Artists Capture Ecological and Cultural Essence of Conservation

Contents of media kit

Thursday, 19 July 2007 

The vital conservation work of Bush Heritage Australia has received a welcome boost through the imagination and creativity of a group of artists from Australian National University. 

Having camped on site earlier this year, these unusual ‘artists in residence’ have produced artworks that explore the diverse environmental features and cultural significance of Bush Heritage’s Scottsdale Reserve.  A public exhibition of their artworks is being officially opened next Wednesday in the Foyer Gallery of ANU’s School of Art.

Scottsdale, less than an hour south of Canberra, was purchased by Bush Heritage last December.  It is one of the last remaining and largest underdeveloped properties in the upper Murrumbidgee region.

‘Scottsdale is 1300 hectares of conservation riches,’ said Reserve Manager Owen Whitaker.

‘The property features threatened ecosystems such as temperate grasslands and grassy box gum woodlands and provides a vital refuge for many animal and plant species such as the vulnerable diamond firetail and the silver-leaved gum.

‘We’ve had ecologists on site, using scientific instruments and surveys to monitor life on the reserve and deepen our understanding of its ecological significance.  Now we’ve also had artists on site, probing and recording the landscape with the camera, the palette and ceramics.

‘This opportune partnership with Australia’s artistic community has produced remarkable expressions of the ecological and cultural qualities of Scottsdale and the value and vitality of conservation work,’ Owen said.

Artists from ANU’s School of Art have been inspired by their field research at Scottsdale to produce a visually stunning and thought-provoking array of ceramics and photography.  The Environment Studio encourages artists to engage with environmental issues through their work.

‘Art offers a means of establishing places such as Scottsdale on the cultural as well as the ecological register,’ said John Reid, Convenor of ANU’s Environment Studio and Field Studies program.

‘The imagery and stories inspired by the field trips to Scottsdale connect people with place.  On a property with such a rich and textured history, nature and culture can’t easily be imagined separately,’ Mr Reid said.

Scottsdale is part of the ambitious ‘Kosciuszko to Coast’ project to recreate a wildlife corridor from the Australian Alps to the Great Escarpment of Eastern Australia.  

‘Doing conservation on a landscape-scale requires the cooperation and support of many people and organisations,’ said Reserve Manager Lauren Van Dyke.

‘Scottsdale Reserve will serve as an education hub and “open gate” for on-ground trials, field days, workshops and other natural resource management partnership functions,’ Lauren said.

According to John Reid, art offers an additional means of engaging with communities and potential partners in conservation work.

‘Not everyone responds to a scientific way of describing or evaluating a place.  A lot of people are more moved by visual and aesthetic expressions of landscape and environment.

‘This field studies program on Scottsdale has allowed artists to revel in the sensuous qualities of the southern highlands while engaging creatively with conservation work,’ Mr Reid said.

Notes:

Bush Heritage Australia is a national non-profit organisation that strives to protect Australia’s unique and abundant diversity of life. It achieves this by using the best available science to acquire and manage land, water and wildlife of outstanding conservation value.

Bush Heritage currently owns 27 reserves across Australia, covering 676 000 hectares.  More than 16 000 people have already provided support, as donors, volunteers or partners in our work.  Bush Heritage’s vision is to either own or manage one per cent of Australia’s high conservation value land by 2025.

The exhibition in ANU School of Art’s Foyer Gallery will run from Tuesday, 24 July to Sunday, 5 August 2007.  Twenty per cent of the proceeds from sales will support Bush Heritage’s vital conservation work of protecting Australia’s land, water and wildlife.

Bush Heritage is currently involved in other artistic collaborations:
• The ‘Earth and Water’ art exhibition will be on show at MARS Gallery, in Melbourne, from 2–26 August 2007.
• Graham McKenzie will exhibit works inspired by his stay at the Boolcoomatta Reserve in South Australia, at Span Gallery in Melbourne, from 18–29 September 2007.

Contact: Stephanie Lavau, Bush Heritage Australia, 03 8610 9100