Becoming Wetland
Event description
Becoming Wetland takes audiences on an artist-led intervention of the natural environment of Cheetham Wetlands, in Melbourne’s West.
Becoming Wetland is a public program which traverses the format of art tour and field trip to offer participants pathways to connecting with the past, present and future of Cheetham Wetlands, in Melbourne’s West. Artists Jacqui and Lhotse will take participants through different ways of thinking, engaging and responding to their local environment through guided listening, image-making and writing exercises.
This journey is an opportunity to slow down, pay attention, and explore the ecological, historical, and cultural layers of one of Melbourne’s vital natural landscapes.
Cheetham Wetlands is a unique 420 hectares area consisting of lagoons and saltmarshes situated on the shores of Port Phillip Bay. Up to 200 species of migrating birds visit every year. The activities will occur at The Tower at Point Cook Coastal Park.
What to expect
The field trip will leave from Werribee Train Station on a 40–45-minute bus ride.
From the car park there is a 10-15 min walk. Please note: The walk will be conducted over the established walking path, however there are uneven surfaces, gravel, grass, and wooden bridges.
2 hours of guided art-based activities
Toilet breaks - there are no toilets at Cheetham Wetlands but there will be scheduled breaks to take a 5 minute drive to toilets that are close by.
Light lunch provided and return bus trip from Werribee Train Station.
If cost is a barrier to participate, please contact chantal.wynter@wyndham.vic.gov.au
18 October departure
Please book directly with Melbourne Fringe Festival here (link coming soon) for the 18th of October departure.
About Jacqui
Jacqui Gordon is a socially engaged artist and community worker based on Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung land. Using a combination of participatory performance, sculpture, text and video, her arts practice critiques dominant narratives of Australian identity. Jacqui investigates stories of labour through the lens of gender and the working class of the Western Suburbs of Melbourne and is interested in the practice of listening.
Jacqui completed a Master’s of Art in Public Spaces at RMIT in 2020 and a Bachelor of Fine Art Honours at Monash University in 2014. Jacqui has presented work in One Night in Footscray, West Projections Festival, Seventh Gallery and Blindside Gallery. She has facilitated community art workshops across greater Melbourne.
Instagram: @gordon_jacqui
About Lhotse
Lhotse Collins is a multidisciplinary artist with a practice which bleeds in and out of the studio. Focused on site responsive and place based making, performance and writing, public programs, collaborative practice and grassroots organising their practice seeps into their everyday life and the way they live and love. Lhotse’s work is reaching for ways to unlearn and unmake the conditions of settler-colonial-capitalism. Practices of radial imagination and speculative storytelling are tactics for centering otherwise worlds. Their stories are heavily centred around thinking with water and our responsibilities to water systems as bodies enmeshed in rain, rivers and oceans.
Instragram: @lhotsecollins
Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians
Wyndham City Council recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Peoples of Australia. We acknowledge the Bunurong and Wadawurrung Peoples as Traditional Owners of the lands on which Wyndham City operates. The Wadawurrung and Bunurong Peoples have and always will belong to the Werribee Yalook (river), creeks, stars, hills and red clay of this Country. We pay respect to their Ancestors and Elders who always have, and always will, care for Country and community today and for future generations.
Photo Credits
Hero image by Stacy Jewell_2025
Cropped portrait image of Jacqui by Gianna Rizzo
Portrait image of Lhotse courtesy of artist
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
