GOOD NEWS
Artlink Article
Eco-Critical
Issue 44:1 | Parnati–Kudlila / Autumn–Winter 2024
The Art-Raft Project: Activism at work, rest and play.
The art-raft project is, in Hakim Bey / Peter Lamborn Wilson’s words, a materialised ‘temporary autonomous zone’, where collaborators and activists have space to playfully propose questions, be involved in a common cause, generate connection and envision more positive, future narratives.
The project began as a response to the needs of the People’s Blockade, a peaceful ‘flotilla’ protest organised by Rising Tide, held annually in the harbour and river mouth of the Coquun/ Hunter River, at Muloobinba/ Newcastle. United on Awabakal and Worimi land and waters, the November 2023 protest saw 3000 people occupying the world’s largest coal port for 34 hours.
The art-raft collective of artists, carpenters, an architect and a social worker set out to create a playful vessel, in contrast to the metal-clad export ships that enter and depart the harbour, day and night. The collaborative process of designing and constructing the raft came from their existing networks in Newcastle. Everyday materials were donated and recycled, skills were pooled and shared, community groups were mobilised. Considering the ways in which creative collaborations can become tools to support climate activism and direct action, the art-raft crew balanced artistic expression with pragmatic problem solving. The goal was always to make and launch an interactive floating installation as a key element of the blockade. It was also a reminder of the human agency and personal risk involved in all forms of environmental protest.
During the 34-hour blockade, the art-raft transitioned from a daytime site of playful chaos — with a slide, craft table, and a crow’s nest equipped with binoculars and a trumpet— to a solar-powered beacon of nocturnal comfort. During the night shift, freshly cooked pancakes were passed out to protesters on kayaks, while activists rested, drank tea, played music and swapped stories. Over two days on the water, surrounded by the splendour and terror of the elements, the art-raft witnessed pods of dolphins, tempestuous winds and a flash thunderstorm.
Reflecting the thrown-together, ad-hoc and DIY composition demanded by urgent social action, the people’s art-raft needed constant adjustments. Having miscalculated weight distribution, crew had to shut down the water slide at times to fix the crooked flooring with ratchet straps. The raft’s ramshackle appearance provided a comical visual element alongside a large police ship, forebodingly named Nemesis. Despite police approaching the raft several times, remarking that “they didn’t trust it would last the night,” the collective shared an optimistic attitude: the best response to a powerful nemesis is to create a more powerful story.
For a day-night-day, despite police presence, Newcastle Harbour felt fundamentally different, allowing those present to experience a new environmental ecology for this place, and to imagine... What is possible? How can we invest in a new narrative for this harbour, this river mouth, beyond its life as the world’s largest coal port?
The art-raft crew plans to revise this idea in 2024, by hosting an artist residency program along the Coquun/Hunter River, between the harbour’s entrance and Maitland on Wonnarua country. Already a collective of contemporary artists and new collaborators are gearing up for the thirteenth People’s Blockade, ten days of action planned in 2024 by Rising Tide. We welcome involvement from across the country.
By Ellie Hannon
LATEST NEWS ~ LATEST NEWS ~
18th Tuesday NOV, 2024
Despite last minute interference from State Government, we’ve started setting up the People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port!
Set-up for the event has commenced, despite last-minute interference from Transport for NSW (TfNSW) on Monday morning which attempted to undermine Newcastle council’s Major Event Approval for the event. We have now reached agreement with the Newcastle Lord Mayor and police to ensure that the event can proceed in a safe way, with the event to moving across the road to Foreshore Park last minute.
Camping will be completely legal - and all workshops/music acts will continue as usual!
The Gov has really thrown everything at us to try and prevent this event from going ahead, but we just keep overcoming these challenges!
See everyone in Newcastle very soon!
FROM RISING TIDE
17th Monday, NOV 2024
from Queer.ry
You’ve probably seen the all photos and videos I’ve been sharing directly here or through @art___Raft but unless I’ve seen you in person I probably haven’t explained what it is I’m doing.
In my spare time, I’ve been working alongside, and feeling so grateful to be part of, the Art Raft Collective—an inspiring group of artists and makers from Newcastle and beyond (how did I end up here?!). Together, we’re creating (as best as I can describe it — others do a much better job) floating interactive sculptures and common spaces for everyone—‘Art Rafts’—to offer a new way to experience the harbor and reimagine its future. These stand in contrast to the hulking metal coal ships, dirtied with exhaust fumes, that often dominate the visual space along our river.
The mission has been to challenge the harmful legacy of coal extraction in this country and the land here (the unceded territories of the Awabakal and Worimi people), and to create safe, joyful spaces for people to gather, connect, and dream. One water – different ecologies.
The Art Rafts were set to launch as part of the People’s Blockade on November 22nd at 9am at Horseshoe Bay, a peaceful protest and mini-festival organized by Rising Tide. Currently, the NSW Government has done everything in its power to protect the interests of fossil fuel companies and foreign investment businesses that hold licenses for shipping through our river.
I’m asking any of my friends here who have the time to support us by
doing the following:
📞 Call your state representative and tell them you support the right
to peaceful protest in NSW
🌊 Join us at Horseshoe Bay over the next 6 days
🎨 Contribute to our Community Constellations project hosted on the
Art Raft website—link in my bio— to share your artwork, musings, and visions for the River.
I’m still determined to bring these projects we’ve been working on to the beach and waters of the world’s largest coal port, and to assert my right to gather, assemble, and protest.
I will always believe I have a duty to care for the land that raises me, inspires me, and
nurtures me—this land, the waters, and the future we all share.
I hope you can join us.
17th Monday, NOV 2024 Report
Dear Tim Crakanthorp,
We are writing to you as a collective of artists, activists, and community members based in Newcastle. For the past three months, we have been collaborating on a project designed to bring hope, joy, and playful connection to our community. Our effort is grounded in the belief that art has the power to bring people together, create spaces for meaningful dialogue, and envision more positive future narratives.
The focus of our project has been to create a space where the community can come together. We have worked closely with a local elder, an occupational therapist, and other community members to create a safe, inclusive environment, where everyone can share experiences and engage with the water and land that connect us. Our collective aim is to offer a space for reflection, healing, and creative collaboration.
We are deeply concerned by recent actions from the state government, which have overridden the support and approval granted to us by our local council. This decision not only undermines the democratic rights of our community but also stifles the very spirit of grassroots arts and activism movements that have long been a hallmark of Newcastle. We have worked within the legal framework to ensure that our gathering is peaceful, respectful, and safe. To see our efforts dismissed in such a manner is both disheartening and disenfranchising.
As members of this community, we are dismayed that the state government, under Premier Chris Minns, has chosen to intervene in this peaceful protest, focusing more on restricting our ability to gather and express ourselves than on the urgent climate crisis we are facing. This raises a more concerning question: What power does the NSW Government have to prevent citizens from peacefully gathering on public land to create and connect with each other and our environment?
We ask you, as our local representative, to stand with us and advocate on our behalf. We urge you to represent our concerns to the state government and call for the revocation of these plans that would restrict our right to gather and create. We are not merely seeking permission to protest; we are asking for the fundamental right to peacefully assemble and use our shared public spaces for collective expression, action, and hope.
Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to ensure that our community’s right to gather and tell our stories—to each other, to the state, and to the world—is protected.
Art Raft Collective
CALL NSW PREMIER CHRIS MINNS -
Transport for NSW and the premier are pulling out all stops to stop our protest going ahead. Newcastle council is doing everything they can to help us, but these decisions appear to be coming direct from the state government and the premier. It is critical we push back against this and call out the repression of peaceful protest, and put as much pressure as we can on the government to respond.
Please CALL the premier on (02) 7225 6000
AND EMAIL https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/premier-of-nsw/contact-premier
Talking points:
- We have been working on event and safety management plans for months, and not allowing us to carry out these plans will have genuine safety risks.
- There are people already on their way from all around the country to join this event. They are determined to make their voices heard and without a safe site and plan in place organisers may be unable to control the situation.
- Peaceful protest is a democratic right and by not giving us any genuine options for holding this event which has happened peacefully and safely 12 times in the past they are suppressing our right to protest.
Thank you everyone for responding to these multiple call outs! The more we can clog up their phones the sooner they will be forced to respond to the situation.