Central Coast Writes 2022
Video by Brandon Kalischer.
Central Coast Writes is a community storytelling project that develops true stories from older residents and connects them with emerging artists to illustrate.
The project brought people of different ages together to collaborate, have deeper conversations and build creative skills across art forms.
Therese Wilkins
“Lovely to see the works framed and the illustrations. Really impressive and a wonderful program for so many.”
Judith Harris at Woy Woy Writing Workshop.
Story Gathering
Bravewords Writing Workshops with Adrienne Ferreira
In March, 80 people gathered across 4 library branches — Woy Woy, Erina, Tuggerah and Lake Haven — for an Introduction to Life Writing workshop. They were then invited to join a writing group and guided to develop a true story for publication.
Participants enjoyed the company of other writers as they learned literary techniques and built writing confidence in a supportive atmosphere.
An anthology of 39 short stories was produced and illustrated by local emerging artists. Read the 2022 Anthology here.
Photography by Lisa Haymes.
Illustrating & Collaborating
Workshops with artists Jane Gillings and Jo Francis
Following the writing program, emerging artists were invited to bring their interpretation to the stories written for the anthology. Jane Gillings ran collage illustration, and Jo Francis ran painting and drawing illustration workshops at Treehouse Art Studio.
Over 40 young people and adults explored how to apply different materials and creative techniques to visual storytelling. They read the stories, found key elements and used their design skills to create a meaningful picture of a moment in someone's life.
Photography by David Benson, Jane Gillings and Jo Francis.
Donné Restom
“Joyful. That’s how I would describe my experience in Jane’s collage illustration workshop. To spend time in this community, everyone learning, laughing and sharing their ideas, frustrations (and glue) was a delight. Thank you!”
Presenting the Work
Parkhouse Gallery Exhibition & Library Displays.
Parkhouse @ Kibble pop-up gallery in Gosford hosted an exhibition from 3-8 September. The launch, attended by over 100 people, celebrated the creative collaboration between writers and artists, and showcased the collection of illustrated true stories they produced.
In mid-September, a selection of stories was displayed at Erina and Woy Woy libraries with information about the project.
Video by Tess Lopez.
Photography by Syl Marie Photography.
5 Lands Words Exhibition
In June 2022, the Avoca Beach Surf Club played host to the 5 Lands Words exhibition. Thousands of festival goers attending the Central Coast’s 5 Lands Walk Festival visited the exhibit, which featured a selection of the stories illustrated in collage workshops with Jane Gillings.
With the help of Macquarie University media students, a selection of writers were filmed reading their stories. The videos are lively and engaging; they bring to life the treasured memories these writers chose to record.
Writers Read their Stories
Videos by Brandon Kalischer.
Wolfgang Gebhardt
“Thank you for helping me change my writing life. When I started this journey, I didn’t have the confidence to write my story and tell it as it could be told. I now have the confidence to embark on writing my family story. With your help, it will be readable.”
Project Details
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Central Coast Writes offered a free introductory life writing workshop held across 4 library branches: Erina, Woy Woy, Lake Haven and Tuggerah. Presented by Adrienne Ferreira from Bravewords, this half-day workshop explored creative nonfiction and participants practiced how to write personal narratives with fun prompts and exercises. Writers were guided to reflect on their experiences, share ideas and learn storytelling techniques.
In the weeks following, participants were invited to break into smaller writing groups and were guided by Adrienne to develop a story for publication. During these sessions, writers learned how to apply supportive critiquing, editing, and redrafting to their own work and others’. They saw how a writers group is run and were encouraged to lead their own groups beyond the project.
The writing program was designed to foster a stronger writing community on the Coast by providing a supportive atmosphere for local people to gather, build writing confidence and develop their stories with the support of others.
Writing workshops were run in March and April and were free of charge.
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A program of free Illustration workshops were held for emerging artists to design an artwork for each story.
In these workshops, art students were taught how to use their gifts to listen, interpret and create meaningful pictures of a moment in someone’s life. Presented by industry professionals Jane Gillings of jane.gillings.com, and Jo Francis from Treehouse Art Studios, these practical workshops demonstrated how to apply different materials and creative techniques to an illustration. Participants honed their design skills and experienced what it was like to be part of the timeless tradition of sharing stories from one generation to the next.
Illustration workshops were run in April and May and were free of charge.
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On June 25 & 26, a preview of Central Coast Writes stories featured at 5 Lands Walk Festival for the 5 Lands Words exhibition. Stories illustrated in collage workshops with Jane Gillings were displayed at the Avoca Beach Surf Club and visited by thousands of festival goers.
With the help of Macquarie University Media students, a selection of writers were filmed reading their stories. The video was shown as part of the exhibition and the clips published on the Bravewords YouTube channel.
Media students filmed some of the writing and illustration workshops, and the footage was used to produce creative social media content to promote the project.
In September, Bravewords published an online anthology of all the illustrated stories created during the project. A book was also produced as a memento.
Parkhouse @ Kibble pop-up gallery in Gosford hosted an exhibition from 3-8 September. The launch celebrated the creative collaboration between writers and artists, and showcased the 39 true stories they produced.
In mid-September, a selection of stories was displayed at Erina and Woy Woy libraries, with information about the project.
Faye Kepper
“Some of the stories written for Central Coast Writes during workshops were displayed at Avoca Beach Surf Club. Illustrations by local artists, their interpretations, accompanied them. A video of the authors reading their stories ran in the background and I was among them. A warm feeling ran through me as my family viewed my work. I had made them proud.”
Central Coast Writes is proudly supported by:
