In the lead-up to Melbourne Design Week, the team at ORCA: Oceans Research & Climate Action Network RMIT University is conducting a series of journeys from Docklands to Geelong, Docklands to Portarlington, and return via ferry. The team will engage in fieldwork, including capturing sound, imagery (both still and moving), water samples, and stories from travelers about their connection to the ocean. The material collected will be compiled and presented during Melbourne Design Week as a performative relational presentation during a ferry crossing and a social symposium that invites audiences to consider the ocean.
Most views of Port Phillip Bay are from the shore, but this project takes the team onto and into the water, collecting stories, samples, sounds, and songs from the Bay. These include First Nations stories, colonial legacies, ghost rivers, ecological insights, transport lines and maps, underwater recordings, poetic reflections, and various artworks and installations.
Starting from the land, commuters and other visitors can float the 1.5-hour water crossing and join the team in growing their relationship with the bay and the complex role it plays in the life of Naarm. Joining the team and their partners, Port Phillip Ferries, in a ferry crossing (Docklands-Geelong) is followed by a social symposium and sound walk at Platform ARTS, Geelong. If joining from Melbourne, it is necessary to book a return ticket with Port Phillip Ferries.
