Queen Victoria Gardens

A playful, participatory openair workshop where birdsong and human voices coalesce

Magpies, ravens, wattlebirds, blackbirds and sparrows. Queen Victoria Gardens is home to plenty of singing personalities. But their warbling melodies aren’t prewritten.  Like us, birds have to explore each new place—echo off their environment—and find their own frequencies. This workshop invites us to channel this sense of spontaneous musicality while connecting with the park and each other through birdsong.

It’s led by artist Catherine Clover whose practice often works with listening, sound and the languages of the more-than-human world. She’ll use bird field guides to create a score that harmonises with the garden’s sonic landscape. Then, together, you’ll create a meeting point for the music of local and introduced birds. You don’t need any special skills or training to get involved. Just show up and sing.

Collaborator

Catherine Clover is an artist working with listening, sound, and the more-than-human world. Her practice explores the connections between birds, people, and place through interspecies listening and voicing in urban environments. Using field recordings, soundscapes, and collaborative performances, she highlights shared sonic territories between species. Catherine holds a practice-led PhD in Fine Art from RMIT University, and teaches at Swinburne University (MA Writing) and Goldsmiths London (BA Connected Curriculum). Her work has been exhibited internationally, responding to the urgency of the environmental crisis. Catherine splits her time between London and Naarm-Melbourne.