Day one was a trip to Heide to experience the site, hear from a series of Heide staff about the history of Heide and future development, as well as an urban planner, artist and an architect. They day also included a view of the two site/s offered THE DOLL’S HOUSE and the HEALING GARDEN to develop our ideas and proposal for Project 1 and a student team task, mine being ‘ghost sign’s’ and hidden gems of Heide.

Heide Welcome and Introduction

Key interests:

• Heide referred to as a Living Museum having four historical layers: 
  1. Indigenous 2. Colonial 3. Modern 4. Contemporary
• Oak tree and River Red Gum Scar Tree
• Growing evolving space, what’s it’s future - Know : Now : Next 
• Invitation only – Exclusivity

Master Plan and Garden site and proposal - Mark Jacques, Landscape Architect, Urban Designer, OPENWORK
Aim: Weave all elements of Heide together creating a connected and cohesive creating an intuitive not prescriptive experience.

Example: Mark provided was the IKEA experience – know where to find what you want but can take a different journey – Curate your own journey.

Some of my interest and takings from Mark’s presentation were his reference to two different types of landscapes.
1. WILD: English, manicured, curated, tamed (top garden / Heide I)
2. REVOLUTIONARY: Indigenous land, plants

What interested me was the tension between the two but also the lack of knowledge of or information about the indigenous heritage, knowledge of site.

Challenges

• Disparate sculptures
• Poor wayfinding – visitation sequence – a lot get’s missed especially Heide I
• No cohesive storytelling (narrative) connected to wayfinding
• Typography is to prescriptive - Chronologically 1, 2, 3….
• Paywall? No one information place/entry
• Carpark’s driveway cutting Hedie I off from the rest of the site
• Heritage restraints
• Improved visual identity

HEIDE 5. Will be a bigger building/Museum that is multipurpose and will exhibit touring
exhibitions.

Kate Grace, Gardener: Site analysis, project and plant overview
Sites: Doll’s House and the Healing Garden 
My interest was in the Healing Garden

Aim: International Healing Space
Audience: Elderly, disabled or those who have experienced trauma - a demographic that is not catered for at Heide.
History: A failed Rainforest Garden planted by Sydney Nolan.
Intent: Key intent and passion of the reeds was to create a safe place for contemplation, learning, discussion and creative exploration, nurturing an arts culture.

Student Team Tasks: Ghost Sign’s

• A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The sign may be kept for its nostalgic appeal, or simply indifference by the owner.

The group found visitor tagging all over the grounds but most significantly Shealton Lea was here on a metal plaque located on the basement door of Heide I. The team developed the campaign “Who is Shealton Lea” because there is no reference to him in Heide’s history and could be a hidden gem.

• Shealton Lea was the adopted child of Darell Lea (famous for Darrell Lea sweets) - He has
  been referred to as ‘the godfather of Melbourne poetry’. 

What this task highlighted
for me was the lived experience in the now, current context.

Artist Presentation: Natasha Johns-Messenger An Artist’s perspective at Heide

Sitelines 2017 (installations, photographs and light-works) 

Of interest was her approach to idea development. It was not through research, historical context and site investigation but through a lived in, physical approach in situ using mindfulness techniques. She attended Heide over a period of months and documented her mood, how her body navigated the space, changes experienced, weather, and used photography to document. Her aim to be Authentically Connected.

Where her excitement lies/sweet spot is the gap
between knowledge and perception!

BODY – Space in between – MIND

What you experience and what you perceive being out of whack and where the body is on high alert – Mirrors and deception, perspective and how the body moves through this. 

Her work creates a Cognitive Dissonance which my work, in the past has focused on. I’d like to explore this further and also look at Sensory Dissonance.

Jefa Greenaway, Indigenous Architect

Who Speaks for Land? History and Memory.
Facilitation of culturally responsive design – International Indigenous Design Charter.

Contribute to the building of cultural intelligence and celebrate connections and facilitate conversations with community.

Engagement Approaches – Imbed in the process not be an add on (cultural broach)

Learnings:

• The Yarra – The River of Mist #WaterProject
• Waterways frame country UoM New Student Precinct #WaterProject
• Country of the 5 Hills – Kulin Nation
• Songlines and Scar Tree: It may not be an artefact (eg; tree) but it’s the meaning and
  people’s knowledge and connection to it. 
• Cultural Overlay / Typography – Stars | Land | Waterways | Mountains | Animals | Insects