In partnership with Gondwanalink the Genestreams sculptures initiative is a nationwide project between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and conservation groups. The public art project unites traditional knowledge with western science and seeks to bring both indigenous and non indigenous artists from communities together.
The vision of project founder Aunty Carol Pettersen is that the sculptures will form a national tourism trail which will increase an awareness of the importance of the song lines, ecological restoration, cultural restoration, threatened species and how, through deep time all species are connected. To realize this vision the Genestreams sculptures teams seeks to work with communities across Australia.
“This project has the potential to promote local talents, educate about ecology, understanding of First Nations Peoples connection with land and country along with providing a common community communication stream. It also brings out the strengths in the community, it unites a community, it is a social asset and it is tourist attraction. It influences a shift in paradigms on all levels. It certainly provides a medium for Reconciliation as defined by the Federal Reconciliation policy”. Carol Pettersen
As is the case in Western Australia we envisage neighboring communities working together to create networks of sculptures that celebrate their indigenous culture and the similarities and differences in their ecology and geology. We welcome participation from all communities across Australia and abroad.
We are looking for people in communities who will champion the creation of a Genestreams sculpture in their region.
The first Genestreams sculpture was created at Twin Creeks nature reserve in partnership with Gondwana Link. The next Genestreams sculpture opens in the Bunya Mountains in December.
With Genestreams sculptures existing in both the far south west near the Stirling Ranges and the Bunya Mountains in Queensland Ben Beeton and Mali Moir would like to focus on returning to our creative roots in the Broken Hill and Menindee Lakes Regions to create Genestreams Sculptures as part of Aunty Carol vision for a nation wide tourism trail.
Ben Beeton undertook his first artist residency in Broken Hill in 2006 during which he spent several days visiting Kinchega National Park and the Menindee Lakes. He visited Menindee in 2010 when he was the artist for the Burke and Wills Environmental Expedition and in 2011 with Becklers Botanical Bounty. Mali Moir headed the Becklers Botanical Bounty project which visited Menindee Lakes near by Broken Hill for 10 years drawing and collecting the plants that Beckler collected. The internal art for the Genestreams sculpture at Menindee Lakes would feature the art created by the artists of Becklers Botanical Bounty.
In mid 2022 artists Ben Beeton and Mali Moir propose to undertake a project at Broken Hill and Menindee in order to create the natural history art for connecting Genestreams sculptures about the ecology and geology of the region as well as using the time to connect with local indigenous artists who could provide the art for the external appearance of the sculpture.
Becklers Botanical Bounty. We would like to dedicate the internal art of the Menindee Lakes sculpture to his memory. Photograph by Ben Beeton
There are two steps in the development of a Genestreams Sculpture
1. Creating the art for a digital 3d model that will be featured on the Genestreams website and used to attract patrons to construct the sculpture. In this short film you will see an example of the art and the 3d digital model created for the first Genestreams sculpture. The artist residency will focus on this first stage.
2. Constructing the Genestreams sculpture. Here are films and images of the sculpture at Twin Creeks.
Our patrons are professor Steve Hopper and Dr Noal Nannup.
To undertake the project we would require accommodation. During the project, we would build on the work that we created during previous projects.