Covid has also been the catalyst for a number of creative undertakings as creators throughout the world explore new ways to express themselves. Co:3 is involved in one of them. In Australia, The Bird Makers Project is a global initiative by Raewyn Hill and Naoko Yoshimoto with Co:3 Australia. It is not a dance project, although it connects dancers. It aims to provide a unique opportunity for people to connect during a time that is unsettling for many, and for those in Western Australia, to input a little of their creativity into a dance performance that will launch in 2021.
The Bird Makers Project is suitable for beginner and advanced sewers and will guide them through its online resources to create a single black bird made from their own donated piece of black clothing. “These black birds will represent your time in isolation as we stand side by side in an unimagined situation, making history together,” its creators state on the website.
The birds of those in Western Australia will be collected and become part of a flock of 1001 birds used in the set of Raewyn Hill’s new work, Archives of Humanity, premiering in 2021. So far, the project has collected more than 600 birds.
The project will run until 15 October 2020. There are four free workshop options available with expert bird makers who can guide participants through the process of bird creation.
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Co:3 has also developed two new pathways to support dancer and choreographic development in WA during a period that has been obstructive to say the least. IN STUDIO offers free artists access to studio space. IN HOUSE is a choreographic opportunity program, whose first outcome is a new VR Movement and Sound project. For young people, there is the CO:Y CLUB, an online meeting point to engage with each other and leading dance practitioners.