Wild Ground Artist
Wild Ground Artist is an Artist-In-Residency Project, which provides opportunity for local artists to further their artistic practise alongside, and in collaboration with, Wild Ground programs. The residency promotes a symbiotic relationship between artists, Wild Ground children/families, and learning/respecting/being on Darug and Gundungarrah Country.
2021 Julie Henninger
Julie is a community land-based artist, organising and facilitating interdisciplinary learning and creating spaces in various settings. Her work centres around participatory and collaborative experiences in many mediums. She co-creates locally and internationally with a focus on individual, community and ecological health. Julie’s current art project is a collaboration with Danielle Carey. #WeavingWildWonder is a community art project using the medium of photography, digital technologies and social media to explore concepts of connection, community, resilience and well-being. Participants shared photos of circles found in their days during lockdown, weaving together connection and care. WeavingWildWonder has since extended into a curated series of workshops, including therapeutic art, photography, poetry, and zine making.
2018 NIKI READ
Local Blue Mountains artist Niki Read was our inaugural Wild Ground Artist. Niki is an interdisciplinary artist who creates art for connection, beauty and legacy. Her current work contributes to a personal aesthetic in response to nature, society and major life experiences. She works with paint, inks, paper, canvas, pencil, found objects, collage, assemblage – both in the two and three dimensional, art books and the written word. Her strong sense of social justice has been the driving force behind her earlier art-making within community-based contexts; theatre, youth, cancer and palliative care.
During her time as Wild Ground Artist, Niki and her four year old son visited Horseshoe Falls weekly alongside Wild Ground families during an 8-week Bush Playgroup program. Her collaboration resulted in the artwork Coming to ground: Horseshoe Falls which was Niki’s artistic response to Horseshoe Falls, Hazelbrook – one of our nature play locations for the 2018 Bush Playgroup program.
The painting is both a sensorial impression and meditative bush map of this stunning, wild playground. It reflects specific moments throughout the Wild Ground program: the transformation of particular plants throughout the changing seasons, spontaneous play of both children and adults, and the exciting animal encounters during this time - including the alluring crayfish, a favourite amongst the group. It also captures the nourishing effect of spending time in the bush with other families, the journey towards slowing down, being present and allowing spontaneous free play to lead the way.
We’re currently selling prints of two artworks by Niki, Coming to ground: Horseshoe Falls (2018) and Cicada (2017) . A very small percentage of profits from these sales will go towards the operational costs of Wild Ground. We’re excited about the idea of finding creative, sustainable and collaborative ways to support local artists and grow our Wild Ground initiative to keep inspiring and connecting local families to nature and their wild selves.