A four-storey windmill will stage a series of fascinating events exploring the history and culture of The Rocks through
art, science and the imagination
From Friday 12 April to Sunday 12 May 2013,
the
rich history and cultural heritage of The Rocks will come to life as
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority launches a thought-provoking and
visually stunning interpretive
icon in the heart of one of Sydney’s foremost arts hubs.
Known as ‘The Rocks Windmill’,
the striking large-scale temporary installation will act as a
functioning wheat-grind as well
as a vibrant and intimate 40-seated venue. A month-long cultural event
program will give voice to the centuries-old design of Sydney’s
fascinating heritage precinct, while also delving into contemporary
subjects around urban sustainability.
Inspired
by The Rocks’ colonial windmill era, Sydney Harbour Foreshore
Authority’s innovative project features theatre and screenings,
visual arts and interactive installations, workshops and historical
tours, all designed to entertain and educate visitors on The Rocks’
heritage and natural environment.
“The
Foreshore Authority is always looking for inventive ways to interpret
history, and the arts offer us a way to think and look at
the world differently” explains Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority CEO Catherine Gallagher.
“Beguiling visitors with beauty or provoking them with surprises is a
great way of helping them to reflect on the past or look to the future
in new ways.” she
said.
In recent years, The Rocks’ arts and cultural value has grown steadily, spearheaded by the
Museum of Contemporary Art’s redevelopment and Vivid Live. Now with the help of the Windmill’s designers and builders,
Paul Gazzola and Joey Ruigrok van der Werven, and a
dynamic event program, The Rocks will be home to a lively new venue and
creative space in the form of a towering ‘pop-up’ windmill that is as
visually stunning as it is thought provoking.
The Windmill’s cultural program will include five streams of events:
- Windmill Live will ignite the mill and its surrounds with pop-up live performances, screenings and interactions that allow visitors to experience this unique structure. Events have been carefully curated to satisfy curiosities and generate discussion.
- Grist to the Mill, a series of workshops, demonstrations and guided walking tours, will have you learning, exchanging and discovering The Rocks in a whole new way, whether you’re a seasoned Sydneysider or a new visitor.
- Inside These Walls is a series of exhibitions that will come to life within and around the walls of The Rocks Windmill. It is here that some of the work completed during residencies will be on display for the public to admire, learn from and contribute to.
- Listen to the stories of The Rocks at Windmill Whispers, where talks and seminars will allow audiences to share their own stories with thought leaders on issues ranging from the arts and Sydney’s humble history to issues of sustainability.
- In the late 18th-century, pardoned convict Robert Sidaway opened the colony’s first theatre and allowed patrons to pay for entry with flour. Pay homage to Sidaway at the Wheat Exchange by collecting a bag of wheat at The Rocks Discovery Museum and grinding it into your own flour in The Rocks Windmill.
With a series of entertaining and educational
school holiday and weekend workshops, this is a cultural program that even the kids will enjoy. At
Bricks on The Rocks kids will learn how bricks were made in
colonial times to build the heritage sandstone buildings and laneways of
The Rocks. They’ll even be able to get their hands dirty making their
own brick to keep for show and tell. Bell Shakespeare
will also be presenting as part of their program Discover Shakespeare Workshops designed to feed the imagination of primary school aged students.
Artist
Diego Bonetto will present a fascinating series of holiday and weekend workshops called
Wild Stories, focusing on the secret uses of the wide variety of
common weeds found in The Rocks, while kids and adults alike will enjoy
working the cogs of the functioning wheat-grind housed inside the
Windmill, grinding their own wheat as part of the
Wheat Exchange.
The
Windmill’s program includes a sustainable garden, with workshops such
as wheat-growing classes showcasing the significant role
windmills played in providing colonial Sydney’s food staples, while
offering insights into sustainable food production.
Costa Georgidais (host of ABC’s Gardening Australia) will
also draw connections between history and the land in his exploration of
the sustainable gardening culture surrounding wheat. His passion for
everything grown will guide visitors through
an exploration of how our main grain becomes our daily bread.
The history of The Rocks will come out to play throughout the course of the arts program. Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
Creative Producer Michael Cohen says the Windmill is “a way to get people engaged with history”.
“We
are encouraging our visitors to think about the past in interesting and
provocative ways,” says Cohen. “That said, this is not
an area that stands as a memorial to the past: it’s a vibrant
contemporary place that is full of curiosity and surprise.”
Bell Shakespeare, Australia’s premier contemporary
Shakespeare company will present key scenes from the historically significant
Henry IV, the first Shakespearean work ever to be played in Australia.
FBi Radio’s
All The Best will follow on from this idea by creating an
audio event throughout The Rocks discussing the history of the area and
its architecture. Short-story merchants
Penguin Plays Rough will also present a night themed ‘The Rocks’ with stories about the area developed and performed by emerging writers.
As part of the wide array of multi-sensory events on offer, radio producer and sound artist
Jane Ulman will be creating an exciting work that takes sounds
from history, from the building of The Rocks Windmill, from literary
works and the imagination, and weaving them into a rich tapestry of
evocative audio that explores the cultural significance
of the venue itself.
Architecture will be an important feature of the program, with
The Rizzeria and Make-Space for Architecture collaborating for a zine-making workshop. Visitors will also be able to work with
Craft NSW to create a story banner reflecting some of the
architectural history of The Rocks, with their work going on public
display. Craft NSW will also present workshops on early colonial craft
techniques like leather craft and indigenous basketry.
With a wealth of historical knowledge,
The Historic Houses Trust will guide walking tours of the area’s
old windmill sites, explaining how steam power ended the windmill era
while investigating the importance of ‘the daily bread’ for a fledgling
colony.
The Rocks Windmill will also take a look at the present casting an eye on the future with
Carbon Arts and Media Lab Melbourne taking a technological
perspective, focusing on gadgets that help us measure and think about
energy use of appliances within the home.
This
multi-dimensional celebration of the history and cultural identity of
The Rocks comes as part of the Foreshore Authority’s reinvigoration
of this interesting and charming precinct. “There are hundreds of
fascinating stories from The Rocks so having an interpretive version of
one of its bygone-era buildings magically appear overnight will
jumpstart discussions about this place and the many different
attachments it holds for Sydneysiders,” says Cohen.
Whether
it’s history, storytelling, gardening, architecture, science,
technology, food, music or art you’re into, or if you just want
to be wowed by this magnificent structure, get to The Rocks Windmill from Friday 12 April before it disappears on
Sunday 12 May. With an eclectic and vibrant month-long program of
events, showcasing some of Sydney’s most creative and talented people,
The Rocks Windmill is sure to blow you away!
WHAT: The Rocks Windmill
WHERE: Rocks Square, The Rocks
WHEN: Friday 12 April to Sunday 12 May, 2013
9am – 5pm Monday – Friday.
Plus various times for programmed events
COST: 90% of the event program is FREE, however spaces are limited and bookings are required
INFO and BOOKINGS: therocks.com
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