Call for Expressions of Interest

Participate in practice exchange and immerse in workshops facilitated by First Nations and other leading artists, exploring embodied, cultural, ecological and climate-resilient approaches to place.

Artists will engage in a 3-day program camping at the confluence of Coranderrk Creek and the Birrarung at the significant Coranderrk property on Wurundjeri Country in Healesville, Victoria.

Hosted by BodyPlaceProject and Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation.

Applications due: 19th December 2025
Notifications to applicants: 19th January 2026

Residency: 20th-22nd March 2026
Full program and details including directions and what to bring will be provided upon selection. 

Queries about CONFLUENCE and the EOI process: info@bodyplaceproject.com

BodyPlaceProject is delighted to be invited by Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Dave Wandin to hold this residency at Coranderrk. For artists interested in 'place', this is a profound site to evolve our understandings and practices. 

Coranderrk mission was an Aboriginal reserve set up in the 1800s by the colonial government to control and confine First Peoples from across Victoria. Yet through their resilience and ingenuity, Coranderrk became a successful farm and powerful site of resistance and self-determination. https://www.coranderrk.com/ 

Following his ancestor William Barak’s legacy, Uncle Dave Wandin and Wandoon Estate have been restoring Coranderrk back to ecological health since the 1990s, using both cultural knowledge and western land management practices.

CONFLUENCE residency will include a Welcome to Country and orientation walk led by Uncle Dave, alongside care-for-Country activities and workshops led by artists including Gretel Taylor, Gülşen Özer, Mandy Nicholson and Jill Orr. Artists will engage in sensory, embodied, visual and conceptual approaches to responding to place. The program will include time for self-directed practice, reflection and discussion with the other amazing resident artists!

With a focus on waterways, provocations for the residency include: How can artists respond to Country at this critical moment? What does this place need from us? 

We anticipate a deeply generative time.

We are aiming to gather a diverse cohort of 10 artists for the residency that will include:

• First Nations artists (Australian and International)
• Yarra Ranges–based artists (living or working in the region)
• Artists of a range of genders, ages, cultural backgrounds, career stages and practices
• Artists interested in embodied, place-responsive or ecological practice
• Artists interested in Wurundjeri First Nations cultural knowledge
• Artists committed to practice exchange, sharing ideas, creative experimentation and cultural experiences.
• Artists available to attend the full 3-day residency (However, if you have caring, family or other commitments that will affect your availability, please still apply and outline these in your responses below.)

• Food and camping site for 3 days (2 nights)
• 3-day program facilitated by artists and Wurundjeri Knowledge-holders
• Time on Country at Coranderrk, acquainting with its rich historical, ecological and cultural layers.
• Workshops in Body Weather, site-responsive performance and other art practices led by BodyPlaceProject and guest facilitators.
• Walk and cultural talk/s guided by Wurundjeri facilitator/s
• Care for Country activities (e.g. weeding and planting) fostering stewardship and learning.
• Collective and individual development of place-responsive, climate-resilient ideas and practices.
• Potential for new networks and collaborations.
• $300 stipend (paid via invoice at the completion of the residency).

• Travel to and from Coranderrk (19 Barak Lane, Healesville, Victoria)
• Bring and set up your own tent and camping gear
• Respect protocols for residing at Coranderrk as guided by Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation, including ICIP, which will be outlined at the start of the residency.
• Personal insurance 
• Contribute to shared cooking & food preparation (let us know if you particularly like and would be willing to lead or co-lead this aspect.)

Artist-participants for CONFLUENCE at Coranderrk will be selected via a panel of representatives from BodyPlaceProject, Wandoon Estate and independent artists, with notification of outcomes emailed to all applicants on January 19th 2026. 

This residency is part of BodyPlaceProject’s 4-year program, 'Making Sense of Place', supported by Yarra Ranges Council. 

We are very grateful to Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation for hosting us at Coranderrk.

Thanks also to Yarra Valley Arts for sharing this opportunity with the local arts community.

BodyPlaceProject is a collective of artists who make performances, put on exhibitions, and curate experiences and events reflecting upon and generating relationships with place. 

www.bodyplaceproject.com