illustration of UFO projected upon Karoonda Silo

Monday, 1 August 2022

Creative Community Cohesion : A Constellation Conversation

Illuminart’s stories in light would not exist without the creative community who connect with us.  Constellation is an adventurous synchronised multi-site vision that has been two and a half years in the making.  It has been a wonderful collaboration that shines the light on many talented regional artists, animators and innovators.  We would like to tell you about these contributors.

Cumulatively, including illuminart’s core team, the Constellation creative team numbers nearly fifty people.  This includes regional consultants, visual artists and illustrators, researchers, writers, animators, community voices, editors and coordinators.  Some people have assisted in plural capacities across more than one story.  We often commission artists to work with us in a variety of paid roles.   We also run auditions for regional voices and work with local creatives to co-ordinate outreach.  Whatever engagement models are chosen on any project, the most important aspects of each of our projects are the participating artists and creative people in the communities.  We see the involvement of these regional collaborators as imperative if we are to share local stories that truly reflect the personal relationships between community and place.  This emphasis is also reflected in the Constellation activities trail that accompanies the stories in light trail.

It’s really exciting for all of the contributors to have a project like this up and running in local areas across SA for a number of reasons.  We primarily all come from and/or live in regional SA and love our Country deeply.  We care deeply about the environmental concerns that are unique to each area and Constellation is really focused on positive stories that bring attention to the excellent innovations and focuses of each region and that help people connect with possibility and hope about our future in the here and now.

It’s also a great opportunity to both support and to shine the light on regional artists who often miss opportunities that are available to artists in urban centres.  Illuminart is thrilled to work with regional artists in this way, assisting them in developing their art practice and connection by providing digital upskilling opportunities and menteeships as described in Port to Port.  In some cases those artists have become a core part of our art team, like Sue Wegener, who works remotely from Louth Bay on the Eyre Peninsula.

Let’s celebrate our regional creatives!  Here’s some more detail about each of the artists who are part of the Constellation program.  If you would like to get in touch with any of these artists, please contact illuminart and we will help you establish a connection.  To find out more about the stories themselves, we have written a blog about that!

Luminous illustration of a Marine Scene projected upon Port Pirie City Projection

Port Pirie

  • Georgia Northcott is a local creative person. She designs digital art and cards and is also a florist.  She has designed quite a few scenes that appear in the Port Pirie stories. 
  • Kellie St.John-Sweeting is based in Port Pirie and has played a big part in organising the local research and developing the stories and local activities.
  • Ben Rohde is from Port Pirie originally – is currently in Adelaide studying at Flinders Uni. He auditioned during our campaign for regional voices and has played a part in quite a few stories. His voice is the narrator for the Tides of Life story. 
  • Four regional collaborators have been involved in Port Pirie projects for the first time.  Kat Bell, Aimee Gladigau and Alexia Flight (Riverlands) provided illustrations and Alice Perry (Victor Harbor) assisted with animation.  

Strategic interventions are explored by the creatures to reinvigorate the RiverlandBarmera/Riverlands

  • Kat Bell is a local visual artist of the Riverland, well known for creative art and murals. She has played a big role in the story and character development for the two Barmera stories. She worked closely with the animator Michael Rostig, story writer Michael Mills, and she also directed two other local artists Susie Skujins and Lynn AnsteyKat Bell also worked on the Port Pirie stories. Alysha Herrmann is a writer and creative producer from the Riverlands. She has been involved in developing the concepts for the Constellation project, and wrote three of the Science Fiction stories. (Quorn, Port Pirie, and Wallaroo).
  • People all around regional SA helped to speak and sing the stories in Barmera, it features voice actors from Mount Gambier, Port Augusta, Quorn, Copper Coast and Riverlands area, as well as Adelaide. 
  • Two emerging digital art designers, Aimee Gladigau and Alexia Flight, from the Loxton area, have been involved in the Port Pirie stories as digital artists. 

Luminous animated projection of Copper in electric circuitry on Wallaroo Silo Light ShowWallaroo/Copper Coast 

  • Andrew Male lives in Wallaroo and provided the narrator voice for the story ‘Copper: An essential element of life’. Andrew helped write the story and has also been one of the voice actors for the stories in other places, including Barmera and Karoonda’s stories. 
  • Susanne Wegener from Louth Bay, has a long family connection with the Wallaroo area and spent time in resident during the writing and research stage for the copper story, which she has illustrated and animated. 
  • The story ‘Always Avril’ was written for Wallaroo by Alysha Herrmann and builds on the fascinating marine biology of the area.  It was illustrated and animated by Zero Shaw, and Michael Rostig. So all three of those artists have worked together for Wallaroo from other places, which is pretty exciting. 

An aromatic exploration of bush tucker ingredients found in the arid lands of the Flinders RangesQuorn/Port Augusta/Flinders Ranges area

  • The Quorn Science Fiction story was written by Riverland based artist Alysha Herrmann after extensive research by Nisa Schebella. Nisa consulted with local people Andrea Tschirner, Jacinta Hannigan and with Nukunu Traditional Owners, and created the concepts for the three Quorn stories.
  • Cindi Drennan, a Quorn resident, was the key creative director and main story editor of all the stories in Constellation.  
  • People all around regional SA helped to speak and sing the stories and this includes voices from Port Augusta and Quorn. Some of the Voice over people are amateur performers at Anderson Dancers in Port Augusta. Ruth Tulloch, a local Quorn resident, plays one of the time bending travellers in Karoonda’s Science Fiction story. 
  • Well known visual artist Georgie Sharp has provided the stunning backgrounds for the Karoonda story “a light in the sky” animated by Susanne Wegener.
  • Visual artist Danica Morgan “Psychopomp” has created the beautiful characters and illustrations for the Quorn Silo Science Fiction story. 

a colourful illustration of local mallee fowl habitat projected onto Karoonda Silo at duskKaroonda

  • The Karoonda Stories were researched and written by Michael Mills, a well known science educator.  He spent time in Karoonda talking to local residents as well as in Adelaide talking to Geologists. 
  • People all around regional SA helped to voice the many characters in the Karoonda stories, it features voices from Port Augusta, Quorn, Copper Coast and Riverlands area, as well as Adelaide. 
  • Talented illustrator Samuel Wannan created the giant comic book illustrations that appear on the Karoonda Silo during the story “A ray of hope”.  This graphic novel style story is probably the largest to ever appear in the world and is yet another exciting first for the huge silo projection at Karoonda. 
  • Susanne Wegener from Louth Bay designed beautiful animations featuring the work of visual artist Georgie Sharp, to light up the Silos with the story about the Karoonda Meteor “the light in the sky”. 

For a full list of credits for each story please scroll down or visit our Constellation project page to discover this information enriched by other details about the full stories in light program and events trail.

The unique synchronised content along the Constellation trail would never have been possible without illuminart’s partnerships with District Council of Karoonda East Murray, Regional Council of Port Pirie, Flinders Ranges Council, Copper Coast Council and the Berri Barmera Council and support from Arts SA.  We are thrilled to have been able to consolidate our science themed efforts with support from National Science Week.

The Constellation collection of 11 unique new Science+Art themed fact and fiction feature stories played every night in August 2022 across five featured sites, comprising two stories at each site with the exception of Quorn which developed an extra one to promote their regional trails.  The new science themed stories are between 15 to 30 minutes in total.  Constellation created a fabulous new way to enjoy the end of the darkest part of the year with the chance to come rugged up to a unique festival under the stars, bringing people out to enjoy the beautiful constellations above us, mirrored by the vibrant synchronised displays across the Constellation projection sites.  We posted sneak peeks and updates into the Facebook event discussion tabs that revealed some of the wonderful artwork you can see in the stories. We also shone a light on the activities trail.

Even though this year’s project period has ended, these permanent projection landmarks continue to light up at sunset and the Constellation stories now form part of an ongoing roster of curated content that appears at each site throughout the year.  Specific start, loop and stop times for each site are detailed at Constellation. When you visit these unique illuminations, make sure you grab your picnic, your rug and chair and watch the countdown while you enjoy the sunset.  

CREDITS FOR EACH STORY

The Light in the Sky (Karoonda Story 1)

Writer: Michael Mills
Visual Artist: Susanne Wegener
Visual Artist: Georgie Sharp
Animator: Susanne Wegener
Malli the Malleefowl voice: Benjamin Rohde
All other voices: Kate Fitzgerald, Josiah Spode, Hazel Spode, Connie Spode, Kathleen Pike, Lisa Dorian, Meleeta Van Laarhoven, Shania Richards, Arna Reed, Luke Zero Shaw, Sophia Hamilton, Sarah Brokensha, Michael Mills, Andrew Male, Cassandra Fowler
Voice Coordinator: Sarah-Jane Cook
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

A Ray of Hope (Karoonda Story 2)

Writer: Michael Mills
Visual Artist:  Samuel Wannan
Animator:  Luke Zero Shaw
Voices: Narrators… Andrew Male, Meleeta Van Laarhoven
Future people… Ruth Tulloch, Cassandra Fowler, Luke Zero Shaw
Time Travel Institute operatives…  Kate Fitzgerald and Sarah Brokensha
Time travellers… Ruth Tulloch, Benjamin Rhode, Luke Zero Shaw
Voice Coordinator: Sarah-Jane Cook
Sound Designer and Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

Our Self-Drive  Self-Fly Adventure (Quorn Story 1)

Writer/Researcher: Nisa Schebella
Consultants: Jacinta Hannigan, Angie Finlay, Cindi Drennan
Character Designer / Animator:  Alice Peacock
Voices:  Michael Mills, Cindi Drennan
Voice Coordinator: Michael Mills
Drone Footage: John Simpson
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

The Quorn Pithi Kawi Bush Tucker Trail (Quorn Story 2)

Writer/Researcher: Nisa Schebella
Consultants: Andrea Tschirner, Jacinta Hannigan, Angie Finlay, Jared Thomas, Cindi Drennan
Visual Artist: Susanne Wegener
Animators:  Susanne Wegener, Luke Zero Shaw, Alice Peacock
Voices: Michelle Nightingale
Voice Coordinator: Michael Mills
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

Bush Food Cook Off 3175 (Quorn Story 3)

Writer:  Alysha Herrmann
Visual Artist: Danica Morgan
Animator:  Alice Peacock
Voices: Sarah Brokensha, Cindi Drennan
Voice Coordinator: Michael Mills
Story Editor: Alice Peacock, Cindi Drennan

The Story of the Motherfish (Barmera Story 1)

Writer: Michael Mills
Visual Artist: Kat Bell, Michael Rostig, Lyn Anstey, Susie Skujins
Animator:  Michael Rostig
Voices: The Motherfish… Michelle Nightingale
The carp… Michael Mills
Music: Michael Mills
Voice Coordinator: Sarah-Jane Cook
Story Editor: Michael Mills

Return of the Murray Cod (Barmera Story 2)

Writer: Michael Mills
Visual Artist: Kat Bell, Michael Rostig, Lyn Anstey, Susie Skujins
Animator:  Michael Rostig
Voices: Ziggy pelican… Andrew Male
Janice pelican… Shania Richards
Professor Jordan Morgan… Sarah Brokensha
MC Turtle… Kathleen Pike
Big Brother Carp… Michael Mills
The Motherfish… Michelle Nightingale
Music: Michael Mills
Voice Coordinator: Sarah-Jane Cook
Story Editor: Michael Mills

Songs in the Barmera Stories, written and recorded by Michael Mills and performed by
“Sisters and Brothers”… Sarah Brokensha
“Hear me”… Michelle Nightingale
“Come all ye brothers”… Michael Mills
“If you listen”… Cassandra Fowler and Michael Mills.
“Here in Barmera”… Michael Mills and Laura Williams
“Let’s follow the stars”… Michael Mills and Laura Williams

Copper: An Essential Element of Life (Wallaroo Story 1)

Writer/Researcher: Susanne Wegener
Visual Artist: Susanne Wegener
Animator:  Susanne Wegener
Voices: Andrew Male
Voice Coordinator: Sarah-Jane Cook, Michael Mills
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

Always, Avril (Wallaroo Story 2)

Writer: Alysha Herrmann
Visual Artist: Luke Zero Shaw, Michael Rostig
Animator:  Michael Rostig
Sound and Generated voice design: Luke Zero Shaw
Story Editor: Luke Zero Shaw

The Tides of Life (Port Pirie Story 1)

Research Writer: Kellie St.John-Sweeting
Consultants: Greg Bannon, Anita Nedosyko, Georgia Northcott, Jared Thomas
Script writers: Michael Mills, Cindi Drennan
Visual Artists: Georgia Northcott, Alexia Flight
Dolphin Videography: Adam Linnett
Cuttlefish Videography: Dan and Emma Monceaux
Animators: Alice Perry, Luke Zero Shaw
Voice: Ben Rohde
Voice Coach: Michael Mills
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

Bridge to Somewhere (Port Pirie Story 2)

Writer: Alysha Herrmann
Researcher: Samantha Ray
Consultants: Kellie StJohn-Sweeting, Georgia Northcott
Visual Artists: Kat Bell, Georgia Northcott,Cindi Drennan, Aimee Gladigau
Animators: Luke Zero Shaw, Alice Peacock
Voices: Michael Mills, Samantha Ray, Laura Williams
Story Editor: Cindi Drennan

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