inspired By

Our organization seven thousand oaks is inspired by a Joseph Beuys work of the same name, in which he envisioned planting seven thousand oaks around the world, in order to bring the transformative power of art into the public sphere.

 

objectives

Our objectives are to:

  1. Educate - To become a repository of information of and for artists addressing the issue of sustainability in their work
  2. Celebrate - To celebrate and support artists engaging the issue of sustainability by finding space for their work in the public sphere
  3. Connect - To provide a forum for connecting artists working with the idea of sustainability with cross-disciplinary professionals to share best practise and sustainability solutions

 

partner organizations

We are partnered with the following organizations:

Centre for Sustainability Leadership

Australia Council

The British Council

RMIT University

Manningham City Council

Bicycle Victoria

staff

Miyuki Jokiranta - Managing Director

Miyuki

Miyuki is a radio maker, a linguist and a cultural researcher whose goal is to raise awareness around meaningful issues. Completing her Bachelor’s in Journalism, at New York University, Miyuki freelanced for a range of National Public Radio programs, including their flagship environmental science program, Living on Earth. She went on to a Master’s in International Affairs at New School University, where she focused on the impact of cultural activity on quality of life. Since returning to Australia, Miyuki continues to expand her sonic horizons by freelancing for the ABC, however has developed seven thousand oaks to address a critical issue through cultural contexts.

Dominik Deak - Web Developer

Dom

Born in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, Dominik lived most of his childhood in Hungary, moving to Australia to enter the IT sector after completing an Honours Degree in Digital Systems at Monash. Dom is often involved in projects such as web development, electronics and graphics programming. He draws inspiration from the intricate designs found in nature and in the phenomena observed in science; then tries to model them computationally.

Meeri Anneli- Head Designer

Meeri

Meeri is a Melbourne based inter-disciplinary designer, who has recently returned from Helsinki Finland with a Masters of Environmental Art from the University of Art & Design Helsinki. Her design practice spans from product (re)design and fashion (re)design, to graphics and fine illustration - luckily all (so far) with an emphasis on sustainability. Meeri also creates unique products through her label Megafauna & Me - where all laptop sleeves, messenger bags and other useful accessories are made using recycled and reclaimed materials, and are locally produced entirely by her!.

Chris Gaul - Designer

Chris

Chris Gaul was there at the beginning. He is the mastermind behind the 7KO logo design and continues to support the organisation with his encouragement, thoughts and sharp visual stylings. His design practice is focused on information design, typography, identity design and interactive design. He has studied Visual Communication Design and International Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. Chris has designed for Amnesty International Australia, the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, the World Wildlife Fund, New South Wales Guide Dogs and several non-government organisations and commercial clients in the sustainability sector.

Ilka Nelson - Thinker in Residence Ilka

Ilka Blue Nelson is the resident Magician at The Last Tree. A transdiciplinary maestro, Ilka works across the globe as a dream hunter. Ilka’s foremost talent is applying creative and whole systems thinking to unfurl rich potential. Equipped with gypsy shoes, Ms Blue delights in the diverse wisdom of the people, projects and places her work provides. This adventurous maestro found her toolkit in a strawberry patch and it consists of deep insight, acute practicality and boundless passion.

The 2010 seven thousand oaks festival curators are:

Visual Art - Mark McDean
Mark Mark is a Melbourne based artist, writer and lecturer in fine art & design. Graduating with a MA fine art by research in 2000, he has spent the past ten years working across a number of institutions including Monash University, RMIT University [fashion] and Victoria University. Mark has an extensive exhibition history including Ian Potter Museum at Melbourne Uni, NGV Fed Square, Sutton Gallery, and QUT gallery in Brisbane, along with a number of commissioned public art projects. He is also known widely for his entertaining and somewhat humorous catalogue essays and magazine articles.

Music - Ben Byrne Ben
Ben Byrne is a Melbourne based musician, writer and curator whose work traverses musical performance and improvisation, installation, composition radiophonics and sound theory. Performances include sets at You Like Improvised Music We Like You, Impermanent Audio, Make It Up Club, Liquid Architecture Festival of Sound Arts, the Now Now Festival of Improvised Music, the What Is Music? festival and the Melbourne International Biennale of Exploratory Music as well as in Auckland, Wellington, Helsinki, Berlin and New York. Gallery shows include Tracts at Blindside Gallery in Melbourne as part of 2008 Next Wave Festival and The Business Of Being An Artist at Serial Space in Sydney.

Public Art Program - Jen Rae Jen Educated in Canada and Australia, she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (2003), a Master of Arts: Art in Public Space (2009). She has exhibited her work in Canada, the USA and Australia and the recipient of numerous grants and scholarships. In 2010, Jen will commence her PhD research in the Art & Sustainability research cluster at RMIT University.

The Soapbox and Plant Out- Miyuki Jokiranta

steering commitee

Larissa Brown is the founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership. Larissa has worked as a research scientist at the Australian National University and in 2008 was named young environmentalist of the year.

Lisa Dempster is a writer and editor based in Melbourne. She is the publisher at Vignette Press and creator of indie magazine The Mook. She sits on the Program Advisory Committee for the Emerging Writers' Festival and is a panel member for Arts Victoria.

Marcus Godhino is the managing director of Fareshare. Former Executive Director of Environment Victoria, commited himself to the environment in 1998. Previously Marcus spent seven years working for Mobil Oil and the National Australia Bank, managing community, government and media relations. He went on to work with the Australia Conservation Foundation and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria, and sat on the national board of the Wilderness Society.

Karin Neumann is a professional art consultant with BA (Painting), BA Honours (Painting), MA (Painting), MA Cand. (Museum Studies and Cultural Policy). She is the coordinator and curator of Create - The Sustainable Living Festival and is a practicing artist represented in public and private collections.

Danielle Wilde is an artist and design researcher currently based in Melbourne, Australia at Monash University Faculty of Art and Design and at the CSIRO Division of Textile and Fibre Technology in Belmont, near Geelong. Her investigation is focused on how technology might be paired with the body to poeticise experience.

contributor guidelines

seven thousand oaks is an open-source network, if you would like to contribute to any part of the site, send a request through to for contributor access.

Contributor guidelines for artists can be downloaded here, and interested suppliers can download the Supplier Kit in pdf format.

 

general inquiries

Any general inquiries can be directed to , whereupon one of us will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks for visiting.

support 7KO

If you wish to support seven thousand oaks, there are several ways.

  1. Donate - 7KO has set up an online donations appeal with the excellent people at ourcommunity.com.au. Donate online through their secure server by clicking the button below.
    Donatebutton
  2. Volunteer - 7KO is always looking for hands on deck. If you would like to volunteer with us, send an email to with your interests and skills.
  3. Offer space or resources - If you would like to host an exhibition or have resources you would like to donate to practising artists, we would love to hear from you.