Genius Junk - Music and Making in the City of Makers
An intergenerational, cross-genre arts-based community project with an environmental theme!
Burnie Arts Council’s Genius Junk program has engaged the Burnie community in a broad range of creative activities whilst doing the right thing by our planet. The program culminated in a public event at the Barker St Reserve, Havenview.
This project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia
Images of the event (below and in gallery) by Grant Wells Photo.
Music - Junk Percussion: Music leader David Turner conducted ‘Junk Percussion’ workshops at Montello Primary School, Burnie Primary School and Havenview Primary School during term III. On event day David and his son Nick, assisted by Victoria Hall and Chris Swain, led a workshop in the morning where the participants learned three original songs and two covers. The finale of the day was the grand performance of the rehearsed works - they were executed brilliantly and received rapturous applause.
Art from Junk: Make art rather than landfill! Artist Emma Magnusson-Reid led two school holiday workshops involving making art from recycled and repurposed materials. On event day Emma and her assistant Robyn had a very busy art station where many wonderful creations were made. More about the workshops here.
Commissioned works: The project allowed for two commissioned pieces by local artists. Catherine Shield and Marion Kennedy were the artists selected, and each designed and decorated a wheelie bin. During the life of the project the bins will be on display in the Burnie CBD. Catherine’s at the Burnie Library, and Marion’s at shop 2/3 Plaza Arcade, Burnie (Business North West premises). More about the transformed wheelie bins here.
Caring for our Environment: The event involved lunch time talks and displays by Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management representatives, Owen from ReThink Waste Tasmania, and weed expert Tania Imlach. Discussions focused on waste reduction, sustainability, cat management, the local ecosystem, and citizen science.
Intergenerational learning in our digital world: The Genius Junk project includes a digital component which involves local high school students being mentored in the art of filmmaking by cinematographer Nicholas Higgins. In follow up sessions students will have the opportunity to show the older generation a thing or two about the creation of digital content, with input from social media and cyber-safety experts.
MEDIA: Music leader David Turner to lead Genius Junk percussion workshops, The Advocate, September 12 (includes video of David Turner playing a wheelie bin)
MEDIA: Genius Wheelie Bins Pop Up in the Burnie CBD, The Advocate, October 5
MEDIA: Trashy Tunes Spread Environmental Message, The Advocate, October 10 (includes video of the Junk Percussion performance)