A recent #CroakeyGO, involving two days of walking and talking on Dabee Wiradjuri Country in regional NSW, provided “an outstanding example of the many ways walking as a social and creative process brings people together to build a sense of community”, reports Molly Wagner.
Wagner, a walking artist and co-founder of Australian Walking Artists, also participated in the inaugural #CroakeyGO, back in 2017.
A second report on the #CroakeyGO Kandos will be published next week.
Molly Wagner writes:
Croakey directors, members, contributors and supporters, as well as local community members, gathered in Dabee Wiradjuri Country, Kandos, NSW for two days of walking and conversations about health, Country and public interest journalism.
The weekend of walks, organised by Professor Megan Williams and the #CroakeyGO team, was a wonderful experience of walking with friends, cultural learning and fun, despite the ever-changing weather.
Williams initially proposed this weekend of walks as part of the opening events of the Australian Walking Artists exhibition Way Beyond at the Wayout Artspace in Kandos. Due to construction delays on Wayout, our exhibition was postponed to 3 May 2025.
However, the weekend of walks went ahead as planned. As a walking artist and co-founder of the Australian Walking Artists, I am curious about how walking is enjoyed and used by others, so I gratefully accepted the invitation to participate in this weekend.
The Australian Walking Artists brings together artists who use walking as a method of creative (artistic) investigation and production.
I am frequently asked to define walking art by members of the public and other artists. One of the most concise definitions of this expansive art form is on the Walk-Listen-Create website.
They write, walking art is “…art in which ‘walking’ is an integral part of the work”. Walking art fits into several art contexts: performance, conceptual, environmental, psychogeography, and social engagement.
Conversations and communities
The walks of this weekend with the conversations about the region – its beauty and challenges, and the cultural learning shared with us – were an outstanding example of the many ways walking as a social and creative process brings people together to build a sense of community.
Our first walk, from Kandos to Rylstone, was on a well-maintained path near the highway. We set off after a gracious welcome from Williams and a gathering circle where we introduced ourselves and our interests in being part of this event.
There were many connections between us. Several of us were friends of long standing. Most shared personal and professional interests in the varied ways walking is used as part of different cultural practices. Most of us walk as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These connections were reinforced during our conversations on the rainy walks and subsequently, new friendships were forged.
I had a memorable conversation with a woman about her favourite trekking poles (Mary-Ellen, who features in the video below). She said they are old and need to be replaced but they have taken her to so many wonderful places she hesitates to buy new ones.
I told her about the art exhibition, Walk with Me, at Drawspace Gallery where there’s a lovely work by Mia Salsjö called Himalaya Hillary Norgay Trail, 27 days, that features rods, reminiscent of walking sticks, that Salsjö bound with threads in the bright colours of Tibetan prayer flags seen on the Himalayan walking trails.
Our conversation while walking about the accessories that accompany us and how these become imbued with emotional attachment and nostalgia was an example of how the everyday act of walking becomes a creative encounter – a moment of walking art.
At Rylstone we walked to a shelter on the showground where friends and family of Williams had set a welcome lunch, most of it from local businesses, and cups of tea and coffee. We were grateful for a chance to escape the rain and eat delicious food.
After lunch Williams shared possum skin cloaks kindly loaned by Aunty Di Pirotta for the occasion, their history and pyrographic techniques used to inscribe stories onto the skins.
We learned how to make string and about traditional weaving. It was a convivial, celebratory gathering where knowledge and stories were shared by all.
Cultural connections
On Sunday we drove to Ganguddy-Dunns Campground for a smoking ceremony and culture walk led by Emma Syme of the North East Wiradjuri Company and Wirimbili Cultural Tours. She extended a heartfelt Welcome to her Country and led a smoking ceremony.
Syme took us to a spectacular rock shelter that overlooks the Cudgegong River and around the path to show us a lyrebird’s nest high on the rock and vines with appleberry growing on them. The buzz of cicadas was deafening and, as she said, welcome as they are an essential part of the ecosystem.
We saw a collection of traditional tools and artefacts showing the phenomenal engineering skills of the Wiradjuri people. As raindrops began to fall, we walked to another rock shelter to see handprints clearly on the ceiling. The raindrops came faster as we walked (ran) back to the shelter near the kayak rental area.
When the rain eased, we returned to our area where Maddi O’Brien, from Watershed Landcare, told her inspirational story of relocating to the area during COVID lockdowns and building a new life of gardening and landscape design.
We then had a BBQ lunch, and the heavens opened again with another fierce downpour. It was a soggy time packing everything into the cars, only to have the sunlight return as we drove out of the campground, illuminating the incredible ‘pagoda’ rock formations.
It was a privilege to walk on Dabee Wiradjuri Country with Professor Megan Williams and friends from #CroakeyGO as a co-founder and member of the Australian Walking Artists. I first walked with #CroakeyGO in 2017 from Manly to the Spit Bridge on their inaugural event.
At that time, I was finding my way as a walking artist and mostly walking alone. Today, having attended International Walking Art Conferences in Spain and Greece and experiencing the joy of walking with others, I am pleased to say that the Australian Walking Artists is a flourishing group of creatives.
It was Professor Megan Williams and Croakey.org who gave me those first opportunities to share my walking art projects on their website. This encouragement and support helped me keep walking, one step at a time, as a walking artist.
Walking art and walking journalism have a lot to offer each other, and I’m grateful to be part of these conversations, these walks.
• If anyone is interested in learning more about the Australian Walking Artists, contact me at auswalkingartists@gmail.com. Our exhibition, Way Beyond goes Wayout, is in Kandos from 3 May – 22 June, 2025. My website is here, and I’m on Instagram: @molly_l_wagner
Watch this interview
Dr Ruth Armstrong speaks with Molly Wagner (R) and Mary-Ellen at the #CroakeyGO. Topics range from healthdirect resources to the history of walking art, and what it means to not own a car in Australia.
Links
Australian Walking Artists: https://eco-pulse.art/about-awa/
Walk-Listen-Create: What is Walking Art https://walklistencreate.org/about/what-is-walking-art/
Drawspace Gallery: Walk With Me, group show. https://drawspace.org/exhibitions-and-events/walk-with-me
North East Wiradjuri Company: https://artsoutwest.org.au/venue/north-east-wiradjuri-cultural-centre/
Watershed Landcare: https://watershedlandcare.com.au/#!event-list
Acknowledgement
The Croakey team acknowledges and thanks the Technical Audio Group (TAG) for supporting this #CroakeyGO, held on Dabee Wiradjuri Country, Kandos and Ganguddy, NSW, 30 November – 1 December 2024. We also acknowledge their wider generosity in supporting communities’ health and wellbeing.
See Croakey’s archive of #CroakeyGO articles; we welcome applications for #CroakeyGO events in 2025.
