Rediscovering Springfield will be an art-type walk that is a site-specific exhibition using mobile devices and printed items to unearth content by walking along Main Road Moonah. Rediscovering Springfield will be a project that engages with the community of Springfield and the greater Moonah area in Hobart, Tasmania.
The work Rediscovering Springfield will add another chapter in the history of Tasmania. It will share the personal untold stories from migrants who came to Tasmania in the mid 20th Century onwards. Their contribution to the building and adding to this state is not often talked about or acknowledged in Tasmaniaʼs history.
The work will investigate how they communicated, what they brought with them, how their concept of home and food was re-created and experienced in their new “home” in Australia. How they shared their culture with other communities, how they spoke with one another, especially as many of them didn’t speak fluent English, if at all, on their arrival. How does one negotiate a space one does not understand fully?
These are some of the questions Rediscovering Springfield will explore – we can consider how did they navigate their lives through their new foreign home? Those who speak English natively will gain insight into this day-to-day experience of the new migrant.
The work will be realised by encouraging community involvement, through the exploration of people’s personal archives of the area or street – including photos, audio, etc. realised as moving images plus video and audio interviews.
