Jodie Goldring

From June 21, I will be immersed in a one-month residency at Central Craft in Alice Springs. Find out more about Central Craft at: https://centralcraft.org.au/

The residency will kick off with The Beanie Festival, now in its 28^th year! See more information about the Beanie festival at: https://www.beaniefest.org/

I will teach a series of workshops alongside other practitioners to activate the art centre during the weekend of June 22-23. See the full suite of workshops offered – https://centralcraft.org.au/collections/beanie-fest-workshops-2024

During the one-month residency I will live and work onsite at the Araluen Arts Precinct. See more information about the precinct at: https://araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au/more/araluen-cultural-precinct

I am looking forward to this rare opportunity to carry out independent creative research that will sustain my practice into the future. My research will focus on the ecological concepts of Mutualism and reciprocal relationships (as articulated in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass). Mutualism is a scientific concept that describes a mutually beneficial relationship between two species. For example, the starting point and inspiration for the project is the mistletoe bird (gardener) and mistletoe (garden) who co-exist in a mutualistic relationship in Alice Springs and surrounding area.

My residency will involve talking with local gardeners, writers and artists about their reciprocal relationships to specific plants. I will be meeting people for conversations in domestic gardens, community gardens, and the broader parks and landscapes around Alice Springs. The conversations will inform & generate audio files, photos, text, drawings and weaving trials, all of which will contribute to building a body of situated local knowledge.

Creative research
For the past year I have participated in the Creative Research program led by artist & writer Dr Ruth Hadlow. The program includes analytical reading, critical and creative writing, structures to support the development of ideas for creative practice, and group discussion of individual projects and texts. The peer group of professional artists and writers meets monthly for half day sessions on a semester basis. This program has provided me with a set of methods and tools for research which have extended my creative practice, and that I will utilise during the residency.

I have a dual practice as an artist/educator and community gardener/educator, so my aim is to use the research activities (conversations, reading, writing, photography, drawing, and making) to explore a variety of approaches to connecting the ideas to particular creative practices and landscapes, specifically those of fibre basketry and gardening. My long-term intention is to develop ways to put these ideas (of reciprocal relations and Mutualism) into action through creative practice in different educational settings and particular landscapes/ecologies.