13 November 2020: Celebrate iconic Canberra suburb Dickson with Dickson Living Rooms, a physical and digital heritage project by academics and students from the University of Canberra.
The project, supported by a City Renewal Authority Dickson Grant, seeks to expose the lived experiences of Dickson through the decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s through formal and informal public events held in a temporary pavilion constructed in the old Dickson shopping precinct. The pavilion is conceived as an abstracted and skewed 3D blueprint of an ‘ex-govie’ house typical to Canberra’s inner-north.
Officially accepted into the 2020 Design Canberra program, the pavilion will stage four public engagement events across a nine-day period including a symposia on Canberra housing with Canberra architects, a digital heritage conversation on the role of digital in revealing Canberra’s history and an opportunity for the public to meet with the design team from the University.
The project also includes an interactive web-based cultural map of Dickson through the decades.
“For the first time, the map draws together artistic imagery developed specifically for the project that captures the domestic footprint of the day – technologies, furnishings, media and politics with rich archival information sourced from the National Library of Australia’s Trove Archive,” said Associate Professor in Architecture, Max Maxwell.
“The result is a compelling deep dive into the social and commercial narratives of Canberra’s inner north.”
Mr Maxwell said he hopes visitors will understand the cultural significance of the various spaces they interact with.
“Dickson could be considered the heartland of the inner north. It’s the largest commercial hub outside of Civic and an area of renewed focus. As the area undergoes yet another historic and significant change, links to rich elements of the past could be lost,” said Mr Maxwell.
“We envisage that our pavilion installation will trigger a sense of curiosity and encourage users to engage with the spaces they use every day, and in turn, start to build and contribute to a greater understanding of the rich cultural fabric of the suburb.”
WHAT: Dickson Living Rooms Media Launch
WHEN: Monday, 16 November 2020, 10am
WHERE: Old Dickson shopping precinct, adjacent to the Dickson Post Office
Dickson Living Rooms Events:
- “Housing Canberra: A Conversation with Canberra architects on current and future housing” - Wednesday 18 November, 12pm-4pm
- “Heritage Canberra: The role of the digital in revealing Canberra’s history with Dr Ennis-Butler” - Thursday 19 November, 12pm-4pm
- “An audience with the public” – Friday 20 November, 6pm-8pm