THINKING GROUND X SPEAKEASY

In 2024, VIMH launched a pilot program aimed at unpacking our civic responsibilities as artists through the process of developing new work. Our Darebin Speakeasy Residency at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre is the next chapter in this ongoing exploration.

THINKING GROUND is an experiment. We want to see what happens if we carve out spaces for artists to interrogate their ideas and create robust foundations for the work they wish to make, whilst reflecting on the following questions:

– What are the skills that we as artists take for granted that others might benefit from right now? How do we share and proliferate them?

– How can we collaborate with non-arts sectors to regenerate and revitalise our communities? What can we offer? How can our work have a civic function?

– How do we gear the principles of connection inherent in our art form towards responding to the climate emergency, and every other social challenge that exists on a global scale but requires local action?

We do not have the answers to these questions. We hope to have a conversation together as a creative community about what might be possible if we locate them at the centre of our practice.

VIMH is throwing open the doors of our residency studio every Friday and you are invited. 

THINKING GROUND will be a space for artists to gather and connect, to spend time collectively unpacking our role in responding to current and future social, environmental and political need. We are approaching this time together with a fundamental belief in our own power as a community and our capacity to model new ways of living and gathering in the face of crisis, and will facilitate these conversations through an aspirational framework.

“What we need are alternative horizons that spark the imagination. And I do mean horizons in the plural; conflicting utopias are the lifeblood of democracy after all.” (Rutger Bregman)

VIMH is using this theme for our entire residency to think about where to next (in the smallest and the biggest sense) and we want to do this thinking with our community (you!). 

No artistic experience is necessary to participate. If you’re interested in these ideas and want to contribute to this conversation, then we’d love to have you. For more information about the content of these sessions, please see below. You can also shoot any questions that you might have through to thevoiceinmyhands@gmail.com.

8.30am – 9.30am: Merri Creek Walk + Clean-Up

VIMH acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land and waters we now call Darebin, and that the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people have lived on this land for millennia, practising their customs and ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal.

Part of being in residence is about building our relationship to the local area. As part of our commitment to treading lightly, as uninvited guests, and to being in relationship to landscape as well as people, we invite you to join us for a Merri Creek Walk + Clean-Up every Friday morning.

Merri Creek flows from Wallan until it joins the Yarra River in Fairfield, and it is a hugely significant area across the southern boundary of Northcote, with natural and structured pathways. We will meet each Friday morning to clear these pathways of rubbish so that it does not affect and disturb local ecosystems. Clean-up materials will be provided, and participants will have a chance to connect and work together in this shared effort at local land care.

Coffees will be on VIMH before we head into the space together for a day of practice.

10am – 1pm: Conversation

This time will centre the questions above through a range of gentle provocations and prompts. Some of these will come from us, some of these will come from guest artists, and some (we’re hoping) will come from you. We will be using Olivia Laing’s collection of essays Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency as a guide for these conversations.

1pm – 2pm: Lunch

2pm – 5pm: Co-Working

This will be an opportunity to do your own thing in our space: silent communal time for practice (not emails, not admin). Thinking time. Dreaming time. Listening time. Writing time. This is an opportunity to put all the distractions down for a couple of hours and work, in solidarity and with company, as an artist.

Snacks provided.

SIGN-UP DETAILS

This session structure is modular – you can join us just for the morning clean-up, or you might only be able to get to us after lunch. Sign-up for each Friday will happen on a weekly basis and you can indicate which sessions you are able to attend. This is just to give us a sense of who to expect when – you’re free to come and go within each session.

Rego can be found here.

Session Dates: Friday 2 May, 9 May, 16 May, 23 May, 30 May, 6 June