The Wired Lab’s transformation of Muttama’s Church of the Immaculate Conception has reached a new milestone with the news of additional funding under the Creative Futures Fund to develop a deeply immersive listening space for visitors to experience. Image: The Wired Lab.
Two southern NSW arts trailblazers – The Cad Factory near Narrandera and The Wired Lab in Muttama – are among seven regional organisations announced as recipients of the inaugural Creative Futures Fund (CFF), a bold $7.8 million national initiative to back large-scale, boundary-pushing arts projects across Australia.
In its first investment round, the Creative Futures Fund offered two funding streams – ‘Development’ and ‘Delivery’ – to support ambitious Australian work.
Fourteen organisations received Development investment to explore new ideas, adapt existing works and test market potential, while six organisations received Delivery investment to realise bold new works, build partnerships and co-investment and deliver lasting impact.
The Cad Factory secured Delivery funding for River Stories, an ambitious, multisite performance project exploring the complex cultural and ecological fabric of the Murray-Darling Basin.
The Wired Lab, founded in 2007 by artist Sarah Last, has received Development funding to progress its groundbreaking transformation of a former Catholic church in Muttama into a cultural destination and Australia’s first permanent “deep listening” space.
Guided by Winhangadhurinya — a Wiradjuri concept meaning deep listening and interconnectedness – at the heart of the project is an innovative ambisonic sound system, a 3D surround sound format which renders sound sources above and below the listener, in addition to horizontally.
Installed in the nave of the old Church of the Immaculate Conception, which will be renamed, the technology will invite audiences to be enveloped in sound — whether it’s a dawn chorus, Tuvan throat singing, Gregorian chants or revived Aboriginal languages being spoken and sung.
Artist and technical advisor Dave Burraston said, “You don’t just hear it. You’re inside it.”
The Wired Lab has earned national and international acclaim for its slow, experimental, and deeply site-responsive approach, connecting artists, scientists, farmers and rural communities in ways that challenge traditional art experiences.
To that end, the permanent installation will provide opportunities for world-class artists to present exceptional experiential sound work to Australian audiences in the small rural community, just a hop off the Hume Highway.
“CFF support will realise our highest programming ambitions, where, with program partners, we will identify and commission two high-profile Australian artists to create new works for the nave,” Sarah said.
“Such investment ensures the inaugural annual program of this space will receive high publicity and critical acclaim.”
In Sandigo, near Narrandera, The Cad Factory has built a national reputation over 20 years for art that grows directly from the land and its people.
Co-founders Vic and Sarah McEwan have shaped an artist-led organisation that blends creative experimentation with social engagement and environmental concern.
Their successful Creative Futures Fund project River Stories is an ambitious and innovative artist-led response to one of Australia’s ongoing problems – how to care better for the Murray-Darling waterways.
It will be staged across the Murray-Darling system from Menindee Lakes and Falls Creek to St George and Goolwa.
The project brings together artists, Indigenous leaders, water managers, scientists and local communities in collaborative performances deeply grounded in the culture, history and ecology of each region.
The Cad Factory’s two-decade journey is being celebrated in its 20-year retrospective The View from Everywhere, showing at Murray Art Museum Albury (30 May – 17 August), which highlights its commitment to co-creation, storytelling and the health of regional communities and landscapes.
Its ongoing work continues to push boundaries in how art can engage with place and people.
The Wired Lab and The Cad Factory are joined by five other regional projects funded through the Creative Futures Fund.
These include Merrigong Theatre Company’s epic Storyland in Wollongong; Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation’s travelling Pilbara performance Ngurra Nyujunggamu; Hobart’s Beaker Street Hobartica cultural embassy exploring Antarctic life; NORPA’s flood response Dinner Party at the End of the World in Lismore; and Fremantle Biennale’s cosmic Night Rise, a dark-sky celebration fusing drone shows, Indigenous storytelling, and astro-tourism.
Creative Futures Fund director Wendy Martin said these projects were vital to showcasing the creativity and spirit of regional and remote Australia.
“Audiences will gather for extraordinary experiences that reflect who we are and where we’re headed,” she said. “This investment lights up the stories and talents from every corner of the country.”
Original Article published by Edwina Mason on About Regional.
