spiritual home...
...children move away.... ...moved apart........
Olive's lullaby
.....jackfruit curry.... .................the Collins Street Market ..........the sky is so blue
sweet baby............................. ...on the floor with everybody else .......susu......................
...the sky and the sea.................................... I was called up.................
Curtain.............. a sense of ownership ....................more Indian than my son
..............................not the same people we left
...my innate sense of belonging.........we have to be good hosts .......life must be better elsewhere
home of cassowary........ I did not want them to be forgotten...........my ancestral home..........remains that were removed.......
Here in Cairns........ Mathilda.............................. more than one home............................... .......difficult in the beginning .......everybody wants to work.............
.......in the tropics.............
.......because of the citizenship
...those years were lonely ...you become protective...
...there is a pride.......... visiting friends.....
.......connected to the world..... ...things and people went to Cairns.... ..........................to give support
.............one of them ...three different things..... ......without language..... ......markets..... ......good people who need help..... ..........................a fair go..... I see the problems that faced me..... ...Australia became our home..... ...moved up from Brisbane.....
...very little skill..... .......draw them close to you.....
up the rivers..... ....................it felt like home
...over the other side of the line ..............he would make pasta ..............the pain of not being educated
...we are tropical... ...massive problems, massive struggle... .......................pumpkin, potatoes... pumpkin, or pie
..........................I decided to go fishing........... ................................overseas for a long time............comforts of home...........................
SCROLL OVER IMAGE AND CLICK ON LINKS to listen to stories...please visit again and refresh page as this space gradually fills with stories

[conservatory]

is a participatory art project by Sasha Grbich and Lisa Harms
in assocation with the Tanks Art Centre and Cairns and Region Multicultural Association (CARMA)
which responds to the architecture and history of the Tanks Art Centre: originally a storehouse for oil during the Second World War.  Starting from a conversation about border protection and expanding to encompass broad experiences of making home [conservatory] offers a poetic reflection on belonging. The artists, in residence for a month - with the assistance and support of CARMA - will record conversations about what it means to make and defend a sense of “home”; during open recording sessions and on visits with immigrants, traditional owners, established farming families and travelers.

The vast space of Tank 3 will gradually fill with recorded voices: stories, conversations and lullabies.

Open recording sessions in Tank 3 Tuesdays to Fridays 1.30 – 4.30 pm from 18th Jan to the 11th of Feb.
PROJECT LAUNCH Friday Feb 4th 6-8pm (RE-SCHEDULED TO FRIDAY 11TH FEB 6PM ON ACCOUNT OF CYCLONE YASI)

click here to see FLICKR slideshow of opening night: photo credits Matt Schyff

for information contact:lisa@conservatory.org.au or sasha@conservatory.org.au


the research, development and production of [conservatory] a multi-platform collaborative project in locative media and participatory culture by Lisa Harms and Sasha Grbich been supported by

ArtsSA
Tanks Art Centre
Cairns and Region Multicultural Association (CARMA)
The Janet Holmes a Court Artist Grant: a NAVA initiative, made
possible through the generous sponsorship of Mrs Janet Holmes a Court and through The Visual Arts Board, Australia Council for the Arts.
The Regional Arts Development Fund: a Queensland Government and Cairns Regional Council partnership to support local arts and culture.


with mentoring support from Heidi Angove and Ben Nelson