History and Song for the People: Fundraiser for a Brisbane History and Song Journey, and a Call to Join a Community Created History Project
I am travelling to Brisbane in early April, and I need some help to pull this history and music project off.
Afternoon in the Park: Songs and Stories of Resistance.
It started as a simple act of networking. I put David Rovics, international troubadour extraordinaire, in touch with a friend in Brisbane who wanted to host a gig for David's forthcoming Australian tour (see poster). Then I gave David some more background on his host, a long standing activist with a remarkable history that included a stint with Food Not Bombs at the Woomera detention centre protest of 2002, where the crowd assisted in the escape of several refugees.
"I want to talk to him about the Woomera breakout," David told me, "so I can write a song about it." I had a vague notion of them meeting before or after the gig for a yarn- I am at the other end of the country after all. But no. Asger suggested a discussion circle before the concert, commenting "we never do public oral history." David said, "I'd love to see a presentation like that," and naturally I offered to moderate said discussion... without necessarily thinking beyond enthusiasm for the concept. So here I am, journeying to Brisbane to bring together several things that I truly love, but in a way that includes an entirely new challenge.
Still... I asked an anthropologist friend once how I should go about learning to do ethnography, and she replied, "really the best way is to just go and do it." So I consider this to be an apprenticeship oral history project. This is a significant Australian social history, from the point of view of the participant, for songwriting purposes. In other words, work well worth doing.
Australian Cultural Library Research Visit
But wait! There's more.
I have been looking for a reason to travel to Queensland ever since I dscovered the existence of the Australian Cultural Library , founded, maintained and curated by Australian musician Steve Towson:
"The Australian Cultural Library is an independent reference-only library that aims to gather, preserve and promote as much of Australia's culture as possible. The Library collects items created by people who were born in Australia, migrated to Australia or were directly connected to Australian culture. The collection encompasses music, film, visual arts, performing arts, literature, zines, history and more. It currently holds over 100,000 items including books, sheet music, music recordings, DVDs, film, posters, t-shirts and paintings; from the well-known to the rare and obscure."
Cool, huh?
Now I have that reason. Personally, I'm going for the songbooks, and to see what I can do to help promote and support this brilliant project. (I will be doing some of that at the Afternoon in the Park, since Steve Towson is doing us the honour of joining the line-up).
Fundraiser:
I need donations to make this adventure happen, mostly to cover travel costs. $1000 is my goal. Half of that covers my flights there and back (double the price they were when I last travelled there for history purposes). The rest will go to acquiring a decent outdoor microphone, daily travel expenses, and the incidental costs of putting on and promoting the event. If I raise more than that, it will go to continuing the research, and publishing the results. I know the discussion will lead to a great song. David has form, after all. But I would like it to be the start of a history project that is not only community-supported, but also community created.
Please contribute financially to this wild and wonderful project if you are inclined and able, using the donate button below.
Join the Community:
If you are interested in, and/or were a participant in any of the protests at the Woomera detention centre in the early 2000s, please subscribe to my (free) substack publication via the button below. It is there I will be collaborating with you in this creation, keeping my field notes and travel journal, and requesting ideas for research when I journey to the library, and of course soliciting your story. Everybody is welcome to contribute or simply follow the journey.
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