Haiku is a form of poetry that originated in Japan and is known for its format, often three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, reflecting on natural scenes.
Earlier this year haiku were contributed, many by local writers. Five of these were distributed to musicians by Naviar Records, who hold a weekly challenge to sonically interpret haiku poetry.
Curator Jason Richardson is a contributor to Naviar Records and orchestrated this online collaboration.
“Musicians from around the world wrote music based on poetry describing locations around Narrandera,” said Mr Richardson.
“Recordings came from the United States, Canada, UK, France, Czech Republic, Australia and from Narrandera-based composer Fiona Caldarevic.
“That poem was chosen after reading Stan Grant’s call to end the great silence surrounding the Frontier Wars,” said Jason Richardson.
Other poems were interpreted as music from descriptions of floodwaters, trucks driving through town, gums in fog and trees on the riverbank.
Over sixty recordings were collected for the exhibition, which will also show photography illustrating a selection of contributed haiku.
“There were around one and half dozen poems sent via Twitter and email and one from my eight-year old son.”
The Crossing Streams exhibition will be complemented by the Slow Book Haiku textile exhibition, which is a collaboration between Kelly Leonard Weaving and Dr Greg Pritchard.
“It will be interesting to see how the economy of short poems translates into other media,” said curator Jason Richardson.
The two exhibitions open at the Narrandera Arts Centre from 1pm on Sunday 15 October.
The opening will feature a performance of Fiona Caldarevic’s music, followed by a workshop led by Dr Greg Pritchard.
Crossing Streams and Slow Book Haiku will be open daily until Sunday 29 October, when a workshop run by Kelly Leonard Weaving from 1pm will conclude the exhibitions.
The project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, provided through Regional Arts Australia.
