Currents of Practice
2026 World Wetlands Day Exhibition & Public Program
WETLANDS AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE: CELEBRATING CULTURAL HERITAGE
January 24 - February 2, 2026
Coolart Wetlands and Beyond
Currents of Practice, an annual arts program that celebrates the deep relationship between wetlands, artivism, and creative expression.
Proudly supported by the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Community Investment Sponsorship program
Developed in alignment with the Ramsar Convention’s World Wetlands Day, the program brings together artists, scientists, educators, and community partners to draw attention to the ecological and cultural significance of the Mornington Peninsula’s internationally recognised wetlands.
Through exhibition, performance, and public conversations, Currents of Practice centres art as a conduit for environmental literacy, place based storytelling, and community connection.
CURRENTS OF PRACTICE ART EXHIBITION
& PUBLIC PROGRAM 2026
24 January – 2 February 2026
Selected artworks will be presented across Coolart Wetlands and Homestead, & The Revillaging Project.
The World Wetlands Day Exhibition will be open to the public across this full period.
Coolart Homestead will be open from 10am - 4pm.
Currents of Practice Exhibition
Public Program
Saturday 31 January 2026
Public program officially opens with formal proceedings.
The program will include:
Welcome to Country by Jillian West 9.45
Dancers from the Ganga Giri troupe
Gidja Walker OAM launching her new book with a walk and talk (TBC) 10 am
Screening of Introducing Coolart by the late Graham Pizzey
Western Port Biosphere in conversation + bug dipping activities.
Sunday 1 February 2026
Q&A with Tracee Hutchison and participating artists in the Coolart Observatory. Bookings essential. 11am
Local artist Mietta will present the second instalment of 'When The Water Stills' - a music and experiential storytelling series. Bookings essential. 2pm
Monday February 2 2026
On 2 February, The Revillaging Project will open its gates as part of the 2026 World Wetlands Day celebrations, inviting community to gather in conversation, care and connection with the wetlands that sustain life on the Mornington Peninsula.
The morning program will be a guided conversation facilitated by broadcaster, author and filmmaker Tracee Hutchison, with contributions from Gidja Walker OAM, Indigo McKeon and The Revillaging Project owner Josh Melnick.
Gidja will provide a framing introduction, setting the context for the wider World Wetlands Day program and offering insight into the 2027 theme, Wetlands for Sustainable Cities.
Introducing Gidja Walker OAM - ecologist, artist, natural systems educator and long-time advocate for wetlands across the Mornington Peninsula’s fragile wetland and coastal ecologies. As part of Currents of Practice 2026, Gidja will launch her new publication Fringe Dwellers of Wurnmarrinh, created in collaboration with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and the Western Port Biosphere. The publication explores the ecological significance of saltmarsh through decades of field-based research.
Her contribution at Tootgarook situates the local wetlands within the wider network of the Western Port Ramsar-listed wetlands and the UNESCO-designated Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve - interconnected systems of stewardship, knowledge and resilience shaping more sustainable futures for both people and nature. Bookings will be essential.
World Wetlands Day
The Revillaging Project
The inaugural Currents of Practice exhibition and public program (January - February 2025) was held at Coolart Wetlands and Homestead, a Ramsar-listed site. Twelve artists presented site-responsive works spanning installation, photography, sculpture, sound, print making, textiles and works on paper. The program also included a public conversation hosted by broadcaster and writer Tracee Hutchison, and collaborations with Friends of Coolart, Western Port Biosphere, and local environmental groups.
The event welcomed significant visitor engagement and affirmed the importance of wetlands as places of inspiration, learning, and cultural storytelling. It also introduced a growing audience to the rich ecological heritage of Coolart and the wider Western Port environment.
In Situ Reflections
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'Currents of Practice beautifully embodies the Ramsar Secretariat’s global priorities of visibility, collaboration, and resource mobilisation. Through art and community, it amplifies the voice of wetlands - fostering partnerships, inspiring stewardship, and connecting local action to global environmental goals. It stands as a model for how creative practice can nurture both cultural vitality and ecological care on the Mornington Peninsula.'
State Member for Hastings and Acting Speaker - Parliament of Victoria
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"Importantly, Currents of Practice reinforced the role of wetlands as living classrooms and cultural landscapes. By situating temporary works within the house and its surrounds, the project invited reflection on place-making and our collective relationship with fragile ecologies. The success of this inaugural program signals strong potential for Currents of Practice to continue as an annual event, connecting local communities with national and international networks. It is a project that contributes meaningfully to Friends of Coolart and Mornington Pe ninsula Shire’s Arts and Culture goals of social cohesion, environmental awareness, and cultural participation, while affirming the Friends of Coolart’s commitment to stewardship of this treasured site."
Julie Ebbott
President Friends of Coolart 2025
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"The Currents of Practice exhibition was a moving celebration of wetlands— places that quietly sustain life, store carbon, filter water, and support biodiversity across the globe. Here in Western Port, our wetlands are not only vital ecosystems, but part of an international network of significance. As a Ramsar-listed site on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, Western Port is connected to wetlands across the world—supporting tens of thousands of migratory birds and reminding us that local care has global impact. Supporting this project aligned deeply with the Western Port Biosphere Foundation’s purpose: to inspire a positive future by connecting people and nature today. Through art, sound, and storytelling, Currents of Practice invited people to experience the wetlands in new ways, fostering the awareness, advocacy, and action that healthy ecosystems urgently need. We thank the artists, organisers and community who helped bring the wetlands to life through this powerful collaboration."
Mel Barker
Western Biosphere CEO
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"From its inception, Currents of Practice presented as an inspired artist-led event deeply embedded in place, in practice and in resonant awe of the unique RAMSAR-listed Coolart Wetlands biosphere in Victoria’s Western Port. Led by Mornington Peninsula-based artist-activist Rosa Mar Tato Ortega, the event evolved into a profoundly moving homage to the wetlands and the frailty of the ecosystem it supports. My role in the inaugural public program as facilitator of the artist-led panel discussions enabled contributing artists to speak to the power and persuasion of their creative practice as mirror to the escalating stress-symptoms in our natural environment, and the role of the arts as a catalyst for social change. Currents of Practice landed with such deep connection, honouring and acknowledgement of the ancient wisdom and language of the land - and an empathetic invitation to consider the great existential question: how do we sustain life on earth? Together, we shared an opportunity to pause and reflect on the transcendental beauty of art as a universal language, and the hopeful aspiration of the artists lens to be the change we want to see."
Tracee Hutchison
Q&A and Public Conversation Facilitator