THINKING GROUND is a space for artists to gather and connect, to spend time collectively unpacking our role in responding to current and future social, environmental and political need. 

Extending on work developed as part of a pilot workshop series hosted by Next Wave at Brunswick Mechanics in August 2024 and developed further through our recent residency at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, VIMH will facilitate this iteration of THINKING GROUND across four public sessions in September and October 2025 as part of Next Wave’s ALL School program.

We are approaching this time together with a fundamental belief in our own power as a community and our capacity to model new ways of living and gathering. These sessions are open to local artists and community to share knowledge, swap skills and build shared understanding of civic and creative practice.

DETAILS

Friday Sept 12, 19, 26, Oct 3

8.30AM – 5PM (see session structure breakdown below)

Brunswick Mechanics Institute, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick

REGISTER HERE

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FRIDAY SESSION STRUCTURE

8.30am – 9.30am: Balam Balam Place Walk + Clean-Up

From the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nations, Next Wave is privileged to traverse the land and waterways of this continent of many nations – to share in the act of art making and culture building – grounded on justice, friendship and care. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

VIMH shares and extends this acknowledgement through the first session of each THINKING GROUND day, which will build our relationship to the local area beyond Brunswick Mechanics Institute. For this module, we will be partnering with Balam Balam Place to undertake a local clean-up, with participants getting a chance to connect and work together in a shared effort at local land care.

10am – 1pm: Coffee, Cake and Conversation

This time will centre questions brought to the group by each individual attendee – about practice, about the purpose and/or function of art right now, about how to build community and equity and resistance into our life and work. No question is too big or small (we spent one fantastic session in April swapping recipes for staying warm in winter!).

1pm – 2pm: Lunch

2pm – 5pm: Co-Working

This will be an opportunity to do your own thing in our space: silent communal time for practice (not emails, not admin). Thinking time. Dreaming time. Listening time. Writing time. This is an opportunity to put all the distractions down for a couple of hours and work, in solidarity and with company, as an artist.

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REGISTRATION INFO

This session structure is modular – you can join us just for the morning clean-up, or you might only be able to get to us after lunch. Sign-up for each Friday happens on a weekly basis and you can indicate then which sessions you are able to attend. Registration is free and is just to give us a sense of numbers – you’re free to come and go even within the sessions you book.

For more information about the origin of the program, you can head here. 

Very importantly – no artistic experience is necessary to participate. If you’re interested in these ideas and want to contribute to these conversations, then we’d love to have you.

As always, shoot any Qs through to thevoiceinmyhands@gmail.com.