SquatSpace Redfern Waterloo Art Project

We give you a standard map of Redfern, with just the layout of the streets. It’s harmless enough, but clearly does not show the special places, the contested places, the threatened places, the unofficial routes from here to there, the spots of great (or minor) historical value, your private places, the places that make you happy, those that make your stomach turn, what you dream might happen, what you dream could be built……

So we invite you to take this map and work over the top of it, to make it say what you want it to say. Use pen, marker, post-it notes, photo-collage or whatever you need. If you use symbols, there is a section to provide a key or ‘Local Legend’. Apart from exhibiting the maps at Mori Gallery (http://www.morigallery.com.au) we will scan and post them on the Internet. That way the suburb will be seen to be more closely for what it is: an infinitely overlapping set of agendas, itineraries and sites. Maybe by putting them side-to-side we’ll find something out!

The project is an extension of the REDFERN-WATERLOO TOUR OF BEAUTY, presented by SquatSpace (www.squatspace.com/redfern ). The bus tours of the area have been running since October 2005, giving locals and visitors the opportunity to meet with local community representatives in an attempt to understand just what the Redfern-Waterloo Authority’s actions might mean for life in the area.

If you are interested in being part of the project, please email

info@squatspace.com