LOCAL film and documentary maker Mitchell Barkman has been named as this year’s ACRE Project (Australia’s Creative Rural Economy) artist in residence and will be based around Manangatang.
The ACRE Project is an initiative of the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery with support from Regional Arts Victoria and South West Arts and a local steering committee of arts workers and farmers.
Since its beginning in 2009 the project has run on-farm artist residencies, seminars, workshops and exhibitions that look at how art and agriculture interact with history, community resilience and planning.
This is the first time a film maker has had the opportunity to take part in the scheme – a choice that has meant a couple of changes in format.
Normally the residency involves a farmer hosting the selected artist for from three to 10 days, sharing their home, meals and time to create works that respond to and resonate with the farm and local area, and in some cases workshops are held for locals.
The culmination of the project is the artist and the farmer presenting a night of food and conversation around a fire with family, friends and neighbours as the chance to experience the work created in what is known as a “TWIG”.
The nature of film making has meant that this year the five days of residency have been spread out over a few weeks.
Art gallery director Ian Tully said he was absolutely thrilled to have the talented Mr Barkman on board this year.
“Mitchell will spend his time in Managatang capturing footage as material and inspiration to make a film-based artwork,” Mr Tully said.
“Mitchell will interview locals and catch epic skies and landscapes on film before presenting this work at a TWIG in Manangatang for the locals to celebrate and catch up for a bite to eat and a drink around a fire.
“The ACRE Project believes the immersion of art into rural communities can help foster an understanding of country, place and those who live there – and this is a celebration of all of that.”
Mr Barkman is no stranger to the ACRE project, having previously used his documentary skills to record the journey of the artists in residence.
Studying film and television at Swinburne University, Mr Barkman said that the opportunity of flexing his creativity could be daunting as his usual commercial and wedding work followed a similar formula.
“It is really exciting,” he said.
“For regional creatives there are not many opportunities to be recognised as an artist and to have so much creative freedom.
“The work I am putting together is a reflection of the time immersing myself in Managatang so it is a little more experimental and won’t be your traditional documentary.
“With that comes a lot of experimentation, new techniques I want to try, new camera angles creating something a little bit different but reflecting the conversations I have had with locals in Manangatang.
“In many ways, creative freedom can have the disadvantage of having too much freedom – there are too many avenues it could take.”
The most common theme Mr Barkman has determined in his conversations with locals revolves around change and how the local community has had to adapt.
There is some level of disappointment that the town has lost things and, in some ways, has gone backwards, but he said the community was also very determined to embrace what it still had.
Mr Barkman said the work would revolve around the theme of change, adaptability and community.
