Mangroves from the Water exhibition catalogue, Gordon Gallery, Geelong, Australia, August 2021.

Thanks to the Gordon Gallery, the City of Greater Geelong, Sharjah Institute of Heritage, , the Barwon Estuary Project and Humans of Geelong for their support in realising the Mangroves from the Water exhibition, 11-18 August 2021.

The opening began with a Welcome to Wadawurrung Country by Elder Nikki McKenzie, supported by Norm Stanley on the didgeridoo; a ceremony we all acknowledged as befitting the themes and depth of our project and our regard for the mangrove landscape. 

We were honoured that Libby Coker MP officially opened the event and we’re grateful for her important words and interest in our project.

Curator Zahidah Zeytoun Millie acknowledged the support of our partners and introduced the work of our 13 artists, all focused on raising awareness of the beauty and importance of mangroves.

To Peter Martin, thank you for presenting the opening oration so eloquently.

The afternoon gave our 50 visitors (we were restricted by Covid 19!) a fascinating range of perspectives that included a human element in addition to the multi media artwork.  Choreographic artist Jacqui Dreesens performed a sensorial interpretation of mangroves in dance with video, and Richard Collopy presented a passionate talk on a traditional owner’s perspective of mangroves.  Viewers were enthralled by the depth of thought and detail presented in the multi media Mangroves from the Art exhibition. 

We are very grateful to everyone who came out to support us, especially during this difficult time with lockdowns.  We were sad to miss a few of the artists not being able to attend – some stuck locally (Nicola Cerini and Kerrie Taylor), and some abroad (Geraldine Chansard in Belgium, Stephanie Neville in the UAE and Alexis Gambis in France).

It’s with great pleasure that we are able to share these images with you from our official opening on Saturday 14 August 2021.

Credit for all images goes to photographer Phil Hines.  Our thanks to MC Daniel Zeytoun Millie.