The Soils Project
The Soils Project has been in development since 2018. A collaboration between three organisations, and several artists, curators, writers and activists, the project will manifest in various iterations in 2022 – 2024, including a webinar series, an industry workshop in Healesville, Victoria, exhibitions at TarraWarra Museum of Art and Van Abbemuseum, and a festival in Indonesia. The Soils Project explores and embraces the following:
- The complex and diverse relationships between environmental change and colonisation within the Netherlands, Indonesia and Australia.
- The deep histories of each location, the multiplicity of landscapes and environments, and the diverse impact of farming, mining, plantations, –colonisations and global industries on cultural heritage, land management and traditional knowledges.
- A broad understanding of the term ‘artist’ as some of the participants work outside the realm of ‘art’. As such, the preferred term is practitioner.
- Recognition that the institutions involved (Van Abbemuseum and TarraWarrra) have histories that are embedded in Western modernity and coloniality.
- The project seeks to “promote decolonial solidarity from a landscape of multiplicity” (Antariksa).
- The project recognises situated knowledges.
- The project recognises that some sacred and significant knowledges cannot be shared.
The exhibition includes newly commissioned works by Australian practitioners including a large-scale photographic installation by Bangerang artist Peta Clancy that responds to historic photographs taken where the Birrarung (Yarra River) and Brungergalk (Watts River) meet, exploring cultural memory over time.
Presented by:
- Struggles for Sovereignty (SFS), Indonesia, a group of artists and activists exploring agrarian struggles and ecological justice. Project team: Alec Steadman, Sanne Oorthuizen, Elia Nurvista, Lista Handitya, Gatari Surya Kusuma
- TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria.
Project team: Victoria Lynn, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Carter - Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.Project team: Charles Esche, Teresa Cos Rebollo, Vivian Heyms
Advisors: Antariksa (Kunci), Dr Danny Butt (University of Melbourne), Dr Helen Hughes (Monash University)
This project has been assisted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia.
Event Details
- Date:
- 5 August 2023 at 12:00 am – 12 November 2023 at 12:00 am
- Venue:
- TarraWarra Museum of Art
- Categories:
- Fine Art; Gallery / Exhibition; Research: Wominjeka Djeembana
Description
The Soils Project has been in development since 2018. A collaboration between three organisations, and several artists, curators, writers and activists, the project will manifest in various iterations in 2022 – 2024, including a webinar series, an industry workshop in Healesville, Victoria, exhibitions at TarraWarra Museum of Art and Van Abbemuseum, and a festival in Indonesia. The Soils Project explores and embraces the following:
- The complex and diverse relationships between environmental change and colonisation within the Netherlands, Indonesia and Australia.
- The deep histories of each location, the multiplicity of landscapes and environments, and the diverse impact of farming, mining, plantations, –colonisations and global industries on cultural heritage, land management and traditional knowledges.
- A broad understanding of the term ‘artist’ as some of the participants work outside the realm of ‘art’. As such, the preferred term is practitioner.
- Recognition that the institutions involved (Van Abbemuseum and TarraWarrra) have histories that are embedded in Western modernity and coloniality.
- The project seeks to “promote decolonial solidarity from a landscape of multiplicity” (Antariksa).
- The project recognises situated knowledges.
- The project recognises that some sacred and significant knowledges cannot be shared.
The exhibition includes newly commissioned works by Australian practitioners including a large-scale photographic installation by Bangerang artist Peta Clancy that responds to historic photographs taken where the Birrarung (Yarra River) and Brungergalk (Watts River) meet, exploring cultural memory over time.
Presented by:
- Struggles for Sovereignty (SFS), Indonesia, a group of artists and activists exploring agrarian struggles and ecological justice. Project team: Alec Steadman, Sanne Oorthuizen, Elia Nurvista, Lista Handitya, Gatari Surya Kusuma
- TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria.
Project team: Victoria Lynn, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Carter - Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.Project team: Charles Esche, Teresa Cos Rebollo, Vivian Heyms
Advisors: Antariksa (Kunci), Dr Danny Butt (University of Melbourne), Dr Helen Hughes (Monash University)
This project has been assisted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia.