What would a version of the Riverland full of dragons and magic look like (and how can that help us better care for and build the real Riverland)? Novel November is a month-long collaborative experiment re-imagining our local haunts and habits. Writer and creative ‘doer’ Alysha Herrmann will lead a process of world-building and creative responses with other Riverland creative folk to generate short stories, poems, illustrations, songs, installations, experiences and ideas for the general public to explore a yet-to-be-named and yet-to-be-created alternate version of the Riverland.

Novel November is the first stage of an ambitious multi-year speculative fiction project right here in our Riverland. Alysha Herrmann’s Novel November Residency in 2021 is supported by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, with additional support from Writers SA through Alysha’s role as Writers SA Riverland Coordinator.

"My long-term vision is that the fantasy world version of the Riverland created through Novel November will become a framework for future stories, theatre projects, visual art exhibitions, cosplay, LARP and other things here in our community." - Alysha

Throughout November Riverland writers, artists, ideas people and curious community members are invited to participate and contribute to Novel November in a variety of ways including workshops, write-ins and folllowing the project online. Further details here.

The following workshops are aimed at adults and young people aged 15+. Children under 15 are welcome to attend with an adult guardian, please note in the comments section if any children will be attending with you. Each particpant 15+ should complete their own booking form.

All participants will be asked to sign a workshop participation deed which will outline ways Alysha and other Novel November participants can use any shared material created during workshops. This will be explained at the beginning of each workshop for new participants.

There is no cost to participate as Novel Novemver is being supported by Alysha's National Regional Arts Fellowship. 

Can't attend full day but still want to participate? No worries, book your spot and just flick an email to hello@partofthings.org to let us know when to expect you/how long you can stay. Blurbs about each workshop can be found here. 

BYO lunch to full day sessions. Snacks for Let's Celebrate will be supplied. Please bring a notebook and pen (or laptop if you prefer) and a water bottle. Check COVID restrictions for mask requirements here and remember to QR check-in on arrival.

All activities will be at Part of Things, Hawdon Chambers Barmera. Directions and information about the venue here. This venue has limited capacity even without COVID, so registering is essential. Part of Things is an upstairs venue that does not have any lift access. If you would like to participate in Novel November but the venue excludes you, Alysha can Zoom you in and she would also love to organise 1:1 or small group sessions in other locations for anyone who cannot physically attend sessions at Part of Things. Please email her directly to request this via her website here.

About Alysha:

Alysha Herrmann is a proud parent, daughter of regional Australia, writer, theatre maker, creative producer and community organiser. She makes performances, installations, experiences, presentations, poetry, essays, digital exchanges and small moments of connection in public places.

Alysha’s work is grounded in community arts and cultural development practice and she is dedicated to nurturing opportunities for regional communities and emerging artists to connect, create and experiment. Alysha writes and creates experiences about vulnerability, community, hope, grief, forgiveness and belonging. She’s a long-time fantasy nerd and would love to write for videogames in the future. Her recent work includes The Riverland of Rax for Critical Stages and Paines Plough’s Come to Where I Am Australia, and DEV for State Theatre Company and ActNow Theatre’s Decameron 2.0. Her written work has been published by Currency Press, Griffith Review, Rochford Street Press, The Dirty Thirty, ABC Open and others.

Once upon a time Alysha was a disconnected and very angry high-school dropout & teenage parent who thought the arts was a waste of time and money: https://griffithreview.com/articles/not-for-me/

Since then, Alysha has won numerous awards for her work including the Arts South Australia Geoff Crowhurst Memorial Ruby Award and the Australia Council Kirk Robson Award. Alysha is also an alumnus of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s flagship national leadership program ARLP, Business SA’s SAYES program and Foundation for Young Australians’ Young Social Pioneers program.

 

Tea-drinker, big dreamer and thinker of confusing thoughts.

#myriverland #letstalkyoutharts #bepartofthings #creativeregions

About Part of Things:

Part of Things is a Riverland initiative founded in 2019 by award winning Riverland artist, youth worker and producer Alysha Herrmann.

PART OF THINGS is a space and connector to bring new ideas to life. It is an experimental gathering place inspired by DIY attitude, entrepreneurial thinking, community service and a ferocious pursuit of "how could this be better?"

Our vision is that when people think of the Riverland, they think quirky and creative experiences in the same way that when people think of Melbourne, they think of fancy coffee. Our mission is to nurture a creative and connected generation of doers in the Riverland region of South Australia. We organise projects, events, gatherings, meetings, workshops, mentoring and everything in between to achieve this mission. We present quirky, unique and memorable experiences created and curated by Riverland artists and thinkers: audio walking tours, immersive theatre, collaborative writing projects, video game jams, intimate concerts and creative based workshop tasters.

See some of our previous projects here.