LATEST FROM THE LAB

Gold Portraits - The Harsletts
06.01.08
This is the eighth in a series of portraits profiling Big hART Gold participants in Queensland, from the communities of Goondiwindi and Stanthorpe, made by Mick and Melinda.
Gold Portraits - Patsy
03.01.08
This is the seventh in a series of portraits profiling Big hART Gold participants in Queensland, from the communities of Goondiwindi and Stanthorpe, made by Mick and Melinda.

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Hello – welcome to the online world of Big hART’s GOLD project.

Big hART has been finding gold in the Murray Darling Basin since 2006. This gold is in the form of stories, photographs, music and films about the social impact of climate change on farming families and young people.

"It's not about the survival of the farm. It’s the survival of the family"
Farmer - Boree Creek

The gold we unearth comes from people willing to share their stories of survival, resilience, heartbreak and love during the worst drought on record.

These stories are shaped and refined into fine jewels in the Gold Lab. This process is displayed throughout the website and will inform a variety of presentations over the coming years including exhibitions, performances and conferences and in the media.

Gold has many layers, involving film, photography, music and theatre making as well as education, skills development, crime prevention, social justice, community development and participation, and policy research.

We invite you to have a look around and say hello.

The GOLD team

GOLD COMMUNITY

Seventeen farming families from seven communities

Big hART has had the privilege of working with seventeen farming families from seven communities in the Murray Darling Basin including Talgarno, Rand, Boree Creek, Griffith, Trundle, Goondiwindi and Stanthorpe.

These families have all been very generous with their time, their hospitality and with the sharing of their stories.

We hope we have been able to represent these families.

"The towns are shrinking... You can go for long periods of time and not see anybody"
Farmer - Trundle

and communities in a honourable way in the narratives presented throughout this site. We thank them all for their ongoing participation.

VISIT THE GOLD COMMUNITY

GOLD FILMS

The films showcased here have been produced using interviews, portraits, archival images and footage shot during the many road trips and excursions to farming communities. In most instances a film crew is made up of young people participating in GOLD alongside a filmmaker. These young people have developed filmmaking skills through regular workshops with the Big hART team in Griffith.

Films in progress can be viewed in the Gold Lab

GOLD PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is an integral part in the GOLD creative development process.

From the beginning of this project, young people have participated in photography workshops and have had access to cameras and equipment to develop these skills. Most had no prior experience in photography.

A significant body of work has been produced by both young people and experienced photographers working with Big hART. The opportunity to
photograph farming familiesin so
many diverse locations has
been a very rich and
rewarding experience.

A selection of images from
the GOLD archive can be
viewed here

GOLD MUSIC

Big hART is inviting songwriters to contribute music to the project as part of the creative development of GOLD. Discussions are taking place with well-known songwriters who have expressed an interest in being involved.

There are number of ways in which songwriters can engage with the project; by writing a song in response to viewing material on this site; by spending some time with one of the families on the farm or having a dialogue with them that may inspire the writing of a song; or by contributing a relevant finished piece.

These songs may be included in the film material, or used in the GOLD theatre performance and exhibitions.