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Events

Actions for Water II

Free public programs from August to November

The Actions for Water II public programs bring together artist activations, talks, tours and lectures exploring water, ecology, climate awareness, cultural knowledge and shared resources.

Wax carving workshop with Sao Sreymao 
Thursday 20 August, 3–4 pm
Join exhibiting artist Sreymao for a hands-on and relaxed workshop. Participants will carve small houses from wax, with each sculpture becoming part of the live performance opening the exhibition. 
To participate, please email a.wallin@latrobe.edu.au

Exhibition Opening Celebration and Performance
Friday 21 August, 5–7 pm
Join us for the exhibition opening celebration, featuring a performance and activation by Cambodian artist Sao Sreymao, exploring the effects of climate change, depleting fish stocks and dam construction on communities along Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River.

The Bureau of Water: Nomadic Library
Hosted at Bendigo Library from 20 August to 8 November
Sharmila Wood’s The Bureau of Water is a nomadic library inspired by Kerala’s vaayanashalas, gathering interdisciplinary texts on water, ecology and collective care.

Who Owns the Water?
Sir John Quick Memorial Lecture with Yoorrook Commissioner Travis Lovett
Tuesday 15 September, 6–7 pm
The Capital Theatre, Bendigo
Post-event drinks and nibbles at the La Trobe Art Institute  

Drawing on Traditional Owner voices and Travis' own reflections, this lecture identifies three reforms needed to achieve Indigenous water justice: improving water efficiency, formally recognising Indigenous water rights, and embedding those rights within Treaty negotiations.

This is more than a conversation about water. It is about power, wealth, sovereignty and justice, and who holds the authority to determine the future of our rivers and waterways.

Australia’s water governance was built on exclusion. Terra nullius denied Aboriginal ownership of land; aqua nullius denied the enduring rights, authority and relationships of Traditional Owners to waters.

This compelling lecture critically examines Sir John Quick’s constitutional legacy. As a leading Federation advocate and member of the Constitutional Committee, Quick contributed to a Constitution that preserved significant State control over water while failing to recognise the pre-existing sovereignty, laws and water rights of Aboriginal peoples.

Water infrastructure supported extensive gold extraction; the lecture explores how colonial control of land, waters and resources generated immense public and private wealth while Traditional Owners were dispossessed and excluded from ownership and decision-making.

Bringing together history, law and lived experience, this lecture invites audiences to consider what genuine reconciliation requires, and why Indigenous water justice is central to Australia's future.


Free, bookings essential. 

Djaara-led Tour
Saturday 7 November, 11 am–12.30 pm
To close the exhibition, you’re invited to join a Djaara-led tour of Wanyarra Dum (the Frog Ponds) on Yaram Yaram Manya (Bendigo Creek), a culturally significant site where ecological restoration has renewed a chain of interconnected freshwater habitats.
Free, bookings essential as places are limited.
To register, email a.wallin@latrobe.edu.au with a brief note explaining why you would like to participate.

Music Image Time Lab

A monthly meeting of artforms in time-based media,  MIT Lab is a space for sharing work-in-progress, experiments, new ideas, or new work in a supportive community setting. Everyone is welcome to contribute work.

Click the link above for further information.

2026 MIT Lab dates:

8 March
12 April
3 May
7 June
5 July
2 August
13 September
4 October
8 November
16 December – end of year event