Capturing the launch of the LIVING ART publication and accompanying workshops was both a privilege and a pleasure. The catalogue publication was exquisitely designed by Anna Zagala and edited by Dr Suzie Fraser from COVA at University of Melbourne. It documents and explores the need for creative-led, common spaces to strengthen community resilience using the community of Dookie in regional Victoria as the model.

I hovered around capturing glimpses and moments of the workshops that drew on the expertise of the project’s various participants. The workshops encompassed knowledge of seed banks, native foods and grasses, place-specific geology and Indigenous perspectives on caring for Country.

An expansive conversation between Yorta Yorta man Neville Atkinson and Dookie archaeologist Gaye Sutherland was very moving - having worked side-by-side for decades they shared their knowledge and experience of place, the ancient rocks and prized greenstone.