The Flyway Print Exchange takes flight with eco-friendly bookmarks
Twice a year, millions of migratory waterbirds pass through the East-Asian Australasian Flyway, a 'flight path' connecting them to their breeding and non-breeding locations. The birds pass through 22 flyway countries including Mongolia, Japan, the USA (Alaska), Laos, Vietnam, India, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. This avian journey has inspired 20 artists from these countries to connect and create prints as part of The Flyway Print Exchange.
These prints were sent in January unprotected, on the migratory bird trip, and will later be exhibited at the first-ever Flyway Print Exchange Exhibition in Melbourne. The art work will 'echo' the journey of the eight million birds, returning weathered by the elements.
The Flyway Print Exchange aims to connect artists of different artistic and cultural backgrounds, and also support the conservation of these waterbirds. Australian artists including Kate Gorringe-Smith and Amanda O'Sullivan are involved in the project, as well as Kyoko Imazu from Japan, Garry Kaulitz from the USA and Radhika Gupta from India.
A set of pristine prints have been retained for the exhibition as they will be showcased alongside the prints that were sent on the journey. The additional prints will be up for sale, with funds raised going towards BirdLife Australia for the conservation and research of shorebirds.
The exhibition will be ready for display in August, then travel around Australia and then stop off to fellow Flyway countries.
To mark the event, bookmarks have been created for The Flyway Print Exchange using environmentally friendly printing. These sustainable bookmarks are printed on 100 per cent post-consumer recycled 350gsm EcoStar paper, with the added eco-friendly benefit of vegetable-based inks.
You can stay posted to the activities of The Flyway Print Exchange by visiting the project's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Flyway-Print-Exchange/175252916007801 or visit The Flyway Print Exchange co-ordinator website www.kategorringesmith.com.au
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