Dreaming the Land is a land-based arts initiative, which examines the values that inform the connection of humans to the land itself. The curatorial intention is to deepen the links to Indigenous epistemologies, territories, and customs through community relationality and embodied artistic experiences: How do we live here?

 

What are our responsibilities to the many beings, both humans and non-humans, that share this land? How can the trauma of the land be healed? How do land-based, time-based, immersive artistic events impact the experiences of the audiences? How does the knowledge of the land itself inform the process?
 

These questions - formulated before the pandemic - are now more relevant than ever, as we are collectively engaged in imagining complex and uncertain futures. How can art deepen our connection to the land and to each other?

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Dreaming the Land is composed of four main components:
 

• A series of monthly Creative Sharing Circles with the artists, whom are joined by the creative support team. These recorded 90-minutes Circles will take place from December 2021 to May 2022. The group might decide at a certain moment to come together twice a month or maybe some of artists might decide to meet in smaller groups.  

 

• Over a period of six months, the artists are invited to create dreaming journals.  The dream journal methodology is proposed as a way to open up to multiple layers of ‘reality’ and to nurture a collective creative process. Of course, each artist can shape the way that the dream journal is used (daily, weekly or intermittently) and shared (or not). Please feel free to adapt this practice as needed. These journals can take the form of drawings, photographs, sound recordings, writing, etc. Some of those elements are shared during the monthly circles. They will also be gathered on the website dreamingtheland.wixsite.com

 

• Each of the 10 artists involved in the project is invited to conceptualise, produce and publicly present one land-base, time-based artwork art during summer 2022 (June, July or August). This will result in the presentation of 10 different art experiences in 10 different locations. Each artist will be locally supported in the production and presentation of the work. 

 

• The process of witnessing is an integral part of DTL. It is adapted to the new configuration of both the online residency and the public presentations. The abundant material gathered throughout the project - excerpts of the dreaming journals, sound/video from artists in conversation, interviews, sounds/images of the land in the different locations, photo and video documentation of each presentation - will be weaved together in a unique arts documentary created by the videographer.