Making & Responding

Create a drawing of an extinct or endangered Australian animal and its habitat. Experiment with contrasting colours and positive and negative shapes to distinguish the animal from its habitat.

Find out what animals live along a waterway close to where you live. Make a collaborative work of art based on this ecosystem.

Listen to Wilcannia Mob: Intergeneration’s song Our Country, Our Way, which features Badger Bates’s voice. This song celebrates culture and connection to Country. Write a song about the place where you live.

Extension

Research the current state of the Murray-Darling Basin and specific reasons why it is in the state it is. How might the health of the Darling River impact you where you live? Propose three actions that can be taken to improve the health of the river. Create a video or social media campaign to raise awareness of the Murray-Darling Basin and your proposed solutions.

Investigate work by Nici Cumpston, who is of Afghan, English, Irish and Barkandji heritage. Her work also responds to the Murray-Darling crisis. How have both artists communicated their concerns? Find out more about an environmental issue in your local area that you are passionate about. Create a work of art in response to this issue.