In the Museum with local musician Sarah Leete

EARLY FARMING in North West NSW was often hardscrabble to make a living off the land. The Wee Waa Namoi Echo Museum collection reflects the relics of the life and times of local people who persevered, and sometimes failed in the attempt, and Baan Baa-based singer/songwriter Sarah Leete has captured that history in her new song, “In the Museum”.

The song is an outcome of Sarah’s residency at the Echo Museum and an anthem to those past and present represented in the collection. As one of five resident artists for the Arts North West In the Museum project, placing creatives in historical community museums, Sarah was given time to develop her work, and find inspiration from the Wee Waa collection.

A line from the chorus, “Stories of yesterday, heartbreak up on display,” reflects the history and emotion Sarah experienced absorbing the items on exhibit.

“I think the sheer scale of things they have there and the way it was displayed impacted me. What moved me was the number of artifacts they had, and the very little we know about all of these people and things,” she said

“For instance, a kitchen table is used in a display in one of the buildings. It is clearly very old, and I was very overwhelmed by the moments that would have been shared around that very table that we have no idea about. To most people it's just an old table, but it would have played a very important part in a handful of lives over the years.”

The museum staff of volunteers embraced Sarah, and she said it was very special to hear their shared stories and receive such a generous response to her questions, which impressed her.

Museum committee president Julie Dowleans said Sarah’s residency came at a time when the museum was experiencing a flush of new visitors, both tourists and locals.

“We’re just really grateful that Sarah could come out here, and spend her time coming backward and forwards,” she said, adding that as a local radio announcer, she was looking forward to hosting Sarah on the local station.

“We are thrilled to have Sarah here,” said museum volunteer Fran Luke. “It’s something different and it’s giving us a bit of enthusiasm that we are never lacking but it’s a plus - it’s just a big plus.”

Arts North West executive director Caroline Downer said it was wonderful to see such diverse responses to the collections across the region, such as Sarah’s song.

“We are delighted that we are able to give creatives an opportunity to embed themselves in our museums and to be inspired by our local history,” she said.

Sarah debuted “In the Museum” at a big breakfast put on by the museum on Saturday, 24 April.

“It was surprisingly emotional, but so lovely to give them something back to show some appreciation for the great work they do and the kindness they have shown me,” she said.

“Although I am based not far from Wee Waa, we have a more mixed society now with mining, but the farmers have my heart, it's what drew me to the North West in the first place!”

The Arts North West In the Museum project was made possible through the NSW Government’s Arts Restart program.

Local Artist in Residence at Emmaville Mining Museum

A PIECE OF local history inspired Deepwater artist Jeff Manning during his tenure with the Arts North West’s In the Museum residency project for the Emmaville Mining Museum.

The project placed a creative artist, writer or musician within five community museums across the New England North West to develop work in response to their collections.

Jeff had visited the Emmaville museum several times before with guests, but the residency gave him time to reflect more deeply on a significant historical population. Once far outnumbering European settlers to the Emmaville region, Chinese immigrants exponentially formed the bulk of the labour force for the mining boom in the 19th Century.

The museum exhibits include many photos, some understandably faded by time, depicting images of Chinese miners and merchants who emigrated to the Emmaville area.

“I had been aware of the existence of a Chinese Temple, or Joss House, as they were known colloquially, but after reading, in particular Golden Threads, by Janis Wilton, talking with locals and internet browsing, learned of three temples that existed in Emmaville.”

Jeff said the museum acknowledges and represents the Chinese residency and influence in the town, but had few artifacts of that period to display. On the strength of his research, Jeff created two large drawings, which are on display at the museum which represent the daily life and traditions of the Chinese residents of the time.

“The town was originally known as Vegetable Creek as the Chinese in particular grew vegetables and food for the growing population,” Jeff said.

“These two activities, the Joss House and the market gardens, took my interest and I decided to represent the Temple on a Festive day, complete with fireworks, roasting pig, musicians, gambling and general festivities, and another drawing of the gardens at Vegetable Creek.”

Jeff has continued a relationship with the museum committee beyond his residency period to help grow their historical assets in regard to the Chinese who once lived in the area.

“I have been fortunate to be loaned two brass cymbals by the Robertson-Cunninghame family, which are from one of the Joss Houses. These will be displayed in the Museum,” he said.

“I hope my drawings add to the understanding of the activities of the Chinese in Emmaville, as well as different foods and fresh vegetables which no doubt aided the health of the town and with their exotic religions, culture and Festival days, the Chinese were an important part of the fabric of Emmaville.”

Arts North West project officer Michèle Jedlicka said Jeff had kindly walked her through the museum and explained what had most affected him.

“I really enjoyed that. This residency was all about a creative interpretation of history, and Jeff certainly responded with two beautiful drawings.” she said

Jeff Manning’s drawings can be seen on display in Emmaville Mining Museums main building.

The Arts North West In the Museum project was made possible through the NSW Government’s Arts Restart program.

Creatives Looking Both Ways in Armidale

As part of Arts North West’s Arts Restart project, three creative roundtables are being facilitated by renowned Walcha artist Angus Nivison and Uralla writer, Sophie Masson.

The Looking Both Ways roundtables have been designed for selected New England North West creatives to study the inspiration and the interplay of text and image, engaging eleven professional local writers and eleven professional local artists.

The first roundtable was held at NERAM late last month with great success.

“Not often there is an opportunity to delve deeply into the creative process – to take the time to look at how collaboration might work” said Arts North West Executive Director Caroline Downer.

“Artists and writers really benefited from insights from both Sophie and Angus.” Ms Downer continued

Local writers include:

Helena Pastor

Suzie Wicks

Nate Weatherall

Nicole Alexander

Fiona McDonald

Bronwyn Parry

Trish Donald

Rob Waters

Gail Galloway

Phillipa Trelford

Local artists include:

Leah Bullen

James O'Hanlon

Brent Emerson

Maree Kelly

Nadia Kliendanze

Liz Powell

Joanne Stead

Jodie Herden

Gabi Briggs

Mike Terry

Lizzie Horne

Looking Both Ways is a continuation of Arts North West’s successful 2019 project, Art Word Place in which Angus and Sophie were paired together and Angus created a work in response to Sophie’s writings.

“I wrote a poem called Sky Dramas, New England, and Angus created a painting inspired by it called But in the Dry, based on the second stanza of the poem, which was fueled by the terrible drought we were in the midst of at the time” said Looking Both Way facilitator, Sophie Masson.

“Looking Both Way is a two-part workshop, the first-round table concentrating on setting everything up and beginning paired projects and a final one on April 17 where completed works will be presented to the group. It's going to be an amazing experience.” Ms Masson continued.

In addition, Sophie Masson and Angus Nivison will collaborate to create work for a 2022 exhibition at NERAM

The Looking Both Ways project is proudly funded by the NSW Government through Arts Restart.

Major Boost for Region’s Arts Visibility

A COMPREHENSIVE reboot of the essential connections that drive a healthy and visible creative arts industry recently escalated with a huge recruitment drive for the New England North West’s best Arts communicators.

Arts North West is now pleased to announce its Creative Champions and In The Museum residency artists, who will spearhead this outreach program across the region in 2021.

Arts North West Creative Champions will seek out artists in all disciplines, artsworkers, and creative venues within the local government areas where they live. Once in place, they will assist creatives to deliver their information to the Arts North West Connect (www.artsnwconnect.com.au) regional registry of creative people, industries and venues in the New England North West.

These positions will be vital in establishing links between the creative population of our region and council Visitor Information Centres, giving our local artists and arts-related industries acknowledgment, recognition and employment opportunities, growing sustainability for the Arts within our communities.

Executive director of Arts North West Caroline Downer thanked the large number of applicants who put themselves forward for the positions.

“The Arts North West Creative Champions will allow us to build stronger and wider networks throughout the New England North West region,” she said in a statement.

“This is something we are constantly working on, but with such a large geographical area and 12 contributing councils, it is not always easy to do with a small staff.

“The Arts North West Connect website will be the most current and comprehensive database of all things creative in the New England North West.”

Arts North West’s inaugural Creative Champions are as follows:

Armidale Regional: Lynette Aspey

Glen Innes Severn: Ruth Brummell

Gunnedah Shire: Marie Low

Gwydir Shire: Laura Cush

Inverell Shire: Mel Arnott

Liverpool Plains: Tania Hartigan

Moree Plains Shire: Kerrie Matchett

Narrabri Shire: Sarah Leete

Tamworth Regional: Kate Hofman

Tenterfield Shire: Danielle Wholohan

Uralla Shire: In negotiation

Walcha Council: Maryanne Piper

Ms Downer said that applications for Arts North West’s In the Museum Artist residency were equally as impressive.

“We are so lucky to have fabulous museums run by dedicated volunteers scattered throughout our region and I am sure the artists will find a treasure trove of inspiration during their residency,” she said.

“I hope the In the Museum Residency project will inspire other local creatives to engage and explore their local historical societies and museums for inspiration and to create new connections within their communities.”

The In the Museum Artist residency is an opportunity for an artist to develop new work, and collaborate with a museum to promote creative practice and support the role of museums and their collections in their communities by facilitating a community workshop or presentation of the residency outcomes.

The following New England North West artists were successful in being linked to these venues:

Dorothea Mackellar Centre and the Water Tower Museum: Writer, Alex Wharton

Echo Museum Wee Waa: Singer/Songwriter/Musician, Sarah Leete

Emmaville Mining Museum: Visual Artist, Jeff Manning

Hillgrove Museum: Photographer/Visual Artist, Mike Terry

Tenterfield Railway Museum: Visual Artist, Liz Powell

The successful Arts North West Snapshot applicants will be announced later this week.

This project is proudly funded by the NSW Government through Arts Restart.