softwash

It’s hot hot hot this summer, but a @_softwash_ cap will keep the sun at bay! 💦🦪 If you didn’t get to hang out with us in the mangroves for softwash or you forgot to pick yours up, simply send us a DM to secure the goods. Collection available for Gold Coast / Northern Rivers, postage for areas beyond. $55.00 + postage! Red, blue and green available. Photograph by @grace.dewar / @_softwash_ design by @hewittmarilena 🐚

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | When will you return to the river? Do you long to be in the mangroves? 𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 took us outside to the wet spaces; a multispecies entanglement, a loosening of binary thought, a soaking, leaking, melting of our edges. With a focus on queer ecology and an interest in building practices of interdependence. Tending to connections between the socio-eco-political in devotion to the practices of listening, caring, queering, and decentralising. Thank you to our SW003 artists @dreamtime_artistry @anna_whitaker @rubybridgetdonohoe @retritus @kimberlystokes @kinlygrey @tay_haggarty and our River Goddess @hannahbronte 🦪 softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and soft, soft reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together. This program has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, with auspicing from The FARM, development support from the City of Gold Coast and venue support from Tweed Regional Museum and Arts Northern Rivers. Documentation by @gdocs.co 🦪

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Wash me softly 💦 𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 took us outside to the wet spaces; a multispecies entanglement, a loosening of binary thought, a soaking, leaking, melting of our edges. With a focus on queer ecology and an interest in building practices of interdependence. Tending to connections between the socio-eco-political in devotion to the practices of listening, caring, queering, and decentralising. Thank you to those who trusted us with their anonymous secrets (IYKYK), shared in exchange for softwash sustenance and river magic. 🦪🌀 We’re grateful to our SW003 artists @dreamtime_artistry @anna_whitaker @rubybridgetdonohoe @retritus @kimberlystokes @kinlygrey @tay_haggarty and our River Goddess @hannahbronte . softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and soft, soft reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together. This program has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, with auspicing from The FARM, development support from the City of Gold Coast and venue support from Tweed Regional Museum and Arts Northern Rivers. Documentation by @gdocs.co 🦪

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | What does it mean to be soft? We soaked, we melted, we tended, we dripped and washed. Our SW003 artists welcomed us deeper and deeper into the tidal zone: @dreamtime_artistry @anna_whitaker @rubybridgetdonohoe @retritus @kimberlystokes @kinlygrey @tay_haggarty and @hannahbronte 💦🦪 𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 took us outside to the wet spaces; a multispecies entanglement, a loosening of binary thought, a soaking, leaking, melting of our edges. With a focus on queer ecology and an interest in building practices of interdependence. Tending to connections between the socio-eco-political in devotion to the practices of listening, caring, queering, and decentralising. Thank you for supporting softwash! softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and soft, soft reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together. This program has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, with auspicing from The FARM, development support from the City of Gold Coast and venue support from Tweed Regional Museum and Arts Northern Rivers. Documentation by @gdocs.co 🐚

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | We’ve still got sand between our toes. Thank you for soaking with us in the Tweed River tidal zone earlier this month for our third and final softwash. Together we were held tightly amidst the mangroves and nourished by this beautiful Country. Many thanks to our At The Waters Edge artists: Erica Eurell, Anna Whitaker, Ruby Donohoe, Norton Fredericks, Kim Stokes, Kinly Grey, Tay Haggarty, and our River Goddess Hannah Brontë. We’ll be sharing some more photos, reflections, and writing from softwash over on our Substack. You can stay connected with us there by signing up via the link in our bio. 𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 took us outside to the wet spaces; a multispecies entanglement, a loosening of binary thought, a soaking, leaking, melting of our edges. With a focus on queer ecology and an interest in building practices of interdependence. Tending to connections between the socio-eco-political in devotion to the practices of listening, caring, queering, and decentralising. softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and soft, soft reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together. This program has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, with auspicing from The FARM, development support from the City of Gold Coast and venue support from Tweed Regional Museum and Arts Northern Rivers. Documentation by @gdocs.co 🦪

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Anna Whitaker 𝘛𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭//𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 Tidal//Tonal is a live sound performance composed in collaboration with the Tweed River. Using submerged hydrophones, the work listens to the river’s murmurings, collisions, and quiet disturbances - an improvised duet between artist and water. Following the performance, a vocal somatic workshop that invites participants to explore voice, breath, and body in resonance with the river’s shifting rhythms. Through sound and movement, the body becomes an instrument of listening and release. The work invites a soft dissolution of boundaries between human and more-than-human, performer and environment. The river is not backdrop but co-performer, shaping the score in real time. Together, the performance and workshop open space for a slow, fluid encounter—one that attunes to the porous and interwoven nature of being. Performance (10 minutes): 4:00PM, 5:00PM & 6:00PM AEDT/NSW Vocal workshop 5:10–5:30PM AEDT/NSW SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Norton Fredericks Sky Commission: 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘱: 𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘦 1 Cobaki Nature Reserve, along with Cobaki Creek and Terranora Creek, are heavily contaminated by PFAS chemical run-off due to their proximity to the Gold Coast Airport. A local Indigenous woman who frequently ate seafood from these waterways had blood tests that showed her PFAS levels were in the top 5 per cent of results for her age. PFAS chemicals have been used in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) the Class B firefighting foam used to fight aviation and other chemical fires as well as within aircraft hydraulic fluid and aircraft deicing and anti-icing fluids. ‘Contamination Map: Site 1’ has been created with the help of the local Gold Coast community, helping print the quilted cotton using local Wallum plants while the cyanotype has been developed using contaminated water samples from the Cobaki Creek adjacent to the airport. Workshop: 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 Come along to a drop-in workshop (2-4PM AEDT) and learn how to create natural fibre twine using just your hands. Sit with Norton while discussing your future hopes for yourself, community and our environment. Hope Catcher is an ephemeral fibre art installation that participants are invited to contribute their twine and wishes to. @retritus SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Kimberly Stokes Soft Soft Reading Club “When re-imagining 'reading club' for 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, I wanted to play around with words. It seems that words are inherently dualistic – definitive, holding inside so much of themselves.” By breaking down books to words, words to letters, we move from endless clarification towards slippery paradox and unknowing. To help us explore the gooey edges of language, Kim has created a simple asemic poem activity, for all to fill out throughout the afternoon. @kimberlystokes Collect from Gossips. SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 | Erica Eurell Erica Eurell is a Traditional Custodian from the families of the Yugambeh, Tweed River people and Wollumbin. She was born and continues to live on the Gold Coast. She has a strong connection to Community and in particular young people, as she has two daughters herself. Erica has a strong desire to ensure our Aboriginal Youth have a space to tell their stories and learn the importance of telling them and connecting them with opportunities and culture. Erica runs her own company, Dreamtime Artistry that helps support the next generation of First Nations Artists. @dreamtime_artistry SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | kinly grey _____𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 “Once I was accused, point blank and unprovoked, of being terrible at rhyming. If that is true, my sincerest apologies to my readers. I wrote this poem in a fevered state in which I could not stop hallucinating my thoughts in a rhyming meter. But it goes some way to express my last couple of years of research into the philosophical nature of being, cosmology, pedagogy, physics, slam poetry, mathematics, harmonic and morphic resonance, extrasensory perception, science fiction, various theologies, art, careful observation of the world, and so on. Importantly, my mixing pot is the practice of persisting in daily life, my studio is my thoughts, and my lens is a steadfast belief in the oneness of it all.” Collect your copy at Gossips. SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung Country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Tay Haggarty 𝘗𝘐𝘚𝘚 𝘛𝘈𝘒𝘌 @tay_haggarty Splashing, overflowing and lapping at the edge. PISS TAKE is a series of small ephemeral water fountains that play in the murky waters between sculpture and performance. As the water is pumped through, looping and pooling, the fountain failures investigate the overlappings of queer time, watersports and the archiving of memory. SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. Bundjalung Country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.

𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 | Ruby Donohoe 𝘝𝘈𝘕𝘐𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘗𝘖𝘐𝘕𝘛𝘚 Map making is a form of prayer-making too. It says, what was once here can be found again. What was once here, still exists And chances are, you can find it again. And yet… In the face of a system of errors, a system of eros floods forward SW_003 – At The Waters Edge 2–5:30PM AEST / QLD 3–6:30PM AEDT / NSW Saturday 08 November 2025 Free – all welcome! RSVP at the link in our bio. @rubybridgetdonohoe Bundjalung Country Tweed Regional Museum Learning Site 230 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads West softwash is an artist-led program of live and experimental art, workshops and a reading club. Hosted on Bundjalung Country, where Terranora and Cobaki creeks meet, softwash is reimagining public parklands as a place for artists and community to gather, share and make meaning together.