I adapted my work A Resting Mess to launch Arts Centre Melbourne’s inaugural access-focused Alter State Festival. When Covid lockdowns made travel impossible, this work became an immersive digital gathering.

Room to Rest was a warm-hearted online experience broadcast from my living room. Audience were invited to find a quiet, comfortable place, attend for at least 30 minutes across a 4 hour duration and make poetic contributions through the chat function. The event proposed that despite being apart, we could still 'gather' and set the tone for the festival. From disparate locations we were immersed simultaneously in a meditative soundscape and a series of playful, gently participatory invitations.

A tender offering to acknowledge country through the body, to notice and accept changing energy, to feel time expand and give ourselves and each other permission.

To make room to rest.