Penrith City Council in conjunction with Ausdance NSW present Waste Not, a free festival to celebrate the Penrith community’s achievements in diverting waste from landfill, funded by theEnvironmental Protection Authority. Throughout the day, in and around The Joan, there will be performances and workshops in parkour, drumming, dance, and a sound and visual art installations under the direction of Western Sydney artist, Kay Arrmstrong

David Capra, also a Western Sydney Artist is working with Penrith Community to create an installation of multiple tyre swans. Capra who recently created a work for the MCA’s Jackson Bella Room, Teena’s Bathtime, works with recycled tyres for this exhibition. The swans have been made in conjunction with several groups based in Penrith, over a series of ongoing workshops.

“The Waste Not festival is a chance to celebrate the Penrith community’s efforts and significant achievement in reducing their waste sent to landfill. This is an opportunity to come together to learn more about resource recovery at a fun festival full of dance, sound and art activities. Penrith residents, when it comes to waste, have clearly ‘Got it sorted’.” Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown

IN OUR HANDS, is a thought provoking dance work, featuring movement, theatre and original sound scores, inspired by recycling, re-purposing and reducing landfill. Directed by Kay Armstrong, with sound score by Thomas Smith, IN OUR HANDS is an intergenerational performance where dancers join together to make us reflect on the future of our environment which is “in our hands”.  Choreography by guest dance artists Margot Politis, Diane Busuttil and Omer Backley-Astrachan with costumes by visual artist, Nicole Barakat. This performance is in collaboration with local community members of Agile Not Fragile and students from Penrith Christian, Henry Fulton Public and Wycliffe Christian schools who are joined by local youth in a vocal performance directed by guest choir master James Paul.

“This project is about bringing together communities, layering ideas, collaborating over time to create something unexpected and unique, something from which we can grow. Across the process we will learn about how we can help our environment, then share this with the rest of the community in a day of free activities for the old and young.” – Kay Armstrong, Waste Not Artistic Director.