Artwork by Gadget

Ten Days on the Island is once again collaborating with the community of Shorewell Park, Burnie Community House (BCH) and Urban Theatre Projects (UTP) for a project that continues to grow the relationships established during the Ten Days on the Island Festival in March 2019.

Shorewell Presents… Dear Friend, is a pen pal project that will bring together community members with artists from Tasmania and Western Sydney to share stories. In a time when human interactions have been disrupted , UTP and BCH will provide a chance for connection and creative expression through the old-fashioned art of letter writing.  Community members who want to participate in another way will be invited to leave voice messages for the artists, who will respond.

Lindy Hume, Artistic Director of Ten Days on the Island, says:

“Ten Days on the Island looks forward to the outcomes of this grassroots campaign, driven by the community of Shorewell Park. Sharing stories and creative expression are great ways of connecting people. How wonderful in this digital age to take the time to write a letter to someone you’ve never met, or to receive one, and take your time again to consider your response!

“One of the wonderful things about Ten Days on the Island being based in Burnie has been getting to know the Shorewell Park community through our collaboration with Urban Theatre Projects and Burnie Community House on Shorewell Presents… for the 2019 Festival.

“Now, as we look to the future, we are excited to participate in this Dear Friend adventure, an intriguing journey to share with the Shorewell Park community and – perhaps – the with world at Festival time next year.”

Artistic Director of UTP, Jessica Olivieri says “UTP is delighted to be continuing our collaboration with the Shorewell Park community alongside our project partners Burnie Community House and Ten Days on the Island.

“This next phase of the Shorewell Presents… project seeks to offer connection through the sharing of stories, and we will be inviting every resident in Shorewell Park to participate.”

UTP is company-in-residence with Ten Days on the Island and began working with Burnie Community House and the Shorewell Park community in August 2018.  The first outcome of this collaboration was a dinner and performance event in Shorewell Park Reserve as part of the 2019 Ten Days on the Island Festival.

The partnership has been welcomed by Dr Tracy Edington-MacKay, Manager of Burnie Community House:

“We’re delighted to be working again in partnership with Ten Days on the Island, Urban Theatre Projects and Shorewell Park residents to commence Stage Two of Shorewell Presents…  Quite frankly, this couldn’t have come at a better time as we know how arts-based projects enrich, excite and bring communities together.”

The project, Shorewell Presents… Dear Friend, will kick off in the week beginning 22 June when letters will be delivered to residents of Shorewell Park, inviting them to participate in the project. They will be encouraged to write letters or leave voice messages to which an artist will respond and thus begin the creative exchange. A custom-built artwork by local artist Gadget will be installed at Burnie Community House for residents to post their letters.

This project runs alongside Burnie Community House’s ABCD Asset Mapping Project taking place in Shorewell Park. Using Asset Based Community Development processes BCH will ask each person in their local neighbourhood what they care about, what they know and what they can do.  The project focuses on people’s assets and strengths rather than problems and needs, creating opportunities to mobilise the community in positive ways.

Ten Days on the Island Festival will run from 5 – 29 March 2021 across Tasmania. The full program will be announced in January 2021.