The Exhibition at PlantBank
An exhibition featuring work by 11 Aboriginal Artists from Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. The works in this exhibition are each artists’ response to a call to protect Country from the devastating effects of Myrtle Rust.
In addition there will be sonification and generative music made from Myrtle Rust genomic data and real time sonification of critically endangered Australian Native Plants.
There will also be a Science Symposium on Myrtle Rust from leading science research groups in Sydney. These activities will be held at PlantBank.
Australian PlantBank The Australian Botanic Garden
362 Narellan Road, Mount Annan 2567
The exhibition organisers would like to acknowledge the Dharawal peoples, upon whose land the Mount Annan Botanical Gardens is situated. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We recognise their custodianship of the land, sea, and water, and that this land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
Program of Events
Thursday 2nd February (5pm – 7 pm)
Exhibition Opening
2nd February – 12th February (11am – 3pm every day)
An exhibition of Indigenous art inspired by the effects of Myrtle Rust on Australian native plants.
2nd February – 12th February (11am – 3pm every day)
Real time sonification of critically endangered Australian Native Plants.
Listen to the sound of plants.
2nd February – 12th February (11am – 3pm every day)
Listen to the sound of the Myrtle Rust genome. The exhibition features Myrtle Rust data sonification and generative music made from Myrtle Rust genomic data.
Wednesday 8th February (10 – 1 pm)
Come and listen to up-to-dat science talks about Myrtle Rust. We will hold a science symposium on Myrtle Rust from major science research groups in Sydney.
Sunday 12th February (12pm – 1pm)
Meet sonification artist Savannah Van Der Veer. Listen to music made from sonification of critically endangered Australian Native Plants.
Scientist in Residence
2nd February- 12th February
(11am – 3pm every day)
Come in and talk to the event organiser Mark Temple acting as scientist in residence.
The Myrtle Rust fungus is silently killing our seedlings, saplings and established trees. Hundreds of Australian species in the Myrtaceae family are susceptible including bottlebrushes, eucalypts and tea trees with 16 species set to become extinct within a generation. It is caused by the fungus Austropuccinia psidii, and was first detected in Australia in 2010.
Myrtle rust causes yellow or orange pustules to appear on the leaves, stems, and flowers of infected plants. These pustules can lead to leaf loss, reduced growth and vigor, and, in severe cases, plant death. The fungus can also weaken the plant’s natural defenses, making it more susceptible to other diseases and pests.
Scientists and land managers are working to understand the disease and develop strategies to mitigate its impacts on native plants.
For more information please take a look at Myrtle Rust in Australia (A National Action Plan). Please share spread the word so that more people understand the threat to our native plants.
Where is PlantBank at Mt Annan Botanical Gardens?
The Plant Bank and the Australian Botanic Gardens are located in south-western Sydney at Mount Annan near Campbelltown. The garden. It is the largest botanic garden in Australia, consisting of 30ha of cultivated displays in a native bushland setting. The Garden has a range of picnic areas and over 20 kilometres (12 mi) of walking tracks and is home to the Australian PlantBank – a centre of excellence in plant science.
PlantBank is approx. 1 hour drive from the inner-west of Sydney.
Follow M5 and Hume Motorway/M31 to Narellan Rd/A9 in Campbelltown.
Take the Narellan Rd/A9 exit from Hume Motorway/M31
Continue on Narellan Rd/A9. Drive to Cunningham Dr in Mount Annan
Parking is available at parking bays outside PlantBank
The Art and Science of Myrtle Rust 