This performance event for the 2014 Ballarat Heritage Weekend festival is a researched, documented and evaluated, ongoing collaboration between the Arts Academy and the City of Ballarat. Through transdisciplinary arts practice it activates a sense of place for public audiences. It sits within the Heritage Strategy of the City of Ballarat, and its impact and significance is amplified through Ballarat’s involvement as a pilot study within the UNESCO, Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) program. Since 2013, HUL has worked to elicit values of ‘place’ for public policy development and environmental planning.

This multi award-winning project provides a template for research into community engagement though site specific performance and design, alongside traditional research. Three peer reviewed research papers relating to this project have been published (refer below).

The following papers offer evidence-based research for learning and teaching through performance-based, Work Integrated Learning (WIL) curricula developed by Dr Campbell with students, in collaboration with the City of Ballarat for Heritage Weekend. The two-year study (2013-2014) includes qualitative and quantitative measures, capturing audience and student response to student performances.

Awards

Living Heritage: Trades and Tradition, 2015 National Trust, City of Ballarat Heritage Innovation Award for 'excellence, innovation and best practice in heritage' to Angela Campbell (performing arts), with Chrissie Smith (communication design) and visiting artists, Tanja Beer and Amy Tsilemanis. Supported by $10,000 Future Designers Program Award, (Industry Engagement Plan, Department of State Development, Business and Innovation, Victoria) an industry grant that matches equal contributions from universities and business (in this case, FedUni and the City of Ballarat).

Conference papers

• Dr Angela Campbell, “Performing Cultural Heritage: Authenticity and the Spirit of Rebellion” International Federation Theatre Research. FIRT/IFTR World Congress, University of Warwick, UK, 2014.
• Dr Angela Campbell, Chrissie Smith and Amy Tsilemanis, “An exploration of the challenges of Living Heritage, an interdisciplinary collaboration between the University and City of Ballarat” Open Dialogue Conference, Federation University Australia, 2014.
• Dr Angela Campbell, “Restoring the past: cultural heritage, pedagogy, sustainability and DIY Drag” Australasian Drama Studies Association, Victoria University, Wellington, NZ, 2015.
• Dr Rachael Hains-Wesson and Dr Angela Campbell, “What’s so unique? WIL with performing arts students”, WIL La Trobe University.
• Dr Angela Campbell, “Postcards from Now: Reconfiguring the Cultural Heritage of Ballarat in Two Performances”, Cultural Studies Symposium, University of Ballarat, 2013.

Publications

• Campbell, Angela, “Performing Cultural Heritage: Authenticity and the Spirit of Rebellion”, Australasian Drama Studies, 66, April 2015.
  This paper provides a scholarly context for performative interpretations of tangible and intangible heritage. It provides a theorised and place-based overview into the performance of historical landscape and heritage in contemporary Australia.
• Hains-Wesson, Rachael and Angela Campbell, “Creating curricula through responses to students street performance” IIER (Issues in Educational Research), IIER 24(3), 2014.
• Hains-Wesson, Rachael, Vikki Pollard and Angela Campbell. "Street Performing Arts Students' process of improvisation for teamwork: A Three-stage Model". IIER 27(1), 2017.