Local Stories
Parramatta Portraits
Portraits of People & Place
Len Norman
Len was a young man when the ABC was filming at the Cedars of Lebanon venue in 1963, and joined the STORYBOX program to relive the experience in 2020. This was a unique opportunity for the community to reflect on the changes to life in Parramatta since the days of post-war migration when the video was originally filmed.
Alissar Chidiac
Alissar Chidiac has a long association with Parramatta, where she works as a community cultural development worker with diverse groups of artists, poets and performers for over 30 years. Since 1991 her special focus has been on Arab Australian cultures – through performance work, cultural heritage and contemporary cultural production, which she now pursues through the Arab Theatre Studio.
Produced by Esem Projects. Artwork by Brad Robson.
Parramatta Traces
By Richard Briggs
Parramatta is a city once described as the 'infrastructure capital of the world' by former NSW Premier Mike Baird. Suburban streets and single story office buildings are making way for multi-story apartment blocks wherever one looks. Richard's line drawings have an affinity for both the everydayness and the beautiful complexity of these rapid changes. ESEM Projects and Richard Briggs have collaborated together on many outdoor exhibitions, creating interwoven scenes of past and present that celebrate the beautiful and chaotic complexity of cities in transition.
This artwork is a collaboration between Esem Projects and Richard Briggs, commissioned for Storybox Parramatta.
The Mangroves
of Parramatta River
Parramatta is a place defined by its river. Its name refers to the original inhabitants, the Barramattagal, a name thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for 'place where the eels lie down'. This place name speaks to the vital role played by river systems in supporting rich food ecologies. Mangroves, like those along the river, are also excellent at storing carbon, both in plants and in the sediments below: they can store 5 times more carbon in their soils than terrestrial ecosystems such as forests. This piece, designed for exhibition in the new city centre of Parramatta Square, creates a portal into the freshwater river scenes that have sustained this place for millennia.
Produced by Esem Projects
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