Craft ACT Artist-in-residence 2014: Bogs and Fens

Bogs and Fens: a rtist-in-residence
Introduction
Craft, science and the environment
It is nine years since the initial
conversation between Craft ACT: Craft
and Design Centre and ACT Parks &
Conservation Service, and the inaugural
Artist-in-Residence program. Over the
years the program has grown from
hosting local artists to attracting national
and international practitioners. In 2013
the program expanded to incorporate a
research component, with artists being
invited to undertake a research period in
a national cultural or research institution.
Open days in the Parks, artists’ talks,
workshops and forums are held during
the residencies so that the community
can meet the artists and engage through
the public program. The residence draws
attention to Canberra’s distinct natural
and cultural landscape and connects
community to our unique environment.
This was particularly poignant in
2014 with the selected artists, Satoshi
Fujinuma, Sally Blake and Annee Miron,
invited to respond to the theme the
environmental protection of bogs
and fens. The devastating bushfires in
2003 affected all the bogs in Namadgi
National Park and a collaborative
restoration program between ACT Parks
& Conservation Service and the Australian
National Botanic Gardens was undertaken
to aid their recovery. Bog communities
provide a number of ecosystem services
including the breeding habitat for the
endangered Corroboree frogs as well as
water control and filtration at catchment
sources. Canberra’s water catchment area
is in Namadgi National Park.
It seemed a perfect match for a
three‐way partnership – Craft ACT,
ACT Parks & Conservation Service
and the Australian National Botanic
Gardens – with the artists undertaking
their residency at Gudgenby Ready‐Cut
Cottage in Namadgi National Park
and Nil Desperandum Homestead in
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, and their
research period at the Gardens.
The Gardens facilitated field trips to the
bogs and fens in the national park, and
gave the artists open access to scientists,
their research data and equipment.
The assistance and generosity of the
partners has had a deep and lasting
impact on everyone involved – artists,
scientists, rangers, and the public – and
provided unique opportunities to link
ideas, knowledge and creativity.
The artists’ isolation and immersion in
the residency gave way to self-reflection,
insights into a culture and nature of
Cover: Swamp, Barrington Tops. Photography, Murray Fagg. Image provided by the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Inside cover: Satoshi Fujinuma, capturing the landscape for future reference, Gudgenby Ready-Cut Cottage, Namadgi
National Park. Photography: Art Atelier Photography.
Left: Swampland. Photography, Murray Fagg. Image provided by the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
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