Exhibition: 24 Jul - 23 Aug
Launch: 5.30pm, Fri 24 Jul

Featured Artists:
Barbara Dover, Ghost Net Collective (Lynnette Griffiths & Marion Gaemers), Jeannie Heynatz, Jill Chism, Klara Royster, Midaviau, Sheryl J Burchill, Tanya Chapman, Tijn Meulendijks, Victoria Lees, Victoria Park

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
John Masefield, from his poem, Sea Fever

On a global scale the world is experiencing profound natural crises which ‘call’ artists, poets and writers to respond differently. While some creatives might take us deeper into an exploration of nature’s wonders and beauty, helping us to ‘see again’ what we may have missed, artists participating in Call of the Running Tide are creative activists in the truest sense. They remind us of the essential vitality and fragility of nature and the cultural significance of coastal sites in our region, while at the same time exposing the devastating impact of climate change, the bleaching of the reef, micro-plastics, pollution, and harmful waste in our once pristine rivers and oceans.

They are also concerned with the diminishment and extinction of species including marine animals and insects, the important roles trees play as the ‘lungs of the earth’, and the problems associated with ‘single use’ plastic, while at the same time encouraging themselves and us to take steps towards positive change and sustainability.
Call of the Running Tide is a call to people for action; it is ‘a clear call and a wild call that cannot be denied’.

This is the fourth iteration of Call of the Running Tide, first held as an environmental art festival in Port Douglas (2019), then as a satellite exhibition at NorthSite Contemporary Arts (2021) and again in Port Douglas (2021).

Littoral zones are the interface between land and water – between the lowest and highest tidal marks.

Image:  Fruits of the Feral, Ghost Net Collective (Lynnette Griffiths and Marion Gaemers)

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Cairns Regional Council partnership to support local arts and culture.