SquatSpace has been invited to be part of an exhibition at Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney.
As part of the current show, Concrete Culture, yet another Tour will be offered-see details below- and a forum.
CONCRETE CULTURE
Asian and Australian projects at the intersections of art
and architecture, private and public spaces
Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan(Philippines/Australia), Ou Ning (China),
SquatSpace (Australia), Richard Goodwin (Australia), Ashok Sukumaran (India)
Curator: Felicity Fenner
Exhibition: 29 May–5 July 2008*
Forum: Monday, 23 June 2008, 9.20am–5.45pm
Extra/Ordinary Cities: The Cultural Dynamics of Urban Intervention
Convened by the Centre for Contemporary Art & Politics, UNSW and the Biennale of
Sydney with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in connection with a Linkage Project
funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC)
Bookings: www.bos2008.com/app/biennale/event/8
Tour of Beauty: Sunday, 22 June 2008, 1pm-5pm
There are some *strictly limited* places on the Tour of Beauty bus – please book immediately.
Bookings - email info@squatspace.com.
Meet at 12.45pm,
ID Gallery, Selwyn St, Paddington, NSW
Load into our special tour bus.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
In late 2004, the NSW government formed the
Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA), and granted itself sweeping powers to displace residents and pave the way for urban renewal.
The RWA is yet to announce exactly what its plans are, but it is likely they will involve:
- an attempt to reduce the indigenous population on the Block, against the wishes of its current owners, the Aboriginal Housing Company
- the sale of key local community assets, such as the Redfern Public School, Rachel Forster Women's Hospital, and the Redfern Courthouse
- the selective re-writing of heritage laws in order to allow for the private development of these sites
- the reduction of health and community services in the area
- a doubling of the population from 20,000 to 40,000 residents
- a lack of proper community consultation in the planning and implementing of these changes
- a lack of accountability: Frank Sartor (the head of the RWA) answers to the State Minister for Planning (who also happens to be Frank Sartor)
SquatSpace has been meeting with local community representatives in an attempt to understand exactly what the RWA's actions would mean for life in Redfern/Waterloo.
The issues are extremely complex, and not easy to grasp simply by reading news articles or looking at maps. The best way to "get a feel" for the area is to see it with your own eyes, and have a chance to ask questions and raise concerns. This is why we are co-ordinating the bus tours during September and October 2005.
Sites we will visit on the bus tour include:
- The Block, the heart of indigenous housing and culture in Sydney
- The Settlement, Australia's longest running community centre
- Redfern Public School, Redfern Courthouse, Rachel Forster Hospital, all slated for private sale and development
- The public housing towers in Waterloo (pictured above)
- The Danks St gallery precinct (SOCS) - "a little piece of Paddington in Waterloo".
- Redfern Oval (traditional home of the South Sydney Rabbitohs) which the local community wants to have converted into a sports facility for public use.
Further info:
We are indebted to our friends at
REDWatch, who have spent hundreds of hours trawling the media and posting relevant information on their website. In addition, the
Aboriginal Housing Company keeps an updated page.
