Bluestonia at Jewell Station

Design - by Open Journal

Photo: Windu Kuntoro

There are 67kms of bluestone lanes in Moreland- the largest network in Australia. The Bluestonia project by RMIT’s Centre for Art, Society and Transformation investigates the potential of this network of bluestone laneways to provide a catalyst for community engagement and connectedness.

Adopting a rhizomatic approach, the project aims to develop a continuous cultural festival, made up of a series of events, projects and community activities, building on the laneway network context.

By linking community activism and cultural infrastructure, Bluestonia contributes to urban renewal and planning – valuing and recontextualising under-used public space through socially engaged art and related practices.

Neometro welcomed the celebration of Bluestonia: Paperhood to our garden at Jewell Station. Supported by Multicultural Arts Victoria, The Australia Council and Creative Victoria, this iteration of the project focused on paper culture, where traditional Chinese papercut meets contemporary street art.

Local Brunswick artist Philip Faulks worked with a well known group of Chinese paper cutters based in Jiangsu Province, Victoria’s sister state in China. The works created by the two groups (Australian and Chinese) were turned into large, multi-sheet paste ups, displayed at RMIT on Swanston Street and in Brunswick’s laneways.