Twenty years after the first Two Fires Festival of Arts and Activism (2FF) was held here in Braidwood NSW, we are looking at the end of a rather amazing era. And maybe an opportunity to transition to a new future for the organisation…?
Members of the current Committee of 2FF are retiring. The Incorporated Association may be wound up. Unless there are people out there with interest, passion, vision, time and energy to keep the fires burning.
2FF was created to celebrate and extend the legacy of poet & activist Judith Wright, who lived the last decades of her life in the Braidwood area.
Judith Wright (1915 – 2000), acknowledged as one of Australia’s finest poets, also stands out as a moral leader of her generation. She was ahead of her time in speaking out on the need to mitigate the harm we do on the land and to the people we colonised.
Instigated by Professor Martin Mulligan in 2005, then “gifted” to the Braidwood community, Two Fires Festivals and related events over the past two decades have featured literature, art, environmental and Indigenous presentations, and included many splendid musical performances. Always an ambitious agenda! And always a lot of (very rewarding) hard work for the volunteers involved.
Each of the 7 Festivals, held in different local indoor & outdoor venues over 2 to 4 days, featured an extraordinary range of poets, speakers and performers. Check out the past programs on www.twofiresfestival.org.au and be impressed. And sorry that you missed particular sessions!
A lifelong regret of mine is not driving out from Canberra in March 2009 for the Festival Concert featuring the late Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter & their band. Aunty Ruby died less than a year later.
2FF has also hosted single events over the years, including a very popular Writer’s Talk with John Blay showcasing his trilogy based on his epic bushwalking in the wilds of the south east forests of NSW.
A lasting legacy of 2FF in Braidwood is the Dhurga Rock in Ryrie Park (2FF 2015). A public acknowledgement that this land has a long & rich history of Aboriginal occupation, governance & culture. Recently, in collaboration with Come Together Braidwood, we installed a Yarning Circle near the Rock to facilitate further community dialogue & connections.
We are forever grateful to so many people who contributed to our festivals and events. Particularly Meredith McKinney for her support and participation. And the late Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison for his role as our ceremonial Festival Elder for all 7 Festivals, as well as other local events.
Whatever the future holds for 2FF Inc, there is a plan to create a lasting record of its impact in our local community, and its place in the wider context of national Indigenous and environmental history, literature and music.
So, here are our INVITATIONS:
- Anyone interested in discussing a possible future direction for 2FF Inc, please get in touch!
- Anyone with a story or particular memory from their 2FF experience/s they would like to share, please get in touch!
CONTACT:Sheelagh Noonan 0419 609 942 orJulia Green 0402 605 945
