Issue 28

free nment

Spring

iro nd env a e r u ult ity, c commun

Issue 28 * 2017

The hillscene is created in partnership with Burrinja

/ 12 MAR / 9 APR / 14 MAY / 11 JUNE / 9 JULY 2017 1312 FEB AUG / 10 SEP / 8 OCT / 12 NOV / 10 DEC

SAY YES TO WOW THIS SPRING @ BURRINJA Frank Hodgkinson, She Sang Him a Crocodile, 1989

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Frank Hodgkinson: Sense of Place - 9 Sept – 5 Nov

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The Exotic Lives of Lola Montez - Thurs 21 Sept, 8pm

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Including works never before exhibited in Victoria, Sense of Place highlights Hodgkinson’s ‘Beginnings’ series within the landscape of his influences and experiences in the Northern Territory, Spain, New Guinea and New South Wales.

“Seductive, subversive and bursting at the seams with monstrous talent” - The Age. Step into the tantalising, Exotic Lives of Lola Montez the wildest showgirl of the nineteenth century. After the show join the cast for more fun and entertainment in THE DIVINE LOLA LOUNGE.

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TONIC by KAGE Dance Theatre Burrinja - Thu 12 Oct 7.30pm The Memo, Healesville Sat 14 Oct 7.30pm Arts Centre, Warburton Sat 28 Oct 7.30pm Multi-award winning dance company KAGE is coming to the Yarra Ranges to create an exciting new work for our region. Expect… the Unexpected GET MORE INVOLVED with KAGE – Free Masterclass, Open Rehearsal and In Conversation

belong...

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Burrinja | Cnr Glenfern Rd & Matson Drive, Upwey | ph: (03) 9754 8723 | w: burrinja.org.au

editor’s rave look and feel. Any local designers or writers, or creatives with other ideas for us can contact me on the email below.

We’ll keep the blog going so you can still get an online fix and experience a hillscene moment until we’re ready to come back next year. If you’re not already a subscriber you can go to the blog and join up to receive all our posts. I hope you enjoy this issue, the warmer weather that will soon be upon us and embrace the change that is coming.

Spring has definitely not sprung. It’s been bitingly cold and wet as though Winter wants to hold on a bit longer and go out with a bang. One thing that has sprung though, are the amazing blooms of wattle, rhododendrons and magnolias.

Blooms are starting to appear everywhere which is a reminder of new growth, new life and a renewed sense of enthusiasm. Spring always feels like a time for new beginnings, a time for renewal. The hillscene has been chugging along for 8 years now and it feels like time to shake things up and have a renewal of our own.

Toni Main who has joined our editorial team compiled a list of all the articles we’ve had since the first issue and it was a long and interesting look at how we’ve changed over the years.

Moving from humble beginnings to more diverse and interesting articles, with a bigger focus on the arts. As each new member has joined us they have opened up our connections in new and ever expanding directions.

We’ll be taking a break from the hillscene mag over the Summer months to take stock and get a bit of a breather. In the meantime we’d love to hear from anyone wanting to write for the hillscene, so we can expand our connections and provide more diverse articles. I was talking to a friend recently saying how there is never a shortage of things to write about since there’s always something interesting happening and if you’re someone who always knows what’s going on, we’d love to talk with you.

One idea I’ve had for a while and would love to try is to get some guest designers who would like to put together an issue and give it their own

Editor/Designer Adriana Alvarez Cover Yola and Daria Editorial Committee Adriana Alvarez, Ross Farnell, Amy Middleton, Tony Main, Anna James, Justine Walsh and Jen Angel.

Contributors Yola and Daria (Jola Pawlowska and Sam Moon), Cathy Ronalds, Toni Main, Jo Brown, Hannah Raisin, Gabi Symons, Ross Farnell, Jeff Busby, Glenn Stephenson, Kate Baker, Tiffany Morris North and Adriana Alvarez facebook: The Hillscene www.hillscene.com.au blog: hillsceneblog.wordpress.com/ For submission and advertising enquiries email: hillscene@westnet.com.au Printed by Ferntree Print on Envirocare 100gsm recycled paper. © Copyright 2016

The hillscene is created in partnership with Burrinja Proudly sponsored by

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Photos by Cathy Ronalds

WOW! Great Cover Words by Adriana Alvarez Yola and Daria is the studio name of Jola Pawlowska and Sam Moon, a mother and daughter duo who are combining their considerable talents to create their beautiful paper-cut artwork.

Their studio is a treasure trove with a mix of old and new traditions. On one desk is a myriad of paper, scissors, scalpels and cutting matt you might expect to see in a traditional art studio. On the other desk is a computer, extra monitor, scanner/printer and a stack of design, illustration and fairytale books. Dotted around the walls are the samples of their individual and combined efforts as well as some paper-cut kids puppet pieces that seem to sum up everything this duo is about. Tradition, technology, family and creativity which they combine to create unique works.

They both have their own individual artistic journeys.

Jola grew up in an artistic family in Poland. She began her career as an opera singer. It was while working in an experimental theatre for children where they were using different puppetry techniques, like shadow puppets, that she had the idea of translating this to paper-cut artworks. Poland has a long paper-cut tradition called Wycinanki. The most well-known

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traditional styles of Wycinanki comes from two districts. The first from Kurpie is usually a symmetrical design, cut from a single piece of coloured paper, folded a single time. The second style comes from Lowicz and is distinguished by the many layers of brightly coloured paper used in its composition. Jola uses both these techniques to create her own unique style. Her choice of subject matter is also something that sets her work apart.

She began by making artworks of her home town Toruń, a Gothic city full of picturesque buildings and gingerbread type houses. She had her first exhibition in 1973. She was commissioned to do the covers for Poland magazine, the first in 1977, which were distributed internationally and some of her pieces are included in private collections in Poland and around the world. When she came to Australia she continued with her work, creating paper-cut designs of the buildings in her street in South Melbourne, exhibiting in a Polart exhibition in 1984 and having a solo exhibition at La Trobe University in 1986 before having a break. In the meantime, to pay the

bills, she worked in other fields like textile design; teaching drama, music and art to Polish children at a Polish Drama school; and even creating jewellery made from glass beads, including some art deco beads, that were salvaged from the ruins of Warsaw after the war. Then a few years ago Sam encouraged her to take up her art again.

Sam has her own creative journey to tell. Having won a few awards for her art in high school, she decided to study graphic design at RMIT after her mum’s advice not to become “a starving artist” like herself. She soon got a job in publishing learning about type and layout but the job was not very creative. So she went on to do some further study. This time at Swinburne, and after discovering she had a knack for learning programs, she switched to multimedia and web design. She freelanced for a while to build up her portfolio which led to a job at the Botanic gardens doing their web and graphic design. Now working in a more managerial role, Sam found herself missing the creative side of things.

“So like mum said it got to a point where I suggested to mum that maybe there’s a way that we can combine our efforts. Because I thought it was really sad that she wasn’t doing that anymore and I found it really quite unique. I thought it was a beautiful traditional technique, a lot of these traditional techniques sort of die off and I thought that would be something lovely to keep within the family,” says Sam. And so the collaboration between mother and daughter, tradition and modern technology began.

They started with architecture, a subject they both love.

Sam can do the initial drawings to scale and proportion from photos and print bits out onto different papers, which Jola then cuts out and layers to

create a final piece. The first building they did was Little Creatures Dining Hall in Fitzroy as a gift for a close family friend and they had a lot of fun. They then approached Gareth Hart about joining Open Studios last year even thought they didn’t have a huge body of collaborative work. They were accepted and that started the ball rolling. “I really enjoy researching the history behind a lot of these buildings... doing the technical drawings and I also enjoy talking about mum’s experiences in life and her challenges, so it’s great. It works well.”

The fairy tale idea came from their desire to take the work to another level and find a way to develop and explore new ideas. Fairy tales are rich in history and culture, and a great way to be able to weave in traditional Polish folk motifs and costumes. The characters are primarily Sam’s idea, incorporating her love of vintage fabrics, paper dolls and 70’s doe-eyed characters whilst the embellishment of the flora and fauna comes from Jola. “I think we are both very nostalgic” states Sam. “The buildings and the fairy tales are very different, but the themes of why we do it is to do with the nostalgia and that memory and reflection, remembrance of the past, your own family and background.” They plan to do more fairy tale works as a way of bringing this rich, ornate tradition to a more contemporary audience.

There’s a lot of love in this studio. A love of creativity, of traditional techniques and embracing the modern.

A love of history, precision, patience, nostalgia and family. All around me I feel a sense of respect and mutual admiration between mother and daughter for each others’ talents which enhances their work, brings the past into the present and hopefully beyond. www.facebook.com/yolaanddaria

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Photos by Toni Main

Karaoke for all Words by Toni Main

Julie’s Karaoke is exactly as advertised: recreation for people with all abilities.

Seven years ago, Julie Cuffe was a woman on a mission. Julie’s disabled daughter Cherie went to karaoke and was booed off the stage for being a bad singer, but that didn’t stop Cherie from falling in love with karaoke. Julie saw the passion in her daughter and searched high and low for somewhere for Cherie to sing, but to no avail.

This did not deter stoic Julie, and she took it upon herself to make an accessible karaoke event in the Yarra Ranges. She acquired the equipment, but could not find a venue, “This was not about making money, this was about providing a recreational service to people with disabilities and I couldn’t afford the $200 hall hire that the local halls charged” explains Julie, “but then I thought of Lou’s Lounge, they already hosted Karaoke on a Thursday night, I got in touch with them and the rest was history”. Lou’s Lounge has been more than happy to host Julie’s Karaoke every fortnight on a Monday ever since, and coming along and joining in, I could see why.

When I attended on the cold evening of Monday 21st August, the room was buzzing with excitement as the patrons streamed through the

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doors of the venue. They made the rounds, saying hello to everyone and got settled in to pour over their song choices. One young lady, Cecily had an incredible repertoire of songs that she loved to sing, she even had her own personalised list book made up, which she displayed with pride. As Julie ran the karaoke, her daughter Cherie took on the role as my lovely hostess, introducing me to everyone in the room, giving me little titbits and anecdotes about them all.

I asked her what she thought of the karaoke night her mum organised, to which she replied “It’s the grouse mouse! My Mum’s the best.” She then looked to Julie, who was putting on the next track, with a sparkle in her eye. “I’d rather be here any day than be at home alone in my apartment watching TV”. Another patron, Lucas, couldn’t agree more with Cherie. He has been coming to Julie’s Karaoke since 2013, and hasn’t missed a night, unless he’s ill or been on holiday (he had just got back from a trip to New York!). Lucas’ favourite songs are anything by INXS, and when he got up to sing ‘Devil Inside’ he had some pretty funky dance moves to go with it. Lucas is also a filmmaker, and an artist, and he shared with me an image of some of his work.

I got to chat to a couple of regulars, Geoff and Maggie, who have been coming to Lou’s Lounge for 14 years. They used to run their own karaoke business, and now they like to mingle with Julie’s patrons “We love coming, it’s the big night out. The pleasure is meeting all these nice people,” said Geoff. They knew everyone’s name, what songs they sang and other interesting stories. “Just wait until Terry gets up and sings ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ with the naughty words” Geoff tells me, and sure enough, Terry gets up and sings it. As the song starts up, everyone cheers, they sing along with Terry, and some of the girls take to the dance floor.

Everyone was having a great time, whether they could sing or not. Julie’s karaoke is for everyone to have a go, some of the patrons can barely speak but at karaoke they jump up when their name is called and do what they can with the song of their choice. Julie sings along (with the mic down) with those that like the help, “they watch my lips move and try to sing along. Like Russ, who would never have got up if Sharyn didn’t suggest to the carers to select a song for him and give it a go, and now he’s

watching me, and next he’ll face the audience. It’s amazing what the music does for them.”

As the night progressed, more and more people arrived. Julie told me “we have up to 28 clients coming along each fortnight, some weeks are smaller, and some get full. Last week was so packed you could barely move around”. Julie has been doing such a great job that she was recognised last year at the Yarra Ranges Australia Day awards, receiving an award for supporting people with disabilities. Julie says of her event “They all learn from it, they gain experience, and they’re in a place where they’re accepted.”

You can find Julie’s Karaoke “Recreation for people of all abilities” at Lou’s Lounge (11 York Rd, Mount Evelyn) fortnightly on Mondays 7 – 9.30pm. Your $10 entry includes supper, door prizes and all the songs you can sing (carers get in free). The event is for 18yrs and over The remaining dates for this year are: Sept 4 & 18, Oct 2, 16 & 30, Nov 13 & 27, Dec 11.

You can contact Julie to find out more at julieskaraoke@hotmail.com

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A visual arts and musical feast!

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BEGINNERS CLASSES 11:15am Monday - Qigong - Upwey 6:00pm Thursday - Tai Chi - Belgrave 9:30am Friday - Tai Chi - Upwey 11:15am Friday - Qigong - Upwey In Eastern thought, we would live according to nature and the seasons.

Spring is the time for growth.

The longer, warmer days inspire us to begin our journey.

Please call Su for further information

Beside Puffing Billy at Emerald Station in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges

2nd Saturday of each month 9am–3pm

and to book your free introductory class.

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Kate Schumann

Abundance, new growth and creativity Words by Hannah Raisin In 2016 a dedicated group of Burrinja volunteers, The Hills Food Frontier (THFF) and garden enthusiasts lead by Kate Schumann were inspired to develop a sensory garden of colours, smells, textures and tastes. Over the past nine months this garden has been evolving at Burrinja in the name of a special cohort of creatives that meet at Burrinja every week for the Burrinja Arties Art therapy group.

Kate is an avid local gardener whose green thumb glows with her ability to share her joy for gardening and encourage our community to live healthy, happy lives that are in tune with the natural environment. A long-time supporter of the Burrinja Arties, Kate had been researching the positive impacts of gardening on health and wellbeing for some time, when she started noticing the sensory garden phenomenon.

“Being in a garden gives me a great sense of peace and connection. I just couldn’t imagine not having the grounded feeling I get from being among plants. Yet this is what someone living in supported accommodation often misses out on and I find that really sad. The Arties is a lovely group, who this year have been making art, for themselves and for the garden, with the theme of Mother Earth. I love that through the garden, they are getting that nourishing connection with nature. I also love that their artwork

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in the garden is finding connections with the wider Burrinja community” explains Kate.

With the support of numerous working bees, plant donations and care from dedicated volunteers (including members of THFF) as well as a Community Grant from Yarra Ranges Council and support from Burrinja, The Arties sensory garden is now budding with the promise of a full summer bloom.

The sensory garden has become the central focus of the Arties creative development and has them making art from, with and in the garden. These creative contributions to the garden are evolving as clay tiles, painted trellises and mobiles made from found-objects. Sun and natural dye processes including rust printing have also been a focus for this group, who are literally working with the garden.

As the seasons change, visitors to the sensory garden are invited to participate in different creative projects including a large circular weaving wheel, a ‘framed in the garden’ portrait project (which most recently featured our Mayor) and a stone fairy house.

Arties coordinator Lynette Forrest, Master of Creative Arts Therapy states; “For the Burrinja Arties participants, who live in challenging

circumstances, the garden offers a sense of belonging and place at Burrinja. As we harvest tomatoes, passionfruit and herbs, and pass them around the art table, the Arties are learning to taste, trust and experience variety and sensations through the seasons of the garden. Along with new art projects and creative techniques, the Garden is host to a great year-long art event. Thanks to the vision and dedication of a group of Burrinja volunteers to enrich Burrinja’s building community through arts.”

I’ve been fortunate to work at Burrinja Cultural Centre for two and a half years now and I’ve definately noticed the positive impact of the garden. On sunny days many of us enjoy our breaks in the garden and there’s always some delicious garnish growing to enhance ones lunch. Last week I had a visit from a very special group of people who I used to work with and support at an educational organisation for people with special needs. I was excited to see so many of

Sensory garden volunteers from left: Melanie, Kate, Den, Jan, Rowena and Murray.

these special friends again and share Burrinja with them. They took in the current Burrinja Gallery exhibition and enjoyed some of the larger artworks in the foyer as well as a paper crane activity I was installing – but I was most excited to show the group the Arties Sensory Garden. I saw eyes widen and faces light up as we touched, listened, smelt and tasted our way through the sensations of the garden. “Ooohhh this is really lovely” one friend repeated, when another confirmed “yep, it feels really good out here”.

Situated at the back of the Burrinja arts workshop, the public are invited to visit and enjoy the garden during Burrinja hours, any time the space is not being used for workshops. From time to time garden visionary Kate Schumann also speaks about the garden to interest groups. You can track the development of the sensory garden via the facebook page ‘The Arties Sensory Garden’.

Got a green thumb and a passion for supporting community? You can become an Arties sensory garden volunteer – get in contact with Kate and the sensory garden team via 9754 1509 or email memberships@burrinja.org.au

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Photos by Toni Main

An alternative education Words by Toni Main I was invited by Jane Macdonald, creatologist, to join her at farm school at the School of Cultural Creativity, an alternative education provider based on a self-directed democratic model. Farm school is their early learning program at Aquila Acres Farm in Wandin North.

After a wet drive through the winding roads, I parked my car and was greeted by friendly horses, eager to have their noses patted. Upon entering the converted stable that houses farm school, I was greeted by the warmth of a roaring fire and the friendly smile of Jane offering me a cup of tea.

Jane is a creatologist and the CEO of the school.

When I asked what a creatologist was, Jane replied “There are two types, but I am a researcher of creativity. I have my master’s degree in sustainability and social change (creativity), I am currently writing a book about creativity and building this creative school.”

Jane introduced me to everyone, the children, their parents, and Deb who owns the farm. “Farm school is a parent-stay program, which sometimes includes grandparents, aunts and uncles,” Jane tells

me, and I can feel that it’s an inclusive space that I found easy to settle into. I was then shown around the place by the group; the room was filled with lots of interesting looking things like toys, cooking equipment, arts and crafts, horse paraphernalia and a central table where everyone sits to eat their shared lunch. Everyone, parents and educators included, wore gumboots, as outside there was a mud puddle with dump trucks, watering cans and buckets, and paddocks as far as the eye could see. Jane was proud to announce “We have an open door policy, in that at any time activities can happen inside or out. All the toys and equipment have been acquired second hand, so there is nothing that is precious. Everything can go outside and likewise everything can come inside… we’ve even had the miniature horses come and join us inside. That said, everyone respects the toys, no one breaks anything on purpose.” I was then shown a beautiful video of a very happy girl gleefully jumping into puddles, and told fun stories about playing dress ups and going walking through the muddy paddocks.

At 10 o’clock, after singing the hello song together, we all grabbed our teas and sat around the room for the meeting. Each day starts with the meeting where the children select the activities for the rest of the day. The School of Cultural Creativity is self-directed democratic education where the children direct their own activities as a collective and as individuals depending on how the vote goes. Jane explains “The children determine the creative process for each activity themselves, whether it is a small activity or larger project, through this process they master their own creativity and learn through that.” Today’s activity choices have been put in the agenda, by way of images such as horse riding, leaf collecting, and cooking and I was told that there was space for more suggestions from the children.

I asked Jane where the idea came from to start the School of Cultural Creativity and she replied “From me! I have a 5yr old, this suits her. I’ve been teaching for a long time, lots of kids struggle and I acknowledged that there is no alternative schooling in the Yarra Valley and Ranges. I believe creative education is our future. The young people today will be faced with the problems that our generation can’t fix,

such as climate change. Our philosophy is that creative education is our shot for the future, giving young people the power to potentially solve big problems.”

The school has been growing at a quick pace, with two classes of farm school and this year has seen the inclusion of The Tribe, a program designed for children aged 6 – 12 years who are home schooled, focusing upon experiential, communal and self-directed learning. I asked Jane if she had any fond memories and she immediately replied “When I started the school, we took a picture with all the families, five families in total, one year later the school picture had over a hundred people in it, I was so proud of our group”. Next year may see the launch of the Maxwell Primary School, a creative and democratic school for all primary aged students. The school is currently going through the Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority; just waiting for approval.

I left to cheery goodbyes as the children got down to business discussing their activity choices and voting on what they wanted to do today.

For more information on the School of Cultural Creativity go to www.schoolofculturalcreativity.com

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The Upwey Archies Words by Gabi Symons (Upwey Arts member) As we are now launching the second ‘Upwey Archies’, it’s a great time to reflect on the embedded history of this inspiring competition.

Let us journey back to when the Archibald prize settled into TarraWarra Museum of Art, on the road between Yarra Glen and Healesville. Great excitement flowed through the veins of the Yarra Ranges Council and a wonderful idea emerged, spear-headed by Tilla Buden – the ‘Not the Archies’ competition was born to coincide with the Archibald Prize. The theme was about honouring someone that you believed to be deserving of recognition. The location of completed portraits was in the windows of shops and buildings in Yarra Glen and Healesville and they were published on the Yarra Ranges Council website. Short-listed portraits were published in local papers for public voting. Large posters were printed of some of the entries and hung in Healesville.

Participants were invited to attend the awards ceremony at the RACV Club in Healesville. All entries were displayed and there was a special local traders’ award.

The pattern of the Archibald Prize is to have two consecutive years at one location, usually a gallery in an accessible location. Previous locations have included Melbourne City, Bendigo, Mornington and Ballarat. So successful was the Inaugural ‘Not the Archies’, that the Council decided to run it again for the second year. Sections were set for both open and junior awards. The entry numbers increased substantially and a large group of finalists were selected. Another delightful Awards’ night took place at the RACV Country Club.

My experience of entering the inaugural ‘Not the Archies’ encompassed a return to Yarra Glen for the purpose of painting the portrait of one of our ex-neighbours who, with her cat,

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2016 entries clockwise from top: Andrea with self portrait and Jaspre by Allan Innocent; Big Ears by Eric Murphy (7 years old); Noah Symons by Gabrielle Symons; My Daddy - my hero by Charlotte Perry.

had survived the fires that roared through Steeles Creek consuming all in its path. That was part of the healing journey for me, to return to her place opposite what was once our farm.

Nothing remained of the house, sheds or fledging fruit trees. There had been no warning, no time to flee the inferno. Our other neighbours had also survived along with a horse and a pig, but lost everything else. My son Noah painted the husband’s portrait – a fellow artist Ray Dahlstrom. Neither of us won any prizes but we were inspired to enter the following year.

This time Noah painted his wife’s grandfather David, who lives in Healesville. I painted a portrait of Noah. We were both finalists.

Moving forward to early 2015 and a meeting I requested with Tilla Buden to discuss the potential of having a similar competition in Upwey. Upwey has a number of distinctive community organisations, including Upwey Township Group and Project Upwey. Some members from each group began a discussion around the creation of artworks around Upwey.

Those who were passionate about this, formed

one group to be a steering committee, now fondly called ‘Upwey Arts’. Along with initiating and supporting murals completed by both primary schools, work towards the inaugural Upwey Archies began. Thanks to Burrinja and in particular to Gareth Hart and Ross Farnell, the competition was launched. Portraits were displayed in the main street of Upwey. The awards presentation took place on a windy Saturday morning in the Village Green next to Bendigo Bank.

Having learnt much from this experience, Upwey Arts has just launched the second Upwey Archies. We look forward to receiving the finished portraits. They will be judged by a local artist and displayed in shops and other buildings in the main street of Upwey. The awards ceremony will be in the Village Green on Saturday 14th October at 11am.

Artworks will be displayed through Upwey between October 14 – November 14.

For more information head to www.burrinja.org.au in the What’s On - Art tab.

SAT 28 OCTOBER 2017

an eclectic mix of local culture

YOGA, LIVE MUSIC, MEDITATION, NATURAL THERAPIES, SOUND HEALING, YOGA RAVE AND MUCH MORE

experience a ‘hillscene’ moment

WELLNESS & YOGA FESTIVAL

34 S C H O O L R D, F E R N Y C R E E K , DAN D E N O N G R AN G E S

BYO YOGA MAT, WATER BOTTLE & BLANKET

magazine & blog

Early bird tickets from $20 ? On sale throughout August ? U12's free SEE WEBSITE FOR TICKET DETAILS

chillfest.co

www.hillscene.com.au www.hillsceneblog.wordpress.com

Photos by Sabrina Testoni

hillsceneLIVE 2016

Next age hillsceneLIVE Words by Toni Main.

There’s a dynamic and ambitious live and performing arts event in the Dandenongs that I am proud to say I’ve been a part of since its very beginnings in 2014. That was the year I moved into the community and started my independent practice as a performing artist, and the year that Gareth Hart catapulted the hillsceneLIVE festival into existence. Since then, the festival and I have both flourished, hillsceneLIVE has grown from a small 4 hour event to a major live art festival in the Dandenong Ranges supporting over 100 artists; and I am part of the Belgrave Lantern Parade coordination team, perform as part of my company in Helvetica and have taken on the role of codirector of hillsceneLIVE (with the always effervescent Justine Walsh by my side).

In 2015, Hart established a cultural leadership committee of 5 emerging artists/arts workers, including Walsh and myself. Through this we gained extensive experience in arts leadership and festival management. This saw us assisting in the programming, design and development of both the 2015 & 2016 festivals, helping Hart to extend the festival with professional development opportunities and workshops for artists, a critical conversation

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series and other satellite activities. Together we have established hillsceneLIVE as a renowned live art festival that supports the local arts community, one that questions deeply and pushes at the borders of creative territories. In 2017, Hart stepped down as Festival Director. “After three years and five festivals, I believe it important for hillsceneLIVE to be led by a different energy, different creative leaders, with different visions. As such, I have made the decision to step down as Festival Director of hillsceneLIVE” said Hart.

“This has been one of the most fulfilling projects I have ever worked on, and am immensely proud of where the festival now stands. I am thrilled that Toni and Justine will continue on as the newly appointed Co-Directors of the festival, and have unwavering faith in their ability to steer hillsceneLIVE through this new chapter. I am already excited to experience this year’s festival, and look forward to seeing what these cultural champions will offer the community throughout 2017!”

Justine and I are excited to bring our own flavour and creativity to this year’s event, 2017’s festival is shaping up to be bolder, juicier and more exciting than ever...

We were inundated with Expressions of Interest from all kinds of artists. We had to be rigorous in our curation process, selecting artists that genuinely

looked to be creating something different, to risk and to challenge, whilst maintaining a balance of emerging and established artists, and have a strong representation of local artists as well. Many of the artists presenting this year have chosen to tackle challenging political subjects from equal marriage rights, to environmental sustainability and culture in the digital age.

We have also been excited by a new trend of established and mid-career artists challenging themselves, tackling new art forms/mediums for the festival. This is exciting as they bring their skills as professional artists but are taking risks in something new and intriguing and we are happy to support them in this process.

We have gone through the curatorial process with the support of our new creative leadership team: Natalie Smith, Meiki Apted & Renate Crow. Jumping into this exciting unknown with our new team inspired us to choose a corresponding theme… Because we don’t know what it is yet. We asked the programmed artists how this theme connects to their work and here are some responses: My work is a protest. It is asking for change...what will it be? Will it happen? What will it look like if/when it does?

(Live Art Artist) As Socrates taught us, the true wisdom is in knowing we know nothing. The beauty is that everything we are willing to discover is just there ready to be unveiled. It is all up to us to move and go find it. So this theme is an ample, deep ocean where I am really curios to navigate. Going to explore, looking for something we don’t know yet, always requires some sort of transformation. (Dancer) Taking this idea as inspiration for our performance, we will explore the discomfort and tension in this kind of ambiguity – testing the audience’s need for finite answers, subverting the role of the omniscient storyteller, the authoritative historian, and raising questions about our fixation with a knowable ‘truth.’ (Director of a Theatre Collective) I am proud to be a part of such a vibrant festival. hillsceneLIVE is an arts festival supporting emerging and experimental artists through performance opportunities, skills development and more. We work tirelessly to create dynamic, responsive and relevant programming through our annual program of performances, workshops and artist led initiatives.

This year’s festival will occur Friday 10th - Sunday 12th November. hillsceneLIVE is proudly supported by Yarra Ranges Council and Burrinja. For more information go to www.hillscenelive.com

From top: ‘Leave’ by Dani-Ela Kaylor, ‘Stonewalled’

by Black Carnation Productions, ‘Inside Out’ by Renate Crow, ‘In Real Life’ by Gulsen Ozer.

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Swap the straw Words by Jo Brown

Sonja Leigh was a humble city dweller, working with maths and statistics in loss prevention at a bank. That all changed when she moved to Monbulk with her fast growing family. Faced with backyard dreams of growing her own vegetables and little chickens roaming the land, Sonja turned to the easiest solution she could think of: analysis.

“I really liked process, engineering and finding the easiest way to do things. Eliminating waste was my favourite thing.”

And so she enrolled herself in a two week study of permaculture, a system of agriculture where you work with the land instead of against it, using patterns and features that are found naturally within the ecosystem. It was here that her love affair began. Sonja enrolled in a post graduate study of permaculture design at Central Queensland University, the only one of its kind in the world.

One assessment piece involved using the ideas and concepts she has learnt at university, and applying them to real life. After a lot of thought, Sonja hit upon straws, and the massive amounts of waste that comes from this single use plastic.

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It was at this point in our conversation, at a local cafe, that our drinks arrived, hers a latté, mine an orange juice, complete with its own, rather large, straw. Well, you can imagine how I felt. But Sonja reassured me.

“That’s a corn starch straws, it’s okay. I know all about them. It’s compostable, that one. I’m not a crazy person. I won’t judge...Instead of guilt we need to say, can I help you to move toward this better option?”

My social faux pas aside, it was an excellent segway into the real reason I was here. Sonja says that, from her studies, she begun to feel emotionally exhausted.

“I was getting really overwhelmed with issues, and where to start, what I could do. And I think that, a lot of people feel that when you hear about global warming and climate change and our oceans full of plastic, you feel a bit disempowered and overwhelmed.”

This is where a professor of hers stepped in and imparted the wisdom that Sonja lives by.

“I was told to create the world you want around you. Focus small and focus around you.

So I came up with straws. It’s not about making

Sonja Leigh

people feel guilty. We have great people working towards getting rid of plastic bags in the hills, and we have people thinking about coffee cups and water bottles... but straws no one thinks about. It’s a social habit, just putting a straw in a drink. You can bring your own.”

Sonja had her ‘Straw’ epiphany one night in April, where she realised that they were being completely overlooked during plastic waste campaigns. She decided to start from the ground up to eliminate them, and what better place to start than schools.

“I just want to teach kids that they can be powerful and they do have a voice and they can make a change in their homes to reduce waste.

And so if you get the schools on board, that’s 200 kids, and 200 households....I can see change coming from schools as being really powerful.”

So far Sonja has visited a Catholic school in Hawthorn, Tecoma Primary School, several homeschool groups, as well as many clubs and community groups. She has introduced a design competition to get people talking. Children have to come up with a creative concept to let people know about the environmental impacts of straws. One group of girls is writing a rap song, while another is creating animal sculptures out of litter. Sonja will be collecting entries at the end of term 3, with prizes to follow. She says this is also an opportunity to get the local businesses involved.

“I make connections with them and get them behind the cause as well….It’s all a bit of a love

fest. It’s a good way for me to tap in with like minded people in the industry.”

This is step one. Step two is talking to local businesses, including McDonald’s, and educating them on waste management and using local food and connecting the community.

“Someone’s rubbish is someone’s gold. There’s a worm farm guy in Warburton, and he could distribute those, and then all of these shops could have worm farms at the back of them.”

The one thing that I have noticed about Sonja is that all of her ideas and plans all come back to community. She is not only passionate about creating a better environment for her children, but to create a closer community.

“It came about because I wanted to get involved with the community. I’ve never done community work before. And I’m really inspired.

I want to make a change. That small little symbol [the straw] can make a change.”

Sonja, who grew up here before her move to the big smoke, found that nature grounded her and that’s the reason for her return.

“I worked in the city and lived in the city for a bit too long. Being surrounded by trees and nature is something I’m more comfortable with.

And hills! It can’t just be trees, it has to be hills.

That feeling of being smaller than nature, or being within nature, is something that I’m more comfortable with. It calms me and inspires me and makes me a better person....I came because of the environment but I stayed because of the people.” www.facebook.com/swapthestraw

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Expect... the unexpected Words by Ross Farnell

Multi-award winning dance company KAGE are coming to the Yarra Ranges this year to create an exciting new work for our region.

TONIC is a new contemporary piece which will be shaped in our creative spaces over 3 months, and then premiere in October at Burrinja in Upwey, The Memo in Healesville and the Upper Yarra Arts Centre in Warburton.

And if that is not exciting enough, along the way you can join KAGE on their creative journey; eavesdrop, watch, discuss and learn with two of the most experienced choreographers, creators and performers of contemporary dance in Australia today.

Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck are KAGE, and they have been rethinking dance for 20 years. Now it is our opportunity to be a part of their unique performances.

Kate and Gerard specialise in collaborating with extraordinary artists and communities to find original ways to present dance in new contexts, creating exquisite performances which harness the dramatic potential of dance and extreme physicality with irreverence and humour.

With a loyal supporter base across Melbourne and Internationally, Kate and Gerard have earned the admiration of their peers and audiences – KAGE are an original voice in live physical performance, telling stories that resonate with broad audiences.

TONIC is a new work conceived in the form of a visual story. Through the use of choreography and soundscape, Kate and Gerard will create and perform a duet which chronicles the relationship that humans and animals have to their sense of home. Inspired by the preservation of ecosystems within the Yarra Ranges, TONIC explores the implicit relationship we all have to the health of our environment.

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Kate and Gerard have been traversing the region over the past month visiting iconic sites in our ecology, listening to locals including the Wurundjeri community and generally absorbing the culture of the hills and the valley.

These explorations will help inform the work that takes shape during weeks of development across the shire.

Get involved Those with a keen interest and experience in dance can take advantage of some fabulous (and free!) opportunities to be a part of this creative process. There is a Masterclass with Gerard at Montrose Town Centre offering an hour of invaluable creative time. If you have a minimum of five years dance experience and are into contemporary dance practice, then say no more… you are THERE. Simple.

There is also a Creative Development Open Rehearsal with KAGE at Burrinja in October.

This is a rare opportunity to get behind the normally closed doors of the creative process that produces a new dance work. And if that is not enough, following on from the Open Rehearsal is an In Conversation session – where you can spend quality time with Kate and Gerard, and delve into their 20 years of experience at the top of the game. Wow! While this community program with KAGE is free, you do need to book.

So, how did this come about?

Burrinja and Yarra Ranges Council continue to extend their commitment to supporting the development and presentation of new works with the Creating Tracks program. This groundbreaking initiative supports the independent dance sector and its artists with opportunities to develop and showcase new independent, professional work for the stage.

Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyke.

Creating Tracks is an exciting initiative that aims to develop something fresh, something new, and something very exciting for lovers of dance and performance.

KAGE was selected from a strong field of choreographers, directors and companies vying for the new Creating Tracks opportunity, which provides fees, development space, time and professional support for the creation of a new work.

Creating Tracks continues an on-going commitment of Council and Burrinja to developing contemporary dance practice and audiences in the region, and is a legacy of the region-wide dance development strategy Dance Tracks.

Photo by Jeff Busby

KAGE brings significant experience and originality to the project, collaborating within the region to develop a new work for our cultural venues and our community.

TONIC – Performances You can catch the performance outcomes as KAGE present TONIC across the Yarra Ranges at Burrinja, The Memo and Upper Yarra Arts Centre between October 12 and October 28.

All the details and booking information is online at burrinja.org.au. There is also a lot more great info about the Creating Tracks program on the Burrinja ‘projects’ page.

So, come and be a part of something exciting, creative, fresh and new!

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Photo: Glenn Stephenson: Villagedogphoto.com

From left:- Ciara Stephenson, Mikayla Porteous, Cadhla Schmidii, Sarah Payne, Tahlia Sheehan.

Making a mark Words by Glenn Stephenson - Coach, U/TJFC, U/14G’s.

2017 saw the formation of the inaugural all girls team at Upwey/Tecoma Junior Football Club. Its inception came about initially due to the determination of my thirteen year old daughter Ciara, wanting to play football this year for the first time and myself putting my hand up to coach her.

Within five days of the decision to play and coach and with the help of social media and word of mouth, we had twelve players ready to play in round one that Sunday; the minimum amount required to form a team. Within three or four weeks, we had twenty-three players on our list training twice a week and playing every Sunday as an U/14 all girls side, the first at the club.

The club had called a meeting a few weeks prior to

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the season commencing to gauge interest from girls in the community to play footy. The day of that meeting, there was one girl present, Cadhla (Kayla) Schmidii.

Cadhla first played football at the club as an U/12 in 2015 with the boy’s team. Her passion for football had compelled her to continue to play with the U/14 boy’s team the following year and again in 2017. By the age of fourteen, Cadhla would have been prevented from playing on any further in boy’s teams according to AFL Victoria regulations.

Soon after that initial meeting, Cadhla was very excited to learn that an all girls team was beginning to form at the club; she was amongst that first group of girls to come to training and play in round

one. Cadhla continued to play in the boy’s or ‘mixed’ team as well this year, effectively playing ‘two seasons in one’. She trained with the boys on their training nights and played whenever she could with both teams on a Sunday, when the playing times allowed her to do so.

The U/14G’s were an incredibly enthusiastic group; most of who had never played footy before, let alone kicked or handballed a football at home or in the school yard. Our aim as a club was to offer the girls a ‘complete’ experience in their inaugural year, by providing a wide and varied range of ‘special guests’ to our training sessions. These included Hawthorn players on two separate occasions; a dedicated ‘tackles and takedowns’ coach who had worked with many VFL, VFLW, AFL and AFLW teams; Patrick Hill, the coach of the VFLW Box Hill Hawkes team and two of his players; our senior club U18s coach; our senior club’s nutritionist and trainer and finally Ruby

Schleicher from the AFLW Collingwood side.

The girls went on to win seven of their thirteen games to achieve 3rd on the competition ladder of ten teams. They played in two rounds of the finals series before being knocked out in the 1st Semi-Final vs Mooroolbark.

Cadhla was selected to captain her side throughout the finals series; she was a standout performer and was often looked upon to help her team gain advantage in the tougher moments of the game, with her magnificent drop punt and natural game sense.

In the preliminary final vs Forest Hill, we had the honour of celebrating Cadhla’s 50th game at the club, the first female at the club to have reached this milestone. Cadhla ran through the banner with her team mates forming a guard of honour, a very proud moment for her family, her team and her club.

In addition to this, in 2016 Cadhla was selected to play in

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the U/15 ‘Interleague’ competition and is currently training with the U/16 ‘V-Line Cup’ squad.

Cadhla has recently been selected in the top five ‘best and fairest’ for the league. It is our prediction also that she will fare well in her club’s inaugural ‘best and fairest’ count, which is soon to be announced.

It’s been a very proud year for the Upwey/Tecoma Junior Football Club with the formation of it’s first all girls team, something it had been wanting to have for the past couple of years. We’ve all been amazed by the interest shown by young girls in our community. We attest a great deal of this to the formation of the AFLW competition this year, which has inspired many young girls and given them the opportunity to play the game at which most have been merely spectators until now.

Upwey/Tecoma is hoping to field all girls’ teams in all age groups in 2018 and beyond.

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Beyond the Rainbow Words by Hannah Raisin

What gold might you find at the end of a Monotone Rainbow? This is a question I have been burning to ask local artist Nicole Breedon. To find out, I take a look at some of the creative ventures of this inquisitive, dark and humorous artist taking the art world by storm.

Nicole Breedon was born in Albury-Wodonga, and has lived in Melbourne and New York, before coming to reside in to the Dandenong Ranges. The artist now shares a large studio in Belgrave with local artists Sean Peoples (The Telepathy Project) and Kiera Brew Kurec.

On living in the Dandenongs the artist says, “Living in The Ranges has the distinct advantage of close access to nature, while still having access to the city. I’m also lucky to have a great working relationship in the studio with some other excellent artists.”

Local contemporary art enthusiasts might also recognise Breedon from The Projects Art Gallery which ran for 9 months during 2013 in The Belgrave Arcade. Breedon ran the space in partnership with Kiera Brew Kurec, with the support of a small Yarra Ranges Council Grant and Burrinja Cultural Centre. The Projects showcased the work of exceptional emerging local artists to their community.

Impressed by the artist’s playful scepticism and a generosity that is rare to find, I have had the privilege of observing Breedon’s practice evolve

From left: A Lot of Luck, 2015 - Four leaf clovers on paper; Nicole Breedon.

since studying together at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2006. The artist’s dedication to practice and ability to pull off impressive large-scale projects renders her an incredible force in Australia’s Arts landscape and an exciting prospect for contemporary art collectors.

Breedon describes her practice as an ‘ongoing investigation into the convergence between two vastly contrasting phenomena – the billions of people simultaneously experiencing their own infinitely complex lives – and our overall combined insignificance against the extreme vastitude of the universe.’

Breedon is interested in the way humans create meaning and find significance in their lives in defiance of our absurd and meaningless existence – maintaining casual belief in ‘woo’ concepts like fate and karma; magical thinking, the law of attraction and self-actualisation in pursuit of the globalised ‘American Dream’. These concerns play out through an interdisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, video, installation, textiles, oil painting and photography.

One of my favourite Breedon works is an archival framed collection of over 300 pressed four leaf clovers – collected from a ‘particularly lucky’ patch in the artist’s Tecoma garden. Shifting scale, one of her largest works was a commission for the 2012 Splendour in the Grass Festival. ‘Let’s Get Metaphysical’ was a massive pyrotechnic feat where the letters of the phase burned out against the dark rural landscape of the festival. The work has also translated into large neon, editions of which light up a number of major Australian collections. Breedon’s complex ‘love/hate’ relationship with country Victoria was evident in the solo exhibition last year at Alaska Projects (SYD). ‘Bongs and Commodores’ featured white ceramic (non functional) novelty bongs and a video loop of a car performing outrageously mad ‘doughies’ – exhibited in the car park gallery. In exhibitions like this Breedon has an uncanny ability to draw us into her playful stages and in doing so entrance us into a much deeper more complex conversation about class, culture, substance abuse and national identity.

In 2014 Breedon was artist in residence at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, this opportunity fostered the artists interest in the traditional craft of tapestry. Through the residency the artist developed traditional weaving skills as well as a new work pushing tapestry conventions including ‘A Whole New World’ which is a woven “Magic Eye” or autostereogram.

Breedon is currently on a Regional Art Residency at Cowwarr Art Space in Gippsland where she is creating a new body of work ‘Everything’s OK’. This project will feature a slip cast ceramic piece depicting a partially decomposed/zombie hand gesturing “OK” which appears to be forcefully protruding from a small mound of dirt. As the artist describes ‘Everything’s OK’ is about life after death, using humour to explore the macabre finality.’

Over the last year or so, Breedon has been brewing up another major, large scale project which will come to fruition at Testing Grounds in Southbank (MELB) this November. Monotone Rainbow will use technology and optical phenomenon to create a black and white rainbow hologram. She describes the work as reflecting on the paradox within the state of affairs in the world today – ‘A rainbow stripped of its colour is a symbolic reference of the beauty and sadness that co-exist in the current state of our world.’

The work will use recycled water and rear projection technology to create the illusion of a rainbow, albeit stripped of the full spectrum of colour. The ethereal spectre of a rainbow will be 3D like a hologram. Although Breedon has experience as an install technician, there are always exciting new challenges with each project and the artist is always pushing her practice and skill areas into new domains. Breedon explains ‘this project is technically challenging, there’s a lot of research and development that has to go into manufacturing and installing a work with this level of technical difficulty.’

I asked if the increase in rainfall in her current home in the Dandenong Ranges had anything to do with the artist’s fascination with Rainbows? She replied ‘there’s certainly enough rain, but all the hills obscure the rainbows I guess!?’

The answer to my initial question now seems self evident. Although Breedon’s work often compels us to consider darker nuances of the human

From top: A Whole New World, 2013 - Cotton seine twine, acrylic yarn; Cut the Air with a Knife, 2016 Looped video; Let’s Get Metaphysical, 2012 - Steel, copper, scaffold, tube, regulators, propane, gas bottles, fire.

condition, the playfulness and fun of her work draws us in together. The artist hasn’t given up on us – on the contrary, by holding up a mirror to the issues of our time we are offered hope for selfawareness and change. And that’s worth its weight in Gold.

Nicole Breedon’s Monotone Rainbow is being made possible through the generous support of the City of Melbourne.

Monotone Rainbow opens at Testing Grounds on the 3rd of November at 6pm and is open to the public. Testing Grounds is wheelchair accessible You can see more of Nicole Breedon’s work at www.nicolebreedon.com

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Photos by Kate Baker

Crafting a Creative Future Words by Ross Farnell*

Art is a Waste of Money. This was just one of the provocations at the centre of Council’s Creative Communities Forum held in mid-August which attracted 200 artists, practitioners, organisational and festival coordinators and other creative-minded people of all persuasions from across the Yarra Ranges. We all came together for a day of inspiration, conversation and ‘digging deep’ to kick-start a process which will shape Council’s new vision for arts and culture across the region for the next ten years.

There was a general buzz of expectation and anticipation in the room, knowing that we were at the start of an important process which will inform future directions for how Council responds to cultural aspirations and supports the creative identities of our region.

The day took us on a journey from the past – the many remarkable achievements and highlights of the last ten years – to visions for a diverse, expansive and creative future. Along the way there were panel discussions, round table brainstorming sessions, DIY short poems of inspiration, reflections on one’s own future journey and much more.

The forum began with a beautiful Welcome to Country by Brooke Wandin (Wurundjeri) who shared with us a story of creation, water and place – this place now known as the Yarra Valley. It set a grounding tone that was present throughout the day.

A pictorial overview of just some of the highlights coming out of the last Council cultural policy provided the context of where we have come from and what has been achieved – always a great thing to know before you embark on looking toward the future! With everything from major investment in cultural facilities – like the Yarra Ranges Museum, the Memo in Healesville and the theatre at Burrinja – to ongoing support for and funding of festivals and events, artist led projects, creative partnerships, Culture Tracks programs and much more, there was a

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lot to celebrate. But looking backwards was definitely not the focus of the day.

Instead we were quickly propelled into the amazing creative projects of Gap Filler, coming out of community-led responses to the earthquakes in Christchurch NZ. Ryan Reynolds took us through a truly inspirational – and I don’t use the word lightly, ask anyone who was there! – insight into what creative communities can achieve to reinvigorate, reinvent and recreate space and place. We went into the ecosystem of that community and explored the ways in which they built vibrant, active, engaging spaces from little other than enthusiasm, creativity, cooperation across sectors and a huge amount of good will and volunteering. Check out the stories at gapfiller.org.nz

Excitingly for us in the Yarra Ranges, Gap Filler are working with some of our region’s artists on a project in the urban spaces of Lilydale. ‘Welcome to Lilllydale’ uses a series of interventions and creative place-making activities in Lilydale to activate space and explore identity. The project is facilitated by Ryan Reynolds and led by artists Kate Baker, Matthew Riley and Troy Innocent.

Using Ryan’s talk as a springboard, we leapt into a panel looking at how we can use creativity, arts and heritage to shape place – be that through built art spaces like Tarrawarra Museum of Art and Burrinja, through festivals and events, or through community heritage and arts groups. It was interesting to reflect on the evolution of arts spaces over the past ten or twenty years, as we noted that institutions can no longer simply ‘hang a few nice paintings’ on a gallery wall and hope some people will turn up to appreciate

them. Thank goodness, this antiquated model is long gone as galleries and museums seek ever new ways to tell the narratives of those works and their creators, to connect them to place and to ensure that they are relevant within their regional community context.

This led us into an interesting discussion about the wider social impact of the arts: how it builds community and contributes to social cohesion and wellbeing. How we measure this, it was acknowledged, remains difficult. The last panel discussion of the day – ‘cultural planning and policy’ – questioned whether we should be trying to measure these types of ‘outputs and outcomes’ at all.

It explored the notion of valuing, measuring and reporting on ‘cultural outcomes’ rather than social and economic indicators. This delved into the big picture stuff – ‘what is Council’s role in providing liveable places that includes culture, health and wellbeing’, not just roads, rates and rubbish? In many ways this gets to the nub of the provocation – ‘is art a waste a money?’ For all of us in the room who work every day with the amazing outcomes produced by and for individuals, community and the betterment of our liveable, creative places, the answer was a resounding ‘no’.

The day oscillated nicely between some of these policy and organisational questions, and the other end of the creative spectrum where it all starts – with individual arts practitioners! An assembled panel of artists and creatives took us on a thought-provoking trail which traversed the whole gamut; from ‘what is an artist or an arts practitioner’ (with much selfreflection on this one from panel members), to the incredibly varied journeys of creative careers, the difficulty of sustaining one’s own arts practice, and

the necessary multi-disciplinary nature of being an artist today.

All agreed that to sustain their practice today’s artists must also be digital marketers of themselves and their work, must multi-skill, and most often need the ‘day job’ as well that pays the bills. A great case was made for artists to be more ‘transparent’ about these day jobs, providing a more accurate view of the often harsh economic realities facing arts practitioners every day, rather than projecting some romanticised image of the self-supporting creative.

There were so many other great activities to get people thinking. A favourite was the return of ‘Culture Bucks’ where everyone had their limited, allocated ‘council money’ to spend across different art forms – prioritising where they’d spend the bucks if they were Mayor! Decisions, decisions…

The great thing about this process is that if you missed the forum, you didn’t miss your chance to have your voice heard and allocate your own Culture Bucks. The consultation process is open to everyone and runs through until the end of September. You can participate online with the survey, visit the ‘Culture Caravan’ when it comes to town (dates & locations on web site) or put in a written submission.

So get involved and tell council why you think creativity is vital to our community – rather than a ‘waste of money’- and let them know what is important to you. This will help the team at Council formulate a plan for the next ten years that is truly representative of all of the many diverse voices and ideas that go into being a truly creative community.

For more info and survey: www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Places-events/Events/ Creative-Communities

* As Executive Director of Burrinja, Ross works in close partnership with the Creative Communities team at Council, and Chaired the forum panel on the role of art creating place.

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cafe tarts Kallista Tea Rooms - Kallista Review by Tiffany Morris-North The Kallista Tea Rooms, also known by some as KTR, has been around for ages. I haven’t been there for quite a while so was interested to see what it was like. The gorgeous 1940s building is situated on the main road and has plenty of parking.

The menu has a few interesting items and caters well for our vegetarian and vegan friends without substituting flavour. We ordered the Rainbow Tostada, $16, a pulled chicken and vegetable stack, starting with a crispy corn tortilla on the bottom and including avocado, cheese, sweet potato, pickled cabbage, sour cream and jalapeño. Apart from tasting delicious, it looked like a colourful work of art.

The other dish we tried was from the breakfast menu, cauliflower, kale, broccoli and quinoa fritters with haloumi, $20.50, was absolutely delicious and so nice to try something different for breakfast. The pickled cauliflower and tomato relish was a winner. And, as a bonus, you get your veggie fix for the day!

There was a yummy looking selection of cakes to try. We had the blueberry cheesecake. I do love a good baked cheesecake and this didn’t disappoint with a lovely crumbly base that wasn’t too thick.

We all had a vegan chocolate, date and peanut brownie which really went well with our coffee.

This also was a nice surprise. In the cake cabinet there was also a snickers cup which looked so decadent (I will have to go back to try this next time), scones, carrot cake as well as Lindt and hazelnut brownies.

A really lovely place to meet up with friends, Kallista Tea Rooms has a beautiful outlook, a cosy wood fire, and plenty of delicious homey food.

103 Monbulk Rd, Kallista. www.kallista-tearooms.com.au

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Spring in bloom