a radio feature produced by Michael Shirrefs
On the NSW Central Coast lives farmer and artist Neil Berecry-Brown. For him, those two titles describe what he does in equal measure and the roles are interchangeable.
However, while living on the land has always meant being relatively isolated, this is starting to change. And for many rural artists around the world, technology has allowed them to find each other and form strong networks.
For a hybrid like Neil, the power of this connectivity has wider implications than just the art. His farm, on Mangrove Mountain, has become a hub for his community and, through that, for a global conversation about agriculture, life on the land and how to confront change.
It’s a conversation that has a universal resonance and the long-term implications of these networks will be to help bind communities globally as we witness seismic economic, social and environmental shifts. And one of the fundamental questions that this sort of dialogue raises is whether geography is less critical. Does it matter any more where you live?
Guests
Neil Berecry-Brown — Artist and farmer based at Mangrove Mountain in NSW
Fiona Woods — Irish artist based in County Clare
Claire Podlich — Farmer based at Mangrove Mountain in NSW
Juliet Fowler Smith — Australian artist
Further Information
Brown’s Cows — Neil Berecry-Brown’s website
Fiona Woods — Rural artist and curator based in Ireland
Kultivator — art and farming group, based on the Swedish island of Öland
M12 — art and architecture collective based in Colorado, USA
ACRE — Australia’s Creative Rural Economy
Agri-Culture — European rural arts network
Littoral — European network of rural artists and organisations
Nine Dragon Heads — Korean rural arts collective
Collection of Minds — rural arts project, curated by Fiona Woods
Megan Leigh Smith — Canadian rural artist based near Ottawa
Credits
Producer—Michael Shirrefs
Sound Engineer—Carey Dell
© 2013 — Michael Shirrefs & ABC RN