'Overwintering’: to spend the winter; e.g. ‘many birds overwinter in equatorial regions’
introduction
As its name suggests, the Overwintering Project is a project rather than an exhibition. It is designed to be organic and long-term in nature to allow participation by any group in any venue and for any audience, provided that the major aims of the Project is respected. Each exhibition of the Overwintering Project will be different, depending on the artists involved, the venue, and the audience's or community's needs.
The Project’s primary aim is to bring visibility to Australia’s most endangered group of birds, our migratory shorebirds, and their habitat. Australia has 36 species of migratory shorebirds that breed above the Arctic Circle in Siberia and Alaska, migrating south to spend the major part of their migratory cycle (October – May) on the shores of Australia and New Zealand. The route they fly annually between their two homes is called the East Asian-Australasian Flyway*, and their journeys link 23 countries from New Zealand to Russia along the coast of Asia through which they fly, stop to rest and refuel, and breed. They travel this 25,000 circuit every year of their adult lives.
Largely due to their dependence on habitat in every one of the 23 Flyway countries – many of which number among the fastest-growing economies on the planet – migratory shorebirds are the fastest declining group of birds in Australia. As we share their home for the majority of the year, we have a particular responsibility in Australia and New Zealand to preserve their critical overwintering habitat. The Overwintering Project aims to raise awareness of migratory shorebirds – their existence and their needs – to help us do our part to preserve these extraordinary creatures.
This project is endorsed by BirdLife Australia and by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership. It is instigated and co-ordinated by Melbourne-based artist, Kate Gorringe-Smith.
The Project’s primary aim is to bring visibility to Australia’s most endangered group of birds, our migratory shorebirds, and their habitat. Australia has 36 species of migratory shorebirds that breed above the Arctic Circle in Siberia and Alaska, migrating south to spend the major part of their migratory cycle (October – May) on the shores of Australia and New Zealand. The route they fly annually between their two homes is called the East Asian-Australasian Flyway*, and their journeys link 23 countries from New Zealand to Russia along the coast of Asia through which they fly, stop to rest and refuel, and breed. They travel this 25,000 circuit every year of their adult lives.
Largely due to their dependence on habitat in every one of the 23 Flyway countries – many of which number among the fastest-growing economies on the planet – migratory shorebirds are the fastest declining group of birds in Australia. As we share their home for the majority of the year, we have a particular responsibility in Australia and New Zealand to preserve their critical overwintering habitat. The Overwintering Project aims to raise awareness of migratory shorebirds – their existence and their needs – to help us do our part to preserve these extraordinary creatures.
This project is endorsed by BirdLife Australia and by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership. It is instigated and co-ordinated by Melbourne-based artist, Kate Gorringe-Smith.
invitation
The Overwintering Project is an environmental art project inviting artists from Australia and New Zealand to visit, research, and respond to the unique nature of their local migratory shorebird habitat. Australia and New Zealand have over 100 internationally important shorebird overwintering sites. These sites are not interchangeable: each possesses a unique combination of physical and biological features that makes it the perfect sanctuary for migratory shorebirds to return to year after year.
Printmakers are invited to submit a print to the Overwintering Print Portfolio. Galleries, artists, print workshops and groups, councils, schools, BirdLife groups, NPWS services or any other group with an interest in raising awareness of their local shorebirds and shorebird habitat are invited to participate in the Overwintering Project by organising an Independent Overwintering Project Exhibition or Event.
If you would like to plan an Overwintering Project exhibition or event, please first contact the Project Co-ordinator Kate Gorringe-Smith ([email protected]).
Printmakers are invited to submit a print to the Overwintering Print Portfolio. Galleries, artists, print workshops and groups, councils, schools, BirdLife groups, NPWS services or any other group with an interest in raising awareness of their local shorebirds and shorebird habitat are invited to participate in the Overwintering Project by organising an Independent Overwintering Project Exhibition or Event.
If you would like to plan an Overwintering Project exhibition or event, please first contact the Project Co-ordinator Kate Gorringe-Smith ([email protected]).
The Project's aims are:
- to raise awareness of Australia and New Zealand as the major destination for migratory shorebirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway*, as they spend the greatest single portion of their migratory cycle on our shores (Sept./Oct. – April/May)
- to raise community and individual awareness of the intrinsic value and uniqueness of local shorebird habitat
- to map a personal response to the richness of our shores
- to link artists around Australia and New Zealand
Knowledge bestows ownership; uniqueness bestows value.
background
The Overwintering Project is designed to be organic in nature. In my experience of co-ordinating the shorebird-related project, the Flyway Print Exchange, the idea of the Flyway and the shorebirds that migrate annually along it resonated with far more artists than could practically join the original project. We overcame this limitation by holding other exhibitions where local artists could make related artwork and exhibit these alongside the Flyway Print Exchange. This led to some beautiful exhibitions, but it would have been more satisfying to incorporate those artists’ works into a larger project. The Overwintering Project is designed to be able to contain the works of as many artists as want to be a part of it.
for further information
For further details including information about your local shorebird habitat, help finding a local shorebird expert or any queries regarding how to join the project, please contact:
Kate Gorringe-Smith, Overwintering Project Co-ordinator:
[email protected]
* The East-Asian Australasian Flyway extends from Arctic Russia and North America to New Zealand and is used by over 50 million migratory waterbirds. The countries that comprise the East-Asian Australasian Flyway are: the USA (Alaska); Russia (Siberia); Mongolia; China; North Korea; South Korea; Japan; the Philippines; Vietnam; Laos; Thailand; Cambodia; Myanmar; Bangladesh; India; Malaysia; Singapore; Brunei; Indonesia; Timor; Papua New Guinea; Australia and New Zealand.
Kate Gorringe-Smith, Overwintering Project Co-ordinator:
[email protected]
* The East-Asian Australasian Flyway extends from Arctic Russia and North America to New Zealand and is used by over 50 million migratory waterbirds. The countries that comprise the East-Asian Australasian Flyway are: the USA (Alaska); Russia (Siberia); Mongolia; China; North Korea; South Korea; Japan; the Philippines; Vietnam; Laos; Thailand; Cambodia; Myanmar; Bangladesh; India; Malaysia; Singapore; Brunei; Indonesia; Timor; Papua New Guinea; Australia and New Zealand.