Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy

Reimagining Birrarung

Design Concepts for 2070

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square

Ground Level, NGV Design Studio

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Until 2 Feb, free entry

Looking fifty years into the future, Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 presents a series of provocations for the lands and waters of the Birrarung (Yarra River). Focusing on ecological regeneration, public access and connectivity across the catchment, this exhibition asks what it means to acknowledge a river as a living and integrated natural entity.

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Urban rivers are being rethought internationally, mindsets shifting from a time when they were seen as systems to be re-engineered to our liking – lands and waters for development, resource extraction and waste disposal. In Melbourne there is an increasing understanding that we should think of the Birrarung not as a disposable resource, but as a complex and diverse, interconnected ecosystem that nurtures our health and is essential to communities both human and non-human.

Through the lens of landscape architecture, Reimagining Birrarung presents research, data, mapping and speculative design ideas for sites along the river corridor, from the city to the upper catchment. Together the projects reveal how the Birrarung has been altered and diminished over time, from a dynamic and abundant ecology to a system in need of healing and care.

Reimagining Birrarung invites us to free our minds from the constraints and assumptions of today and to consider, together, the future of the Birrarung, but also what the river might want for itself.

ArchitectureDesignNGV Australia

Projects

CREMORNE / BURNLEY by Aspect Studios ABBOTSFORD / CLIFTON HILL by REALMstudios HEIDELBERG / TEMPLESTOWE by Openwork THE UPPER YARRA by Bush Projects KEW / IVANHOE by OFFICE YERING / YARRA GLEN by TCL YARRA VALLEY / LAUNCHING PLACE by SBLA THE BIRRARUNG CATCHMENT by McGregor Coxall
Reimagining Birrarung

Asked what they thought was possible for the Birrarung by 2070, the eight landscape architecture and design studios in Reimagining Birrarung sought ways to improve the condition of the river and its catchment. These interviews reveal a common intention: to awaken the public consciousness to possible futures for the Birrarung, which are both within our grasp and yet to be imagined.

Voice of the Birrarung river

Spoken by Uncle Dave Wandin, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Elder and Birrarung Council member.
Originally commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous assistance from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

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Bupa program of activities

Alongside the exhibition, Bupa and NGV will co-present a series of programs set on the banks of the Yarra, featuring insightful conversations, a group yoga class and even a river kayak for the more adventurous amongst us.

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Resources

Yarra River 50-year community vision

The Yarra River 50-year community vision is a pioneering initiative for an urban waterway in Australia. It captures the community’s aspirations for the river and establishes a strategic framework to safeguard its future. This vision serves as the foundation for the Yarra Strategic Plan / Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo, guiding efforts to protect and enhance the river’s natural and cultural values.

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Yarra strategic plan

The Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo (Yarra Strategic Plan) 2022–32 recognizes the Birrarung (Yarra River) as a living, integrated natural entity, honoring its cultural and environmental significance. This plan is designed to give effect to the community’s 50-year vision for the river, aiming to protect and enhance the river’s health and vitality. It also supports the collaborative management of the river and its surrounding lands, involving various stakeholders to ensure sustainable outcomes for future generations.

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Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017

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Reimagining Birrarung
Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy Reimagining Birrarung Install - Sean Fennessy

Partners

Bupa

As a health and care company, Bupa understands that in order for people to be healthy, we need to look after the health of the planet.

We are proud to support the NGV and Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 by co-presenting a program of activities set on the banks of the Birrarung, designed to get people out and about and moving their bodies in natural surroundings while reaping the benefits of improved physical and mental health.

We hope these activities encourage people to adopt active, long-term sustainable habits in their everyday lives and help to contribute to healthier cities.

Birrarung Council

The Birrarung Council is the voice of the Birrarung, the Yarra River. We advocate and advise on behalf of the Birrarung, speaking for the river in policy and planning contexts so that the river is heard by all.

Our role is complex but, in many ways, also quite simple; we encourage all to be in an active and healthy relationship with the Birrarung. From the highest levels of government to communities and individuals, we seek to empower and protect the Birrarung, examining and exploring how we each interact with our shared lifeblood as one living entity.

This exhibition provides a forum for exploring ideas from a range of different perspectives, stimulating thinking about the future of the Birrarung. The Birrarung Council encourages the dialogue and thinking this exhibition opens, marking a step in our journey of shared stewardship to collectively shape and advocate for the Birrarung.

Partners