Many visitors are inspired by the wild and intriguing landscape of the Mosses . It is a place offering different viewpoints and opportunities for artists and writers to explore for individual or collaborative projects. Andrew Howe has been creating his own work in response to walks on the Mosses for some time and aims to be a catalyst for others to make and share their own responses to the landscape. This may include:

  • Collaborations with other artists
  • Artist residencies
  • Engagement projects with schools and community groups
  • Exhibitions and artist talks
  • Walks, events and workshop activities

The collaboration with Kim V. Goldsmith, and her work at the Macquairie Marshes in New South Wales, Australia, is an exciting project putting the Mosses into a global context.

Six natural resource managers, scientists, academics, and cultural consultants from Australia and the UK will come together next month to discuss an issue at the heart of international arts project, Mosses and Marshes — the future of important wetlands and the place they have in our communities.

On Thursday, 11 November  7PM AEDT/ 8AM GMT, the international panel will convene via a public Zoom event to consider alternative ways of understanding and valuing special environments to inform and help shape their future, with a focus on the Macquarie Marshes (Australia) and the Fenn’s, Whixall, and Bettisfield Mosses (UK). Registrations are now open via the ecoPULSE website with an invitation extended to a live audience to contribute to the conversation.

The panelists are Tim Hosking (Australia), Kate Mildner (Australia), Fleur and Laurance Magick Dennis of Milan Dhiiyaan (Australia), Dave Pritchard (UK), Dr Tim Acott (UK), and Dr Joan Daniels (UK). (READ PANELIST BIOS)

Dubbo Regional Councils’ Cultural Development Coordinator and facilitator of the discussion, Jessica Moore said Mosses and Marshes is an environmental art project that questions how we think about the environment through a series of works, writings and discussions, with the inclusion of multiple voices extending the impact of the project beyond the gallery walls.

“It is important that we support creative engagement with our specific environment, its forms, its ecology and how that environment shapes our lives and. ‘Regional’ is often used as a catchall term as though all regions are the same. The specificity of really knowing our region and its environment brings connection, value and a true understanding of how we protect it.

“Our Cultural Plan highlights how passionate the community is about celebrating the interconnection between our location and creative works. We are proud to support this project, which is not only passionately celebrating and supporting regional ecosystems but connecting it to the wider international discussions on the future of profoundly important (but often overlooked) ecosystems such as the Mosses and Marshes.”

The format of the event will also see pre-recorded provocations fed into the discussion from scientists, natural resource managers, land managers, community and artists from both countries.

The Mosses and Marshes project is led by artists Kim V. Goldsmith (NSW, AUS) and Andrew Howe (Shropshire, UK), who have worked together over the last three years. They have created a series of videos, soundscapes, paintings, prints and handmade papers for exhibition (now showing in the UK), a project book, and a series of public events in Australia and the UK. Both have spent time researching, observing, documenting and exploring their respective wetlands and surrounding communities.

In Australia, this event has been assisted with funding by Dubbo Regional Council, the NSW Government through Create NSW, the Australian Cultural Fund, and supported by Orana Arts. In the UK, the event is being supported by Arts Council England, Natural England and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.