WHAT IS IT?

Walk the Talk @Fringe is a participatory artwork project that explores the theme of empathy by inviting strangers to take a meandering walk with one another in a public park. As part of the 2011 Melbourne Fringe Festival, people will be invited to assemble in the Fitzroy Gardens, pair up with someone they don't know and embark on an en-mass self-directed stroll for an hour.

Whatever happens during that hour is up to the participants to negotiate. There might be cartwheels, confessions, awkward silences, revisiting of childhood memories (good ones hopefully) or rose pruning tips - it's all in the hands of the participants. A post-event survey will be used to capture peoples' experiences and people will be able to post their musings on a representational map.

This is a feel good project, designed to remind us that while Twitter may be awesome and Facebook friends might be real, they ain't ever gonna replace a walk in the park with a random.

WHY DONATE?

Naturally because this is an awesome project. While Walk the Talk@Fringe is a playful event, it has been created in response to a genuine desire to explore the expression of empathy within our contemporary culture. The project has been inspired by my life-long fascination with the subject, in particular the conundrum of why (if we are all in fact 'hard-wired' for empathy as neuroscience tells us we are) is it that some people find it so easy to place themselves into the shoes of another while others just don’t seem to give a hoot??

I'm aiming to raise $1,000 which will contribute to costs such as venue and equipment hire, graphic design, insurances and some other bits and pieces. This amount represents a proportion of the base cost of the project so any additional support would go a long way to making the event a massive success.

I'm hoping that Walk the Talk@Fringe will the first of many similar events across multiple sites. Contributions over $1,000 will go some way to supporting the project's future development which will also include devising ways to use computer visualisations to spatially map participants experiences.

Big thanks to all those who have already helped this project make it this far. Love your work. Peter

This initiative is dedicated to people whose lives have been affected by bipolar disorder.

EVENT DEETS

DATE: Sunday 2 October

VENUE: Old Bandstand, Fitzroy Gardens - Melbourne

TIME: Assemble 1:30pm for 2:00 kick-off

COST: FREE

Please note this is not a dating service :-)

If you're on Facebook you can RSVP to the event here:                                        http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194351623962708

www.culturalvalue.com.au

www.melbournefringe.com.au

www.facebook.com/cultural-value