MEGAN COPE : Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House
“My works ask questions about how art and culture can heal Saltwater Country as well as our current relationship with the environment.”
- Megan Cope
Join Newcastle Art Gallery and Quandamooka artist Megan Cope for a 10 day participatory project celebrating local oysters, community collaboration, and environmental stewardship at Honeysuckle Marina. Across the festival, Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House will be activated by a dynamic program of talks, workshops, performances, and music.
Welcome to Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House, a 10 day participatory project celebrating local oysters, community collaboration, and environmental stewardship. Internationally acclaimed Quandamooka artist Megan Cope makes living sculptures and public installations that revive ancestral technologies, heal saltwater environments, and share knowledge.
Ngumpi Kinyingarra means 'oyster house' in Cope's Jandai language. For New Annual, Newcastle Art Gallery will present the Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House, a temporary pavilion on the Honeysuckle Marina, to create a place for gathering and learning about the cultural significance of oysters and local histories of Newcastle.
Across the 10 days of New Annual, Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House will also be activated by a dynamic program of talks, workshops, performances and music. The program line up to feature local and national artists, oyster experts, knowledge holders, performers, musicians, writers and more. Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House hopes that by centring and honouring the oyster, we can transform our understanding of Country and reinvigorate our deep responsibilities to it.
Engage with the artist and discover our dynamic program of behind-the-scenes tours, conversation, celebrations and demonstrations.
Scrub Club | 10:00am - 5:00pm daily (no registrations required)
Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House will host Megan Cope’s daily 'Scrub Club' from 10.00am - 5.00pm during New Annual. Audiences are invited to roll up their sleeves and pick up a brush, to contribute oyster shells for Cope's future oyster reef art projects.
Walk-ups welcome, no registration required.
Opening Celebration & Conversation | Saturday 28 Sept, 10:00am - 11:30am
Join us for the launch celebrations and hear from internationally acclaimed Quandamooka artist Megan Cope as she discusses the project and her practice informed by more than six years of research. This event will be Auslan-interpreted courtesy of Deaf Connect.
Behind the Scenes: Designing an Oyster House | Sunday 29 Sept, 10:00am - 11:00am
Hear from University of Newcastle’s School of Architecture and Design students and lecturers about the architectural design of the Oyster House.
Closing Celebration | Sunday 6 Oct, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Join us for a celebration of culture, kinship and connection as MEGAN COPE: Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House draws to a close. Wrap up with hands-on workshops, yarning, performances and music on our final day at Honeysuckle Marina.
Find out more about the range of events on offer at Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House during New Annual, including Friday Night Sounds, The Shuck Off, Talks & Ideas, and Waterfront Poetry Salon.
Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House will be located at Honeysuckle Marina, corner of Workshop Way and Merewether Street, Newcastle.
Children under 12 years of age to be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House events.
SENSORY & CONTENT WARNING
Scrub Club workshops will require audiences to wear gloves and clean oyster shells in cool, soapy water.
ACCESSIBILITY
Wheelchair access
Artist & creator: Megan Cope
Megan Cope is represented by Milani Gallery, Meeanjin/Brisbane.
The pavilion for Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House has been designed by students at the University of Newcastle School of Architecture and Built Environment facilitated by Associate Professor Sam Spurr and Senior Lecturer Anna Tweeddale: Alistair Eglington, Chalyse Fowler, Ivie Wong Hueyyi, Joshua Medbury, Keiran Buckley, Peter Ellis, Rachel Florey, Tahlia Phillips, Tom Licata.
Megan Cope - @nutmegandhoney
Ngumpi Kinyingarra Oyster House is presented exclusively by Newcastle Art Gallery for New Annual. Project supporters include University of Newcastle, the NSW Government through Create NSW, and Thermidor.
