Since 1992, Big hART’s layered projects have provided innovative solutions to complex disadvantage in over 56 communities nationwide.
2023 – 2024 Roebourne, Perth WA
Make – Artworks inspired by the enduring power of women’s relationships.
Build – Intergenerational relationships between women.
Drive – Knowledge and leadership from the relationships between mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters and aunties.
Furth information HERE
2024, TAS and Nationwide
Make – A touring exhibition celebrating the long-term creative partnership between portrait artist Robert Hannaford and Big hART.
Build –Awareness of and respect for the marginalised people Big hART works with and for.
Drive – Support for positive, non-welfare programs delivering impact in Australia’s most disadvantaged communities.
For more information visit HERE
2021 – 2024, South Coast, NSW
Make –Digital content and curated community events that celebrate place, story and enduring connection to country.
Build – Meaningful participation and intercultural connection to culture and place for regional and bushfire affected young people & communities, as well as the capacity for young people to engage in creative industries.
Drive – Connection, collaboration and cooperation across Yuin country.
For more information visit HERE
2015 – 2022, TAS and Nationwide
Make – Experimental music in sheds on farms, rivers and harbours. Audiences drive from shed to shed, enjoying sound, story and local produce.
Build – Communities, by acknowledging the contribution of the farmers, boatbuilders and shipwrights across generations.
Drive – Discussion about the pressures on rural and maritime communities.
For more information visit HERE
To view all Presentations visit HERE
2023 – 2024 National Tour
Make – A series of large-scale concert events around Australia accompanied by a new album of music from the Pilbara, a documentary, and a compelling campaign for change.
Build – Pride in, and awareness of the beauty, creativity, and strength of Ieramugadu (Roebourne), and a national community of people providing their support for change.
Drive – healing in the Ieramugadu (Roebourne) Community and changes in policy and programs that keep our young people safe, to halve the number of incarceration rates of young Aboriginal people.
Furth information HERE
2024 Nationwide
Make – A participatory, family friendly visual art event, a theatre work, podcasts, film and photographic portraits, early childhood play therapy program, and interactive workshops promoting personal agency.
Build –Personal agency, skills, and employment pathways for rural young women – to assist them to build resilience and thrive.
Drive –A change in attitude toward young women, and de-normalisation of family violence in rural and remote communities.
For more information visit HERE
View the full Project O activities HERE
All of Us is a documentary project coupled with a social impact strategy, promoting positive change around the issue of family violence. Giving a strong personal voice to this critical issue, All of Us highlights that at its core, violence against women is driven by gender inequality.
The film is created in partnership with trailblazing advocate Rosie Batty and, in part, documents her courageous advocacy over the last ten years, fighting to end this national emergency, and building a legacy to honour her son, murdered by his father. Now, exhausted by the fact that family violence continues to rob the nation of one woman a week, she finds hope and healing in working with young people most at risk, highlighting that to create long term, generational change, we need to focus on how we are raising young people and to prevent violence before it even starts. All Of Us uses the power of story to show ‘prevention in action’, by centering the voices of young people as they question the seed behaviours that lead to violence and engage with key themes of prevention – respect, power, control, identity, gender, stereotyping, equality, independence and leadership.
All of Us will be accompanied by a strategic social impact strategy, aimed at bringing awareness of prevention into the places we need it most – governments, schools, communities, and the worlds of young people. The release of the film will seek to achieve a number of key goals which will be co-designed with subjects in the film together with leading experts and partners in the field of family violence prevention. The strategy will also develop a strong communications approach to ensure that the project is also working on changing narratives, alongside the campaign goals.
The All of Us documentary and impact strategy aims to promote violence prevention and create behavioural and attitudinal shifts over the long term. It is urgent work, sometimes messy and hard to neatly package, and focuses on strength, beauty and hope.
All of Us is in development and is accepting funding partners to assist in the completion of the documentary and social impact strategy, with release scheduled for 2025.
All of Us builds on the successful design of Big hART’s Project O – a prevention initiative working with hundreds of young women in communities around the country since 2015. Read about Project O
Through creative developments and interviews with WW2 diggers, Japanese soldiers, keepers of the Samurai sword making tradition and charitable organisations in both countries.
The performance piece is a two-hander, in two languages. The hybrid performance begins with rituals inspired by tea-ceremonies, forging samurai swords, and worship. It moves towards conflict and then tells the poetic story of the return of Samurai swords after WW2 by catholic priest Tony Glynn after WW2 and work to protect the poor and the love children of Australian soldiers.
Samurai Digger combines two iconic traditions and weaves them together in a evocation of the importance of peacemaking in the contemporary world.
A breathtaking sensory experience for all the family, SKATE sees a cast of talented male and female skateboarders perform jaw-dropping feats and create infectious rhythms with their skateboards.
In 2019, SKATE was in residence at the Cutaway at Barangaroo, which saw over 1600 skateboarders from across Sydney engage with the project and over 5000 people activate the space.
SKATE – the Show
A highly commercial touring performance piece, SKATE is pure performance spectacle combining skateboarding, percussion, movement and projection as never seen before. Be transported as skateboarders roll out intricate beats and paint the stage with light using state-of-the-art technology. Expressions of interest welcome from venues and festivals.
SKATE Halfpipe
SKATE Halfpipe is a new interdisciplinary touring work, designed to go anywhere, unfolding out of a shipping container to become a spectacular performance work meeting young people where they are. SKATE Halfpipe is a platform to reach out to young people in the mental health space, through co-creation, participation and performance. SKATE Halfpipe will tour to NW Tasmania in 2020.
SKATE – Social Impact Investment
SKATE Project is a social impact investment opportunity which backs young people to build a better world. With a young cast of 18-30 year olds, SKATE sees all profits from the show going to support disadvantage.
Big hART invites forward thinking early adopters to invest and support this innovative impact investment opportunity.
2013 – 2015, Hobart TAS, Sydney NSW, Melbourne VIC, Adelaide SA, Rotterdam NDL
Make – A site-specific performance work, created for Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island Festival, staged in 9 venues. Involving international artists such as Peter Greenaway, along with Mikelangelo (The Black Sea Gentlemen), Kerry Armstrong, Nate Gilkes and many others.
Build +Drive – There are 1.3 million seafarers working on the oceans, around 700,000 are essentially invisible slaves. Blue Angel Project comprised many different strategies to help highlight the hidden story of contemporary slavery at sea.
For more information visit HERE
The Legacy project is ongoing. See Blue Angel International
2009 – 2017, Alice Springs, Hermannsburg NT and nationwide
Make – a theatre production, sell-out exhibitions of watercolours including London and Parliament House Canberra, audiences with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip and Prince Charles, painting masterclasses, public talks, media stories, community development workshops, a watercolour app, a soundtrack CD, and work in the Hermannsburg School.
Build + Drive – intergenerational knowledge sharing, justice for the Namatjira family, capacity for Western Aranda communities and change regarding the chronic under funding of Aboriginal art centres.
The Legacy project is ongoing. See Namatjira Documentary / Trust
2013 – 2015, Cooma, Monaro NSW
Make – An album of songs by The Black Sea Gentlemen capturing the stories of the Snowy Mountain Scheme and the alpine region. A theatre performance Ghosts in the Scheme was based on stories by the elderly residents, many of whom arrived in Cooma displaced from Europe after WW2 – to build the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Build + Drive – At a time of national debate regarding refugee policy, this project set out to tell the hidden stories of success that made this country when our doors and borders were open wider.
For more information visit HERE
2011 – 2015, Roebourne, WA
Make – A range of content was created with the Roebourne community across genres such as video, performance, games, interactive comics, and concert. These included highly awarded and well reviewed works such as Hipbone Sticking Out, Neomad, Murru, and Smashed Films.
Build + Drive – To builds skills and opportunities for Roebourne that reshape its story, build futures for its young people, and value its cultural heritage.
The Legacy project is ongoing. See New Roebourne
2014, Wynyard TAS
Make – A whole-of-school engagement in creativity (pilot project). TADD was a large scale production based on movement and percussion, which involved bringing a professional creative and technical team to work in one of the poorest schools, in the poorest electorate in the country.
Build + Drive – Creativity at the centre of engagement in education.
2012 – 2013, Canberra, ACT and nationwide
Make – A national project created for the Centenary of Canberra. Vintage caravans from across the country converged on Canberra in multiple convoys over a week, stopping and camping, cooking and talking together en route. On arrival they created a pop up museum on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, celebrating the importance of leisure to the national wellbeing.
Build + Drive – Artists were paired with caravan owners to bring aspects of their leisure memories to the fore as an installation in their vintage van. The owners then hosted the public in their exhibition, telling their story.
For more information visit HERE
2014, North West TAS
Make – Short films created with people who are isolated from the mainstream community due to disability.
Build + Drive – Invisible stories piloted the use of narrative as a protective mechanism in the community. By mentoring young people to tell these stories it increased understanding and empathy in the community for the most vulnerable.
Click here for watch short films
2013, Canberra ACT
Make – An outdoor bed installation where members of the public sleep and watch films made with homeless people in Canberra.
Build + Drive – Awareness and change regarding the issue of homelessness in Canberra’s winter. Created in partnership with community groups effected by bushfires in the Canberra region.
2005 – 2010, Alice Springs NT, Ernabella, SA, National Festival Tour, Rotterdam
Make – A layered, 5 year project involving an award winning theatre piece, a national tour, performances in London and Garma festival, an online language and culture teaching site, community workshops and a documentary.
Build + Drive – The project pushed for a National Indigenous Language Policy and recognition for Indigenous victims of the Maralinga atomic testing.
2011, Wynyard TAS
Make – An online live broadcast by young people, who are close to voting age, putting their concerns to politicians, created with professionals in a high school.
Build + Drive – Encouraging young people to value and engage with democracy, and politicians to engage with the next generation of voters.
2009 – 2010, Mimili, Ernabella SA, Alice Springs, NT
Make – Cross-cultural theatre work for young people set in a post-apocalyptic world. Co-production with Windmill National Children’s Theatre, and presented by Sydney Theatre Company.
Build + Drive – Encouraging inter-cultural dialogue between young people. Increasing visibility and opportunities for Pitjantjatjara performers, and extending community legacies from Ngapartji Ngapartji.
2010, Wynyard TAS
Make –A whole of school engagement project, providing the opportunity for disadvantaged rural young people to explore potential careers and involvement in the creative industries. A large scale performance piece for a cast of 80. In a town with a population of 5000, 2300 attended.
Build + Drive – With lower than average school retention rates, this project piloted new approaches to engagement in education, with a focus on the creative industries.
2007 – 2009, North West TAS
An award-winning documentary about autocide and risk-taking by rural young men. Drive also produced teacher’s notes and web episodes and screened in festivals internationally.
View the DRIVE documentary here
2006 – 2009, VIC, NSW, QLD
A series of workshops, videos and installations looking at drought, water and depression in the Murray Darling Basin. GOLD worked with urban young people and brought them together with farming families, concluding with a photographic installation at Carriageworks in Sydney.
To see some video content from the GOLD Project, go here
2005 – 2009, North West TAS, Melbourne VIC
These 2 large projects combined caravans with media – radio and video, to tell the hidden story of Tasmania’s fragile shack communities. The team of story-collectors and performers were made up of single teenage mothers. It was presented as part of Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island Festival, toured statewide twice, and travelled to Federation Square as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival.
2005 – 2009, North West TAS
An extended project working with at-risk young mothers and their children through a suite of strategies that created new pathways and networks for participants, engaging them in the community.
2007 – 2009, Cronulla NSW, Hobart TAS, Adelaide SA
A floating video and sound installation on a Chinese junk in Sydney Harbour, created with young people from the Sutherland Shire in response to the Cronulla riots, and promoting community inclusion. Presented as part of Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island Festival.
2007 – 2009, Statewide TAS
A project to value the elderly, This is Living combined older people in the community with skateboarders, with workshops running simultaneously in 5 towns across Tasmania. Toured for the Tasmanian Ten Days on the Island Festival.
2008 – Wynyard, TAS
A creative industries collaboration with Wynyard High School, piloting whole of school approaches to Arts in Education. The approach gained the eye of evaluators and educationalists. In a town of 5000, 2000 attended.
2004 – 2006, Sydney, NSW
A public housing, community development and violence prevention project in a notorious housing commission estate in Surry Hills, Sydney. This partnership with Housing Dept. and the Police resulted in a large site specific, hybrid theatre work for the 2006 Sydney Festival, short films and two award winning documentaries.
You can watch the documentary 900 Neighbours here.
2006, Darwin NT
A legacy project following on from Nuff Stuff in Darwin, supporting an intercultural theatre program for young people.
2001 – 2004, Melbourne, VIC
An innovative gaming platform, exploring reasons why young people flee their homes.
2001 – 2004, NSW, VIC, WA, TAS
A complex, long-term project examining different concepts of being without a home, from refugees to street kids. Resulted in a festival performance piece, an 8 part SBS documentary series, a website and teachers notes. Presented at the Sydney Opera House, and as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival.
To see some video content from the kNot@Home Project, go here
2003 – 2004, Bourke NSW
A project working with young Indigenous mothers – helping to provide support, build connections and new pathways.
2002, Melbourne VIC
Linked to kNot@Home, The Bed Vigil invited high profile people and the general public to register with the project and sleep in a bed on the streets, to help raise awareness of rough sleepers. The Bed Vigil opened Federation Square as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival, with people sleeping and watching short films made with people at risk of homelessness, 24 hours a day.
2002 – 2004 Sutherland Shire, NSW
A partnership with Hazelhurst Regional Gallery in the Sutherland Shire, working with young people and artists, creating installations, short films and artworks.
2001 – 2005, Darwin NT
A theatre performance created in the notorious Don Dale Juvenile Justice Centre. In a breakthrough moment, inmates were allowed to perform in the Darwin Entertainment Centre, and the general public were welcomed into the prison to watch the performance.
2002 – 2004, Northern NSW
Part of the NSW Drug Misuse Prevention Strategy, it involved a wide variety of workshops, engagement strategies and events with young people.
2003 – 2004, Bourke NSW
A project working with NSW Health, delivering health and social participation outcomes for young mothers.
2001 – 2003, West Coast TAS
A series of arts based workshops with isolated young people, resulting in public recognition of the issues they faced.
2000, Darwin NT
A workshop program with young offenders in Don Dale Detention Centre, resulting in the performance of Nuff Stuff at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.
2000, West Coast TAS
A performative video installation created with isolated young people at risk.
1999 – 2000, Manly Beach NSW
A performance installation working with Sydney’s Chinese community, in partnership with Manly Gallery, exploring xenophobia and drowning. The performance toured to Adelaide Festival as part of ‘Big hART Works’.
1998 – 1999, NSW, VIC, TAS
An AFI award winning fictionalised documentary. This unique film, worked across vast geographies with young people to tell stories of hurt, showing in film festivals internationally.
1998, West Coast TAS
A performance piece created in workshops with isolated young people exploring the issue of family violence.
1997, Illawarra NSW
A theatre performance at Theatre South in Wollongong, from a workshop process with young people who had witnessed extreme violence.
1996 – 1997 Wagga Wagga NSW, Canberra ACT
Working in juvenile justice centres, young offenders learned to turn the wooden rifle butts into pens, live on stage, as part of a performance piece.
1994 – 1997, Burnie TAS
A performance piece created with single teenage mothers exploring the issue of family violence. Inkwings workshops also taught young mothers good early childhood play approaches.
1993-1994, North West TAS
Workshops and a touring theatre work for young people exploring HIV and intravenous drug use.
1992-1994, North West TAS, Canberra ACT
A workshop program with young offenders to create a large theatre performance, exploring the inner turmoils and issue that lead too offending behaviour. Performed at the National Festival of Australian Theatre, Canberra.
