New project to reconnect Geelong with its maker past and future

The three five-minute films will examine former industrial sites, including the Old Paper Mills in Fyansford, the Federal Woollen Mills in North Geelong, and the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Woollen and Worsted Mills in Newtown.

Research Fellow in Urban Design and Ecologies within Deakin’s Centre for Regional and Rural Futures (CeRRF) Dr Fiona Gray said the short films would showcase the places, people and projects that were redefining Geelong as it evolved from a manufacturing stalwart to a creative hub.

“Geelong has always been a city of makers – from the Aussie ute to refrigeration techniques and Aussie Rules football,” Dr Gray said.

“With the recent closure of the iconic Ford and Alcoa manufacturing plants, Geelong’s reputation as a manufacturing centre seemed to be under threat.

“But this city is resilient - when one door closes another opens! An alternative narrative of opportunity has been created as our rich manufacturing history is being reinvented in new and inspiring ways.

“The ‘maker’ focus of Geelong has shifted from heavy manufacturing to creative industries, with new opportunities in film, TV, radio, publishing, software and interactive content, visual arts and design, architecture, marketing, music, and the performing arts popping up all over town.

“In fact, recent data shows that over 6 per cent of all jobs in the City of Greater Geelong are in the digital and creative sector, offering great opportunities for economic and social growth.

“Many of the defunct spaces left over from the city’s industrial heyday – like the three spaces we’ll be focussing on in the films – are undergoing a creative transformation to house these creative industries and we want to document this amazing shift.

“Now is the perfect time to revisit our rich creative history and discover how this maker culture is beginning to flourish again.”

The films will be shot and directed by Nicholas Searle, a renowned factual post-producer, director and program developer who has worked on Australian television series such as Grand Designs Australia, River Cottage Australia, and The Recruit.

However, before the films can go ahead, Dr Gray and Dr Garduño Freeman need to raise $15,000 to fund production and have set up a ‘Hubcaps 2 Creative Hubs’ crowdfunding campaign on Pozible.com.

Deakin School of Architecture and Built Environment lecturer in Architecture Dr Garduño Freeman said that the duo had teamed up with Creative Geelong for the project and hoped the films would become a wonderful advertisement for Geelong’s creative industries.

“The films will be a great marketing tool for Creative Geelong and the City of Greater Geelong to promote the region and encourage potential newcomers and investors in local creative industries, thus strengthening the local economy,” Dr Garduño Freeman said.

“In order to flourish, Geelong’s creative industries need support from government and also the community.

“As the Federal Government talks up its innovation credentials, Geelong is showing the way as it reconnects with its ‘maker’ past and creates new employment opportunities and our community should be very proud.”

The Hubcaps 2 Creative Hubs campaign ends on 6 December and pledges can be made via the campaign page at www.hc2ch.com.

The campaign is one of three current projects by Deakin University researchers seeking funding as part of Research My World, an ongoing partnership between Pozible and the university.