Chris Armstrong, Tori Donnelly and Sarah Mufford “Manggaarla” 2021 - Image Fire and Fly Media
White Bluff is a rocky headland located north of the regional city of Coffs Harbour, on the North Coast of NSW. It is surrounded by development on its landward edge and yet protected by the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve on its littoral and off-shore waters. It sits on the border of local indigenous territories. It is Crown Land - largely unknown and typical of a string of isolated coastal ecosystems along Australia's increasingly inhabited eastern seaboard.
While White Bluff may have no recognised national significance, it is exactly this that makes it such a shared Australian experience. Co founder Sarah Mufford, along with artist Ray Rixon brought together a group of artists, scientists and Coffs Coast Community members to explore this shared experience of our coastal spaces — exposing concerns about the transformative effects of climate and urbanization while celebrating the beauty, fragility and unique discoveries to be found in our local landscapes.
In partnership with Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, the project aims to demonstrate the value of art/science/community collaboration in developing new art forms, and approaches to creative practice. The project is due to culminate in an exhibition at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery (CHRG) from 30th October 2021 through to 15 January 2022. The exhibition will close out the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery’s 20 year anniversary — a home-grown summer blockbuster exhibition that is an absolutely fitting close for the gallery’s anniversary year: showcasing a unique project, born in Coffs Harbour but that resonates far further afield.