SHARING THE SEEDSQUEEN STREET RICHES AND TEXTURES 2015

Queen Street Riches and Textures is an initiative of theSt Marys Corner Community and Cultural Precinct.

St Marys Corner is a community and cultural precinct that delivers a range of social services and programs and supports the development and

facilitation of a broad range of cultural projects.www.stmaryscorner.info

The Sharing the Seeds project was developed at St Marys Corner from November 2014 to June 2015 and has created exciting networks between artists, art educators, local gardeners and farmers, and Council services.

Creative producers at Maitree House, Peta Khan and Leigh Bramall, have captured multimedia stories through interactions with the St Marys community. They worked closely with the Nepean Arts and Design Centre to mentor students and develop their art projects. They were informed and inspired by stories from the local community. Participating students Annette Bukovinsky, Joel Cooper, Patricia Thomson, Phillip Chaffey and Justin Zennil Bishop, used painting, writing, poetry, sculpture, weaving and digital media for their works.

Other project components of Sharing the Seeds are Conversations at the Vegetable Beds by photographer and community art facilitator Jagath Dheerasekara and I am a Seed, I’m a Small, Small Seed, a video storytelling piece and installation by artist David Ryan.

Parallel to these creative initiatives there has been a number of educational and community gatherings - seed exchange meetings, educational workshops and visits to local gardens. These activities have been supported by the generous exchange of knowledge, expertise and innovative ideas around gardening and sustainability. Partners and collaborators in this process were Mamre House, Permaculture Sydney West, TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute Nepean Arts and Design Centre and Council.

The Sharing the Seeds project has generated passionate engagement from the community in responding to local and regional sustainability challenges and demonstrated further opportunities for creative expression and artistic exchange.

QUEEN STREET RICHES AND TEXTURES 2015art.mentorship.community engagement.

Penrith Council values the creative industries. Social, cultural and economic capital contribute to our region. Each year St Marys Corner produces a Queen Street Riches and Textures project through the engagement of experienced artists who work with the community and local emerging artists. The engagement is one of creative collaboration, mentoring, social interaction and conversations between artists and community in exploring St Marys’ past, present and future.

I’d like to congratulate local residents, participating artists, the TAFE Western Sydney Institute Nepean Arts and Design Centre, Mamre House and Penrith Council staff who initiated and coordinated the project for their contributions and making Queen Street Riches and Textures 2015 a great success.

Councillor Karen McKeown Mayor Penrith City Council

Sharing the SeedsConnecting artists, educators, communities and local gardeners

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1. Justin Zennil Bishop, A Healthy Foundation, 2015. Oil on canvas, 61cm x 91cm.2. David Ryan, Caption from video footage I am a Seed, I’m a Small, Small Seed, 2015. Looped video with amplified stereo audio track, 3min 47sec.3. J‘Aiga, 2015, palm fronds, reeds, native grasses,string, plastic bags. Detail from the larger installation of 8 bowls approx 15cm high, 20 cm diameter and 8 place mats approx 42x30 cm each.4. Annette Bukovinsky, The Significant Seed, 2015. Hand built Raku. 45x55cm.5. Maitree House - Leigh Bramall and Peta Khan, Video still from Tending Time: Wemor & Rosella, 2015. Video, 4min 38sec6. Jagath Dheerasekara, From Open Pollination, Self-portrait-poster series # 1 ~ 6, 2015, Pigment ink on poster paper, Photography and software aided graphics, 63 cm x 59.4 cm.7. Patricia Thomson, Rest, 2015. Poetry and image-drawing, gouache, ink, watercolour, prints, washi, recycled, found, prepared and altered paper with flower & wild flower seeds of the world on board.8. Phillip Chaffey, Seeds of Hope, 2015. Oil on canvas. 150x60cm.

Queen Street Riches and Textures 2015 - Sharing the Seeds project was produced at St Marys Corner Community and Cultural Precinct from November 2014 to June 2015. Sharing the Seeds exhibition will be on display at Mamre Festival, Mamre House 181 Mamre Road, Orchard Hills on 25 October 2015 and at Penrith Regional Gallery and The Lewers Bequest from 28 November 2015 to 24 February 2016. For more information on community and cultural projects and initiatives at St Marys Corner please visit: stmaryscorner.info