The Motivate Project

About Project

The Motivate Project (TMP) brought artists and community members together to explore the question: What motivates us?

For three months, TMP established The Project Studio at Burrinja as a hub for research, conversation and creative activity. More than fifty local residents contributed through an online survey, generating a rich collection of ideas about motivation, desire, values, relationships, creativity, wellbeing and everyday life.

This material became the basis for a participatory live artwork, Stars Are Important, presented at hillsceneLIVE Festival at Mount Burnett Observatory. Audience members entered the work by bringing a teacup and choosing from an elaborate menu of imaginary teas — including nature tea, family and friends tea, social justice tea, creativity tea, freedom tea, success tea, mindfulness tea and many others.

Although the menu offered dozens of choices, audiences ultimately received either green or black tea. The work playfully explored choice, self-identification, consumer culture and the ways in which seemingly personal decisions can be shaped by external forces.

Impact
The Motivate Project created a sustained space for artists and community members to investigate a deceptively simple question through play, conversation and live art. Stars Are Important transformed community-generated research into an immersive audience experience, creating a playful point of convergence between artist, participant and audience.

Location: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Upwey / Mount Burnett Observatory, Dandenong Ranges, Victoria

Date: 2015

Artists: Artistic team — Dani-Ela Kayler, Julika Faber, Alira, Karly Michelle Edgar

Collaborators: Local community participants; more than fifty local citizens who contributed to the online survey; collaborating artists

Organisations / Partners: Burrinja Cultural Centre; hillsceneLIVE Festival