BADU The arteries of Country and Culture
Annie Tennant, Alison Page, Emily McDaniel, Chels Marshall, Christian Hampson

The ancient waterways of Sydney that run beneath our city, the lifeblood of communities for thousands of years.

For the First Nations peoples of the Sydney Basin, the waterways that intersected this Country formed songlines. The creeks and rivers provided sustenance and navigation, and they also provided a place to gather and connect.

Through physical insertions of drawing, ochre and yarning circles, as well as digital and multimedia visual soundscapes, this idea will provide a way to navigate our city and neighbourhoods by planting nodes of Traditional Knowledge around the City; with places to sit and contemplate what was here and what is to come. Some nodes might become permanent through community engagement through weaving, artwork, planting.

This idea will deliver immersive songlines to connect us to the spaces that have always been beneath us; revealing forgotten waterways, creating an appreciation of water through the indigenous lens; a greater understanding of the impact of climate change and inspiring communities to gather in these places, to create, to sing, to exchange, to break bread, share and enjoy, while bringing moments of contemplation.

This idea will transform our neighbourhoods by inviting people to connecting to Country. Waterways reflect the changing health of our environment; a metaphor for the health of our society. The ecology of this city has changed over the last two and a half centuries, but we are breathing new life into our waterways, bringing health into our minds and spirits, celebrating our past and present, while working towards a bountiful future. We want this proposal: BADU, to be an extension of that new hope and optimism.