How is it half way through 2025 already? Is it just me or do current world events seem to make time go much faster? There are four dates that really mark the passage of time for me. That is the two equinoxes and solstices. I’m writing this article in the lead up to my favourite – the Winter solstice. In our neck of the world, it’s announced by the longest night (14 hours) and the shortest day (10 hours).
Of course the reciprocal of that is that the days start to get longer by a few minutes each day. For architects, it’s also when we measure our shadow diagrams to prove to Council that our designs aren’t (we hope) overshadowing neighbours. For many cultures, it’s also a time of feasting, gift giving, bonfires and singing life back into the trees. And so there isn’t a more perfect time to start a conversation. Or should I say a creative dialogue at the Bank Space in Port Kembla!
Yes – thanks to the City of Wollongong, this year Port Kembla will be taken over by a great bunch of local artists and creatives. There will be dancing, there will be music, there will be painting and installations. Inside the cool 20th-century modern designed Bank space, there will be three panels discussing all things creative.
First up at noon will be “Staying with Trouble – Truth Telling in the Arts”. Secondly, I’ll be convening a discussion on “Symbiosis, Unexpected Alliances and Habitat for the Arts” followed by “Creative World Building, Community Against the Odds”. Some really stellar topics and all for free (bookings essential for the workshops).
As a taste test, I thought a preamble on the topic I’ll be convening is in order.
As a novice wordsmith, I generally start by locking down some definitions. ‘Symbiosis’ is a term I generally associate with ecology. We humans are actually living, breathing sacks of symbiosis. I know that doesn’t sound pretty and if you have a microscope it probably isn’t, but did you know our microbiome (ie. non human cells) accounts for more than half of our body weight? All of these little microscopic colonists are essential for our ecosystem to exist.
How then can we apply the same to the habitat of the Arts? Of course, we all know that art cannot exist in a vacuum, but what is the cultural biome that needs to exist for the Arts sector to thrive?
Whilst my experience can’t speak for the whole biome required, I can speak for the architectural component. There are plenty of precedents, with creative arts districts across the world and more locally. The main ingredient tends to be two things – cheap rent and cachet.
Cheap rent speaks for itself, I use the term cachet to refer to the ability of an area to attract like-minded individuals – in this case, creatives. Locally, I would suggest that Port Kembla is one of these areas. Once an increasingly derelict empty shop high street, Wentworth Street is now lively and hip. So hip it has a Pilates studio!
Architecturally, there’s some cool buildings along its strip, but there’s also something special about its location. Nestled in between an ageing steelworks, the Pacific Ocean and with distant views to the escarpment to the West, it kind of feels in the centre of things.
So, there’s a little taste of Symbiosis and Habitat, what are these so called “unexpected alliances”.
To keep to my human body metaphor, I’m going to liken the unexpected alliances with that of the enzyme. Enzymes, in case you didn’t know, are these fantastic little things that help aid a chemical process along. A biological example of an enzyme is amylase, which helps the human body break down starch into sugars.
An example of a local Art enzyme would be The South Coast Arts organisation, but with a name like that, they’re hardly an “unexpected” alliance. I’m going to throw Buckaroo in there as an unexpected alliance. They foster a great community of artists in half of their warehouse space in Bellambi. Yes, they create their own leather artworks but there’s no requirement to have an alliance of artists next door. It certainly helps though, especially when one of those alliances is looking at ways to recycle their leather offcuts and another one records and holds great music events, whilst next door creates delicious beer and wine – now that’s my kind of biome!
Creatives Dialogues will be held on Saturday, June 21. It's a free one-day event that includes a range of workshops, discussions, installations and live music at various locations in Port Kembla. For more information, visit council's event page
