From lead artist Renae Shadler

 

LMCTW in Horsham was a success. The community enthusiastically participated in the project, considered what they loved about their town and were creative in their means of documentation - including a painting by local artist, Jill McLeod, documenting her love of the landscape.

 

 The project created an opportunity for the Art Is… Festival to engage with the wider community, often people participating had not previously been a part of the festival. Activating the streets and local areas of high foot traffic with art projects was a new concept for the Horsham community and one that was well received. At times families stopped to participate with the children, Mum and Dad recording what they loved.

 

LMCTW Horsham asked participants to celebrate the unique elements of their town and then gave them the opportunity to link their contributions to others through the system card box, for example it was exciting to see the pleasure people had in reading the many responses to ʻLandscapeʼ as they chatted about their love for the Grampians and Wimmera River. This element of the project allowed participants to be part of something bigger than a single response - contributing to a whole, therefore strengthening their sense of community.

 

By connecting participants we hoped to inspire personal fulfillment and cultural vibrancy. This was demonstrated by the return participants who considered their response and chose to visit our documentation booth the following day. We also received emails with thanks plus contributions which continued after the project was completed.

 

Participants were facilitated in documenting their responses and able to explore multimedia platforms such as film, audio recording and written word. Some participants directed us to film them through the branches of a tree or film them ride their Penny-farthing bicycle down the main street. Others took us shopping with them or children asked us to film their toy trucks.