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First Nations Set To ‘Heal Country’ Through Art
Artists throughout the region are abuzz with the launch of Southern Queensland Landscapes Inaugural First Nations Art Competition.
SQ Landscapes First Nations Committee Chair, Chris Joseph said the competition was launched during NAIDOC Week and aims to give artists from Toowoomba west to Thargomindah, north to Taroom and south to the NSW border an opportunity to showcase their amazing talent.
“We have some incredible artists in this area and thanks to an anonymous donation made to the organisation specifically for a First Nations Art Competition, SQ Landscapes is honoured to work with the 28 Nations in this region to develop these artists skills and provide opportunities to not only showcase their work, but meet other artists and learn from already established artists like Uncle Colin Jones,” Chris Joseph said.
“Uncle Colin, who has exhibited his incredible works in galleries throughout Europe, America and Australia, will be offering feedback and guidance in his role as judge of the competition, together with established portrait painter and Owner of Toowoomba’s Murray’s Art & Framing, Sue McMaster,” Mr Joseph said.
“The theme of the competition is ‘Heal Country’ in line with this year’s NAIDOC theme and for Southern Queensland Landscapes this dovetails beautifully into our mission as a community owned organisation to work with communities to create ‘flourishing landscapes’,” he said.
“Country is inherent to our identity. It sustains our lives in every aspect – spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally. It is more than a place. When we talk about Country it is spoken of like a person. Country is family, kin, law, lore, ceremony, traditions and language. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples it has been this way since the dawn of time” – The National NAIDOC Committee (NNC)
There’s more than $8,000 in prizes to be won through the First Nations Art Competition and entrants from 15 years of age could be eligible to enter*.
“There’s three categories for the competition being 15-17 years, 18-24 years and 25 years plus; and from these three categories a Grand Prize winner will be announced,” Chris Joseph said.
“Entrants must also identify as First Nations people from one or more of the 28 Nations in the Southern Queensland Landscapes area and a full list of all 28 Nations are available on our website and in the Competition Guidelines,” Mr Joseph said.
“Winners will be chosen based on their creativity, story-telling ability, skill and adherence to the theme ‘Heal Country’,” he said.
All entries will be on display during NAIDOC Week 2022 with winners announced during NAIDOC Week festivities.
For full competition details and information on how to enter visit https://www.sqlandscapes.org.au/first-nations-art-competition
*Full Terms & Conditions apply.
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The Condamine Headwaters, a critical ecosystem in Southern Queensland, has long faced threats from sedimentation, habitat degradation, and thermal regime changes. The Blackfish Project, dedicated to reversing these impacts, unites scientists, landowners, and the community in a shared mission to restore and protect this vital environment. At its core lies the river blackfish, a sensitive indicator of the overall ecosystem health. Central to the project's success is the unwavering commitment of landowners like Paul Graham. Inspired by the project's vision, Paul reached out to SQ Landscapes seeking support for a solar pump and tank to divert his cattle away from waterways on his property. Paul's deep-rooted love for his land, captured in his humorous quip "I love my land more than I love my wife," is a testament to the powerful connection between people and place that drives conservation efforts.
The Board of Southern Queensland Landscapes recently met in Toowoomba. In addition to the Board meeting, Board and Executive worked through updating SQ Landscapes’ strategy. Company Secretary Pam Murphy highlighted the importance of the latest Board meeting and what it means for the company’s future. “The updated strategy will help SQ Landscapes deliver sustainable natural resource management (NRM) outcomes that improve the lives of people in regional communities now and for the future,” Pam Murphy said. “We’re excited to continue delivering value for our region and build Flourishing Landscapes and Healthy Communities across Southern Queensland under the guidance of the Board,” Mrs Murphy said.
Annual General Meeting When: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 Where: Online via Zoom Time : 9.00am for 9.30am start
When Sophie and Adrian McInnerney began adopting their “paddock to plate” experiment into their lambing business, they quickly discovered how a new and exciting approach to running their enterprise transformed their resilience and soil health. Multi-species cover cropping was the answer, and now their business has become a diverse enterprise that has embraced variations in livestock feed and crop rotation, building riparian fencing, and investing in healthier soils. This has opened the young couple to new opportunities to create new revenue streams, protect their business against natural disasters, drought, and prepare for economic hardships. Their property, “Bellhaven Brook”, located just an hour east of Goondiwindi, was the site of Macintyre Ag Alliance’s latest Multi-Species Cropping Field Day. With the support of Southern Queensland Landscapes (SQ Landscapes), the event aimed to promote the McInnerney family’s new land practices, offering an opportunity to educate land managers in the region of new ways to strengthen their property and enterprise. SQ Landscapes’ Goondiwindi-based Project Delivery Officer Keith Walker joined land managers for the workshop and highlighted how multi-species cover cropping could pave the way to rebuilding healthy soils and farming enterprises. “What was great about visiting ‘Bellhaven Brook’ is that you don’t have to be a scientist to understand this stuff. The idea is to just try and experiment like the McInnerneys did,” Keith Walker said. “These cover cropping systems are all about building your experience, experimenting and slowly developing a healthier and richer soil profile; which is the basis of all businesses; cropping and grazing alike.” Mr Walker said. “It was interesting to see the range of people, the ages from young and old, and the differences in enterprises. It’s a reminder that this genre of agriculture is starting conversations,” he said. “It’s all about implementation on the ground and getting the results for less money and experimenting with what people are doing.”
Cool burns, camels, and funding for local farmers were on the agenda at 'Risdon Stud' as land managers Nick and Liz Suduk hosted the Southern Queensland Landscapes and Department of Resources site visit to showcase the success of the Natural Resources Investment Program 2018-2022 (NRIP). Risdon Stud, south of Warwick, was primarily a high-intensity horse stud, but under new ownership with the Suduk family, the focus has been on restoring productivity and landscape health. “The Suduks participated in the NRIP project, where they received on-site guidance from First Nations fire practitioner Robbie Williams from Fire Lore, for cool burning in native vegetation areas,” Project Delivery Lead Natasha Mylonas said. “This was their first exposure to this type of burning and they have since embarked on a journey towards building their confidence in applying it elsewhere on the property,” Ms Mylonas said. “The NRIP project also supported livestock fencing, largely to exclude cattle from a large patch of remnant vegetation, combined with weed management in that remnant vegetation,” she said. “It is really difficult to muster out of the remnant vegetation, so the fencing has meant easier mustering of the cattle, as well as reduced weed spread and damage to the native vegetation in the patch.” “Outside of the NRIP project, they maintain a herd of agisted camels as part of their weed management strategy and experimented with fire to manage wattle regrowth,” Natasha Mylonas said.